BOCA RATON, Fla. -- WKU finally concludes its grueling three-game, seven-day road swing on Saturday when the Hilltoppers face Florida Atlantic at 6:00 PM CST at FAU Arena. Both teams are looking to rebound from narrow, two-point road conference losses on Thursday night. It is also the Hilltoppers' fifth game in the past 10 days. Television coverage will be provided by HSSN and carried locally on WKYU-PBS and regionally/nationally on Fox College Sports and DirecTV Channel 617. Below are game notes for the contest (with a link to the full, downloadable version in PDF format).
GAME #16:
WKU at Florida Atlantic
Saturday, January 10, 2009 6:00 PM CST
FAU Arena (5,000) Boca Raton, Fla.
►SERIES HISTORY: WKU leads the series with Florida Atlantic 4-1 including wins in the last three meetings.
►COVERAGE: Television coverage will be provided by Hilltopper Sports Satellite Network in conjunction with Fox College Sports Atlantic and DirecTV Channel 617. Radio coverage will be provided by the Big Red Radio Network. The broadcast team for both will be Randy Lee and Hal Schmitt providing the call. Live stats and live audio and video via the internet is available at www.WKUsports.com.
►SIZING UP THE OWLS: Florida Atlantic welcomes back seven of 10 letterwinners including three starters under first-year head coach Mike Jarvis. The Owls went 15-18 in 2007-08 including 8-10 in Sun Belt play. Three of FAU's four wins have come at home as they look to snap a seven-game skid.
►BUCKING THE TREND: WKU shot 50.8 percent against FIU on Thursday, but still came up short, snapping a 24-game winning streak by the Toppers when shooting 50.0 percent or better. Their last such defeat came on January 6, 2007 at Nebraska 81-72.
►LONG-RANGE ATTACK: WKU sits second in the Sun Belt in three-point shooting at 39.7 percent and as of the latest NCAA rankings (January 4), were 27th in Division I.
►SBC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: Senior guard Orlando Mendez-Valdez earned SBC Player of the Week honors on Monday, January 5 for a tremendous three weeks over the holidays. He became WKU's 44th selection in 26 years in the SBC.
►SUN BELT STREAK SNAPPED: WKU had its eight-game Sun Belt road winning streak snapped at FIU on Thursday night 81-79. The Toppers were approaching second-place on the SBC all-time consecutive road conference wins list of 11 held by New Orleans (1992-1994). South Alabama tops the list at 15 set 28 years ago (1979-81).
►TAKING ON THE BEST WITH SUCCESS: Finishing the 2008-09 non-conference portion of their schedule at 6-5, WKU has had 10-straight winning seasons outside of Sun Belt play.
►MAXIMUM EXPOSURE: The Toppers have twice played on the ESPN family of networks this season and have one more scheduled appearance on ESPN2.
►MAKING IT A HABIT: Even though FIU denied WKU its first 4-0 start in conference play since 2005-06, with a win at Florida Atlantic, the Toppers would start 4-1 in league play for the seventh time in the last nine seasons.
►GETTING DEFENSIVE: The 15 first-half points allowed to UALR on January 3 were the fewest given up by WKU in the opening half in over eight years.
►LOPSIDED RARITY: The 79-47 win by WKU over UALR on January 3 was the second most lopsided decision in the 39-game series history, trailing only the Toppers' 36-point victory in 1993.
►SUN BELT FOES BEWARE: WKU is 150-46 (.765) all-time in Sun Belt games played at Diddle Arena. Even more impressive, the Toppers are 58-5 (.921) since 2000.
►HISTORIC FEAT: Orlando Mendez-Valdez scored 18 points, dished out 12 assists, and grabbed 10 rebounds last Thursday night against Troy for WKU's first known triple double in the program's storied history.
►LENDING A HELPING HAND: Senior guard Orlando Mendez-Valdez has 275 career assists and is now just two behind Kevin Dildy (1979-82) for 10th all-time on the WKU career list.
►RPI WATCH: Updated through Thursday's loss at FIU, WKU is 67th in the latest RPI standings with one of the toughest 50 schedules among all 343 Division I teams. Saturday night's opponent, Florida Atlantic, is rated 277th.
►BURNING UP THE SUN BELT: In its four Sun Belt Conference games, WKU is shooting 53.4 percent from the field including 48.1 percent from long range. The Toppers have shot better than 50.0 percent in three of their four league games thus far.
