BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — After starting the Rick Stansbury era with two home victories, WKU Hilltopper Basketball hits the road for the first time this season with a trip to Belmont at 7 p.m. CT Saturday at Curb Event Center in Nashville.
The Hilltoppers are coming off a 74-67 win over Jacksonville State on Wednesday at E.A. Diddle Arena. Justin Johnson tallied his 11th career double-double for WKU in the victory, while Pancake Thomas and Que Johnson each chipped in 14 points.
Belmont got a late start to its season with an 80-66 loss Tuesday at Vanderbilt. The Bruins (0-1) struggled mightily from 3-point range in the defeat after ranking fourth nationally in 3-point field goals per game last season. Forward Evan Bradds led Belmont with 19 points in the opening loss.
WKU is 4-4 all-time against the Bruins but has lost three straight, including a 90-85 loss last season in Nashville. The Hilltoppers haven't defeated Belmont in Nashville since the first meeting in 1953. Stansbury is 1-0 all-time against the Bruins.
GAME 3
WKU (2-0) at Belmont (0-1)
November 19, 2016 | 7 p.m. (CT)
Nashville, Tenn. | Curb Event Center (5,000)
BROADCAST
Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship), TuneIn Radio (free) (Randy Lee, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: OVC Digital Network (free online)
Live Stats: Belmont Stats
QUICK SHOTS
• WKU has started 2-0 for the first time since the 2010-11 season. The Hilltoppers will try to improve to 3-0 for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
• Rick Stansbury is the first Hilltopper coach to start his first season 2-0 since Murray Arnold in the 1986-87 campaign, and just the third since 1922, joining Arnold and E.A. Diddle.
• WKU is 51-15 (.773) at E.A. Diddle Arena over the last four-plus seasons after going 27-17 (.614) in the three seasons prior. The Hilltoppers are 575-162 all-time at Diddle Arena for a .780 winning percentage.
• WKU has made 9 of 18 shots from long range in both of its first two games and is tied for sixth in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 50 percent.
• WKU is allowing 66.5 points per game and 38.1 percent shooting from the field through its first two games, which ranked second and third, respectively, in Conference USA as of Friday.
• Graduate senior Pancake Thomas has scored all of his 29 total points through two games this season in the second half.
• Pancake Thomas and graduate senior Junior Lomomba are a combined 21 of 21 from the free-throw line. Graduate senior Que Johnson is the only WKU guard who has missed a free throw.
• Junior Justin Johnson needs 318 points this season to become the 49th player in Hilltopper Basketball history to score 1,000 career points.
• Graduate senior Que Johnson needs 135 points to reach 1,000 for his career across his time at Washington State and WKU. Pancake Thomas needs 234 points to reach 1,000 for his career across his time at New Mexico, Hartford and WKU.
• Senior Ben Lawson ranks fifth in WKU history with 131 career blocked shots. His 66 blocks in 2015-16 were the seventh-most in a season in Hilltopper history. Lawson joins Jeremy Evans, Elgrace Wilborn and Chris Marcus as Hilltoppers with at least 50 blocks in multiple seasons.
• Head coach Rick Stansbury needs five more wins to reach 300 victories for his career.
• WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 908 consecutive games, dating back to March 15, 1987. The 3-point shot was instituted prior to the 1986-87 season.
• The Hilltoppers have drawn at least 4,149 fans in each of their first two home games. They drew a larger crowd just three times all of last season.
MED CENTER HEALTH
The 2016-17 WKU Basketball season is presented by Med Center Health. With The Medical Center at its core, Med Center Health has served Southcentral Kentucky for 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.
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