LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bellarmine wraps up a four-game homestand this week hosting the southern pair of Florida ASUN programs.
 
With a win Thursday against Stetson, Bellarmine (9-13, 4-6 ASUN, NET No. 297) would earn their first three-game winning streak against Division I programs since winning the 2022 ASUN championship. The Knights and Hatters tip off at 7 p.m. ET. Bellarmine then hosts Florida Gulf Coast Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
 
The three teams together are part of a five-way tie with West Georgia and Jacksonville for fifth place in the ASUN. The top four teams in the standings earn a bye in the conference tournament in Jacksonville.
 
About Stetson
Stetson (8-15, 4-6 ASUN, NET No. 324) enters Knights Hall losers of four of their last five. Last weekend, the Hatters earned an 84-77 win at North Florida on Thursday before falling 68-66 to North Alabama on Saturday.
 
Collin Kuhl scored 23 points in each of the last two games, though he is the third-leading scorer for the Hatters at 12.3 points per game. The junior forward, while not a threat from deep, is shooting .669 from the floor on the year, 7th in the country. Ethan Copeland went for a game-high 25 points against UNF, but shot just 2 for 11 against UNA for nine points. The junior guard is Stetson's top threat from the outside connecting on 38.6 percent, 3rd in the conference and 68th nationally. Sophomore guard Jamie Phillips Jr. is the Hatters' leading scorer at 16.0 points per game, 5th in the ASUN.
 
Head coach Donnie Jones, a product of Pikeville University in eastern Kentucky, leads Stetson in his 7th season. Stetson went 22-13 in 2023-24, winning their first ASUN championship and earning their first NCAA tournament appearance in their 53rd season at the Division I level. Jones' squad, however, has gone just 16-39 overall and 10-18 in the ASUN since.
 
Versus the Hatters
Bellarmine is 3-5 against Stetson. The programs began their series with games on back-to-back days at Freedom Hall in January 2021, both Bellarmine wins (76-65 and 67-62). The Hatters have taken five of six since then, including a 73-70 win in the 2021 ASUN tournament. Stetson swept a pair of games last year against Bellarmine, 81-76 in Knights Hall and 69-67 in the Edmunds Center, the latter denying Bellarmine their first three-game ASUN winning streak in three years. In DeLand, the Knights hit three threes in the final minute to give themselves a chance, but a running three-point attempt by Jack Karasinski from just across the halfcourt hit high off the glass as time expired.
 
About FGCU
Florida Gulf Coast (10-13, 4-6 ASUN, NET No. 229) dropped five of six before winning a pair of games last week at home against UNA (72-64) and on the road at Jacksonville (68-49).
 
Jordan Ellerbee led FGCU in scoring in both games last week, combining for 33 points. The 2024-25 Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year is 2nd on the team in scoring (13.5 points per game) behind Notre Dame transfer forward J.R. Konieczny (15.3). Ellerbee is perhaps the Eagles' top three-point shooter at 40.2 percent, though his 97 attempts are 42 fewer than their volume shooter, 6-foot-8 senior forward Rory Stewart (33.8 percent). Junior Rahmir Barno is 2nd in the ASUN posting 5.2 assists per game while Isaiah Malone leads the league with 1.9 blocks per game.
 
FGCU is the top rebounding team in the ASUN at 37.3 per game and a plus-3.0 margin. The Eagles feature three players in the top 20 of the conference: Konieczny (6th, 6.4 per game), Malone (11th, 5.6) and Michael Duax (16th, 5.3). They are also second in the ASUN grabbing 12.3 offensive boards per game. Additionally, they are third in the league holding opponents to 44.2 percent shooting.
 
Pat Chambers leads FGCU in his fourth season. The Eagles are an even 30-30 in regular season league play under the former Penn State head coach.
 
The Eagles visit Eastern Kentucky on Thursday before heading to the Highlands.
 
Versus the Eagles
Bellarmine is 5-3 all-time against FGCU, but has lost the last three matchups since the 2023-24 season. The Eagles swept both games last season, winning 77-61 in Knights Hall and then 80-61 in the season finale in Fort Myers. Bellarmine shot a combined 41.2 percent against FGCU last year and allowed the Eagles to shoot 51.2 percent.
 
Knights Knotes

• Bellarmine has won back-to-back games by three points. The last time BU won back-to-back games by three points or fewer was February 19, 2023 versus Central Arkansas (68-67) and February 22, 2023 at Jacksonville (63-61).
• With their back-to-back wins over West Georgia and Queens, Bellarmine has improved to 4-3 at home against Division I teams. BU has not had more than four wins over Division I opponents at home since going 5-6 in 2022-23.
• Tyler Doyle scored a career-high 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting against UWG and backed that up with 13 points and 4 assists Saturday against Queens. The Lexington Catholic product has scored double-digit points in four straight games for the first time this season and the second time in his career (February 1-13, 2025). Doyle has started BU's last 8 games, averaging 10.4 points in that span. He is shooting 53.5 percent and leads BU averaging 3.1 assists.
• Jack Karasinski scored 18 points in each of the past two games, both Bellarmine wins. The senior ranks 3rd in the ASUN and 49th nationally averaging 19.3 points. He is on pace to best Dylan Penn's 16.6 points per game in 2021-22 for BU's Division I era record. He has scored 20-plus points in 10 of 20 games, including a streak of 7 straight from November 25 to January 3, though he has reached 20 points just once in the past 8 games. His 55.0 percent shooting is 4th in the ASUN and 59th nationally. He has 956 career points (202 at William & Mary, 754 at BU), 44 short of 1,000.
• Jacob Wassler earned significant minutes in Bellarmine's games last week and combined to go 5 for 11 (45.5 percent) from the floor and 3 for 5 (60.0 percent) from three for 13 points. The freshman from Cincinnati also grabbed 17 rebounds, including 11 against UWG, and 5 total on the offensive end. Only Karasinski has had more rebounds in a game for BU this season (12 on December 17 vs. Chattanooga). The 6'11" big man has played double-digit minutes in each of the past 5 games.

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