►TAKING ON THE SUN BELT: WKU is 258-112 (.697) all-time against the 12 current members of the Sun Belt Conference (includes postseason and match-ups when WKU was in the OVC). Since joining the Sun Belt in 1982, the Toppers are 255-151 all-time (.628).
►BOUNCING BACK: The January 8 loss at FIU marked the first time in five tries this season that WKU did not bounce back from a loss with a win.
►LAST MEETING: WKU and Florida Atlantic last met on March 1, 2008 at FAU Arena in Boca Raton, Fla. with the Toppers taking an 88-78 decision in the last game of the regular season. Courtney Lee led the way with 29 points while Tyrone Brazelton added 22 and AJ Slaughter chipped in 15 off the bench on 4-of-5 from deep.
►LAST TIME OUT: WKU found itself in a battle with a game FIU squad on Thursday night, as the Hilltoppers late game rally just ran out of time. Trailing 74-60 with 5:28 to play, the Toppers rattled off 12-straight points to pull within a bucket, but with three possessions to tie or take the lead, WKU came up just short 81-79 as their six-game winning streak against the Panthers was snapped.
►SCORCHING THE NETS: WKU shot 58.0 percent against Troy on January 1 and dished out 25 assists, both season-bests.
►GAINING NOTICE: WKU received one vote in the AP Top 25 poll released December 22, tying for 42nd. It is the second time this year the Toppers have received attention in the national polls. Following their upset win over then third-ranked Louisville, WKU garnered five votes in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll tying for 35th.
►OVER 80: WKU has won 11-straight games when scoring 80 or more points including a 3-0 mark this season.
►STANDARD BEARER: Twenty-five times Sun Belt teams have finished the season ranked in the final national polls (AP, UPI, USA Today). WKU owns 18 of those 25 spots.
►RARE NEW YEAR'S GAME: This January 1 marked just the sixth time in the 90 seasons of WKU basketball that the Hilltoppers have played a game on New Year's Day, improving to 4-2 all-time. The last one was in 2005 when WKU beat Fordham 80-59 in Diddle Arena. Prior to that contest, the Toppers had not played on New Year's Day since 1952.
►GREAT START TO CAREER: Head coach Ken McDonald is off to the best start by a WKU head coach in his first season (through 15 games) since Matt Kilcullen opened 13-2 in 1994-95.
►DAILING LONG DISTANCE: WKU has already connected on 10 or more three-pointers six times through 15 games. By comparison, last season's Sweet 16 team achieved that feat five times in 36 games.
►A FIRST FOR OMV: In addition to setting several new career marks including points with 25 against Florida State on December 28, Orlando Mendez-Valdez led the team in rebounding for the first time in the 104 games of his four-year career.
►HIGH OCTANE: The 99 points scored against Troy on January 1 marked the most WKU has scored this season, and the most the Toppers have put on the board in a regulation game since beating ULM 103-96 on January 31, 2007 at Diddle Arena.
►HELD IN HIGH REGARD: After their impressive 2007-08 campaign that led the WKU Hilltoppers to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Title, a 29-7 record, and a spot in the program's seventh NCAA "Sweet 16", the Toppers finished the year ranked 22nd in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll. It marked the first time a Sun Belt school has ended the year nationally ranked since WKU did it in 1995.
►BLOCK PARTY: Junior forward Jeremy Evans became the sixth player in WKU history to surpass the 100-block plateau earlier this season. With 126 for his career, he is fourth on the all-time list. He needs 34 more to reach Elgrace Wilborn (2005-06) for third place.
►DOUBLING DOWN: WKU has had three or more players in double figures in 11 of its 15 games this season.
►EARLY SEASON SUCCESS: Five times now WKU has opened the conference slate at South Alabama, with the Toppers having won the last four of those meetings (1989, 1993, 1993, 1999, and 2008).
►STREAKING AT DIDDLE: WKU has won 10-straight non-conference games at Diddle Arena, and 17 of their last 18.
►DIDDLE DOMINANCE: Since its doors opened on December 7, 1963, the Hilltoppers are 491-131 all-time at Diddle Arena for a .789 winning percentage. Now in its 46th season, Diddle has witnessed seven undefeated home seasons (1965-66, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1994-95, 2001-02, and 2002-03) and only two losing seasons (1963-64 and 1997-98).
►SUN BELT LIDLIFTERS: WKU is now 13-14 all-time in their Sun Belt Conference openers. Prior to winning their last two, the Toppers had dropped four of their last five SBC lidlifters.
►SUN BELT DEBUTS: Ken McDonald becomes just the third of seven WKU coaches to win their first Sun Belt Conference game (Murray Arnold and Dennis Felton).
