Tops Open 100th Season with Exhibition Against Campbellsville

WKU Game Notes | Campbellsville Game Notes

THE TIP-OFF

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball opens its 100th season with its first exhibition against Campbellsville at 7 p.m. Tuesday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

The Hilltoppers went 27-11 in 2017-18, their most wins in 10 seasons and the most in the state of Kentucky last year, while advancing to the NIT semifinals for the first time since 1954.

WKU head coach Rick Stansbury was a four-year letterman at guard for Campbellsville from 1977-81 and got his coaching start as a CU student assistant.

As a senior, Stansbury helped lead Campbellsville to the school's first District 32 hoops title and an appearance in the 1981 NAIA Tournament. He received Campbellsville's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999 and was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.

EXHIBITION 1

Campbellsville (0-0) at WKU (0-0)
October 30, 2018 | 7 p.m. CT
E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Ky.

BROADCAST

Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship), WKUSports.tv (free), TuneIn Radio (free) (Paul Roper, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: WKU-PBS (BG), WBNA (Louisville); Facebook live stream on WKU Athletics page
Live Stats: WKU Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• WKU is 58-4 all-time in preseason exhibition games, and the Hilltoppers have won 26 straight preseason tune-ups dating back to a 2002-03 loss to the Harlem Globetrotters.
• E.A. Diddle Arena is sold out of general season tickets in the preseason for what's believed to be the first time since the venue opened in 1963. A handful of premium season tickets remain.
• The Hilltoppers are tied with Arkansas for the fourth-longest streak in the nation of consecutive games with a made 3-pointer at 976. Only UNLV (1,039), Vanderbilt (1,031) and Duke (1,021) have longer streaks.
• The Hilltoppers graduated 51.4 percent of their scoring, 60.8 percent of their rebounding and 48.7 percent of their assists with the loss of seniors Justin Johnson, Darius Thompson and Dwight Coleby.
• WKU was one of four schools in the nation – along with Kansas, Syracuse and Texas A&M – with wins over teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 last season. The Hilltoppers were the only school outside the Power 5 to accomplish the feat.
• The Hilltoppers' 12-win improvement from the year before in 2017-18 tied for the fifth-largest improvement in the nation. Of the teams ahead of the Hilltoppers, only Final Four team Loyola (Ill.) had more wins than WKU's 27.
• WKU finished the 2017-18 season with an official RPI of 32 – its highest since the 2007-08 season, when the Hilltoppers also finished 32nd. The program had not had a higher final RPI since 1994-95, when it finished at No. 27.
• Head coach Rick Stansbury's 12-win improvement from the 2016-17 to 2017-18 season is the largest increase in wins for any Hilltopper Basketball coach between their first and second seasons. The previous best was seven-win improvements by Darrin Horn, Ralph Willard and John Oldham.
• Sophomore guard Taveion Hollingsworth is the team's leading returning scorer at 13.3 points per game. Hollingsworth was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team and set new Hilltopper records in 2017-18 for most points scored (506), minutes played (1,312) and games started (38) by a freshman. He and graduate senior Desean Murray were named to the Preseason All-C-USA Team.
• Not only is freshman center Charles Bassey the highest-rated recruit to play for WKU in several decades, he's also one of the top-five youngest players in college basketball this season.

TICKETS

WKU Ticket Office: The WKU Ticket Office will not be open on gameday for any games this season. General season tickets are sold out, while a handful of premium season tickets remain. Available single-game tickets for the Campbellsville game can be purchased online at WKUTickets.com or by calling 1-800-5-BIGRED.

PROMOTIONS

• Free schedule magnet for the first 2,500 fans
• First piece of 16-piece 100th season commemorative poster (Rick Stansbury/E.A. Diddle) for first 3,000 fans

LAST GAME AGAINST CAMPBELLSVILLE: NOVEMBER 1, 2017 (EXHIBITION)

WKU used an all-around team effort to roll past Campbellsville, 92-51, in a preseason exhibition victory at E.A. Diddle Arena. Taveion Hollingsworth led all scorers with 20 points and seven steals, and Jake Ohmer had 18 points with three 3-pointers.

MED CENTER HEALTH

The 2018-19 WKU Basketball season is presented by Med Center Health. With The Medical Center at its core, Med Center Health has served Southcentral Kentucky for more than 90 years, and its system of care includes six acute care hospitals, a complete network of immediate to emergency services and services in dozens of specialties. Whether it is emergency treatment for heart attack victims or preventative programs to improve the health of the communities it serves, Med Center Health is committed to providing the highest level of care and service.

How to follow the Hilltoppers: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Basketball, follow the team's social media channels, @WKUBasketball on Twitter, @WKUBasketball on Instagram, and WKU Basketball on Facebook.

Tops Open 100th Season with Exhibition Against Campbellsville

Players Mentioned

Charles Bassey

Dwight Coleby

Taveion Hollingsworth

Justin Johnson

Jake Ohmer

Darius Thompson

Related Videos