►POWER OUTAGE: The 40 points scored in the December 13 loss at Evansville was the fewest since a 38-20 win over EKU on February 16, 1960.
►SHOOTING THE LIGHTS OUT: Connecting on 29-of-51 field goal attempts at Tulane, WKU shot 56.9 percent for the game, their best such effort away from Diddle Arena in over a year. The Toppers shot 57.4 percent (31-of-54) on November 24, 2007 in knocking off Michigan 73-69 in the Great Alaskan Shootout.
►SLAUGHTER'S START: Junior guard AJ Slaughter reached double figures in his first five games played this season. After a bump in the road at Evansville, he has a string of seven-straight double figure scoring performances going, the longest such stretch of his three-year career.
►KATZ' PRAISE: In his weekly column on ESPN.com last month, senior basketball writer Andy Katz spoke highly of WKU, stating, "The Hilltoppers had a banner week and were just edged out by Ohio State for team of the week honors. WKU beat Louisville on Nov. 30 in Nashville, then followed that up with a home win over Georgia and a road win at Tulane. With the rsum they're building, an at-large berth is within reach for the Hilltoppers if they can finish first or second in the Sun Belt."
►SBC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior AJ Slaughter was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on December 2. Slaughter averaged 17.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in wins over Southern Illinois and #3 Louisville. He became the first WKU player other than Courtney Lee to win the award since 2006.
►HISTORIC WIN: The November 30 68-54 win over #3 Louisville was the first for WKU over a top three opponent in 41 years. The Toppers beat #3 Indiana 110-98 on Dec. 28, 1967.
►PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARDS: In the Toppers' 26 years of Sun Belt Conference affiliation, WKU has won 44 Player of the Week awards including two this season (Slaughter and Mendez-Valdez).
►GIANT KILLERS: WKU has a history of knocking off the nation's elite. With the Toppers' 68-54 win over #3 Louisville on November 30, WKU now has 13 wins over top 10 teams dating back to 1949 (the beginning of the AP poll). Those wins include: #8 Tulsa (1952), #2 San Francisco (1956), #3 Indiana (1967), #4 Jacksonville (1970), #9 Jacksonville (1971), #8 Kentucky (1971), #10 Ohio State (1971), #4 Kansas (1971), #6 Providence (1973), #7 LaSalle (1975), #6 Seton Hall (1993), #4 Kentucky (2001), and #3 Louisville (2008).
►GREATEST REGULAR SEASON STRETCH EVER?: According to one long-time WKU basketball historian, the Toppers three-straight wins over Southern Illinois, Louisville, and Georgia are matched only by a three-game stretch from Dec. 3-10, 1973 in which WKU beat Arkansas, Baylor, and #6 Providence.
►FILING THROUGH THE TURNSTILES: On December 2, 7,086 fans came through the turnstiles in the game against Georgia. It marked the second largest home crowd in two seasons, trailing only the February match-up with South Alabama last season. Averaging 4,763 through six home games, the Toppers are leading the Sun Belt Conference in attendance.
►QUICK START: For the fifth consecutive year, WKU has finished the opening month of college basketball--the month of November--with a winning record. Not since an 0-3 start to the 2003-04 season have the Hilltoppers entered December below .500. The 4-2 December was also the best since 2004-05.
►TAKING ON THE SEC: WKU is 23-30 (.434) all-time against the 12 current members of the Southeastern Conference, including a 1-1 mark this season.
►STATEMENT ROAD WINS: WKU is 9-16 all-time on the road against the current 12 members of the SEC. Three of those wins, Kentucky (2001), Georgia (2004), and Georgia (2006), have come in the last eight seasons.
►TAKING ON THE ACC: WKU is 17-21 (.447) all-time against the 13 current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. In the last 26 years, the Toppers own wins over Boston College (1982), Virginia Tech (1983), NC State (1991), and Virginia (2006).
►TAKING ON THE SWAC: WKU is 9-0 (1.000) all-time against the 10 current members of the Southwest Athletic Conference.
►TAKING ON THE VALLEY: WKU is 62-36 (.633) all-time against the 10 current members of the Missouri Valley Conference with a 1-1 record this season.
►TAKING ON CONFERENCE USA: WKU is 46-36 (.561) all-time against the 12 current members of Conference USA.
►TAKING ON THE OVC: WKU is 414-158 (.724) all-time against the 10 current members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
►HISTORIC HOME WIN: The December 2 win over Georgia was the first victory over an SEC foe in Diddle Arena since 1985. In the 46-year history of the facility, WKU has six home wins over SEC foes: Georgia (2008), Auburn (1985), South Carolina (1980), Arkansas (1974), Vanderbilt (1946), and Mississippi State (1941). WKU is now 1-3 at home against Georgia all-time.
►PITINO'S PRAISE: Comments posted by Louisville's head coach Rick Pitino on his web site on Monday, December 1 chastised his team for their performance in the loss to WKU, but heaped praise for the effort and skill showcased by junior AJ Slaughter and sophomore forward Steffphon Pettigrew.
►RECORD VS. THE RANKED: WKU is now 33-84 all-time versus ranked opponents including a 2-3 mark over the past two seasons.
►RECORD VS. RANKED CARDS: In the 72 meetings between WKU and Louisville, the Cardinals have been ranked 12 of those clashes. The Toppers are 5-7 in those games, winning the last two including the November 30th 68-54 win.
►LAST WIN VS. TOP 5: Prior to the November 30th upset, the Hilltoppers last victory over a top five team came on November 15, 2001, 64-52 over #4 Kentucky in Rupp Arena.
►TAKING ON THE BIG EAST: WKU is 78-77 (.503) all-time against the 16 current members of the Big East Conference.
►BIG SHOES TO FILL: With the graduation of several keys players off last year's NCAA Sweet 16 team, WKU lost 60.6 percent of its total points, 59.8 percent of its total assists, and 40.5 percent of its total rebounds.
►McDONALD'S FIRST WIN: New head coach Ken McDonald picked up his first victory as a head coach on Nov. 18, beating Campbellsville 62-48 at Diddle Arena.
►OUTSIDE EXPERIENCE: With his three-pointer at the 14:21 mark of the first-half against Campbellsville, Orlando Mendez-Valdez recorded his 100th career triple. For perspective, the other 13 players on the WKU roster had combined for 81 three-pointers in their careers to that point.
►WINNING HIS HOME DEBUT: When head coach Ken McDonald notched a 62-48 win over Campbellsville in the Hilltoppers home opener, he became the first WKU coach to record a victory in his home debut since Matt Kilcullen in 1994. Darrin Horn, Dennis Felton, Gene Keady, Jim Richards, and John Oldham all lost their first game at Diddle.
►PLAYING BEFORE THE HOME CROWD: WKU holds an all-time mark of 73-17 in home openers, an impressive .811 winning percentage.
►GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START: In their 90 season openers, the Hilltoppers are 64-26 for a .711 winning percentage. WKU had won its last four season lidlifters before the Nov. 15 setback at Houston.
►DECADE OF DOMINANCE: WKU has had at least one player on the Sun Belt All-Conference team since 1999-2000, totalling 14 in the past nine seasons.
►BEST OF THE BEST: Of the Sun Belt Conference's highest individual awards, WKU has had five Players-of-the-Year and four Defensive Players-of-the-Year, tied for the most and the most respectively.
►AND THE ESPY GOES TO...: Ty Rogers, whose game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer in overtime gave WKU a 101-99 win over Drake in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, earned the ESPY Award for "Best Finish." Rogers was presented the trophy by WKU President Dr. Gary Ransdell in September at the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce Breakfast.
►ROAD OPENERS: This year marked just the 35th time in 90 seasons that WKU has opened its basketball season on the road. The Hilltoppers are 16-19 in those contests.
►COACHING DEBUT: Ken McDonald tried to become only the third coach since E.A. Diddle to win his debut at WKU, and the first since Murray Arnold in 1986. Since Arnold's 80-63 win over Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., Ralph Williard, Matt Kilcullen, Dennis Felton, and Darrin Horn all dropped their first games at the helm of the Hilltopper program.
►KEN McDONALD SHOW: The Ken McDonald Show airs each Monday from 7-8 PM, originating at Double Dogs on Scottsville Road and airing on 100.7 FM WKLX.
►HILLTOPPER BASKETALL TO HAVE OVER 90 PERCENT OF GAMES ON TELEVISION: Coming off their 2008 NCAA "Sweet 16" run, the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers, under first-year head coach Ken McDonald, will have 27 of their 29 games in 2008-09 on television. Highlighting the coverage are eight games broadcast on outside networks including a pair on the ESPN family of channels.
►PRESEASON SBC: At the 2008-09 Sun Belt Conference Basketball Media Days in Hot Springs, Ark., WKU juniors Jeremy Evans and AJ Slaughter were named preseason SBC All-Conference. Evans was named to the SBC Second-Team while Slaughter was a Third-Team honoree.
