WKU Notes | Washington Notes | Conference USA Notes
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- WKU Hilltopper Basketball begins a stretch of seven straight games away from home with a matchup against Washington at 7 p.m. CT Friday in the Global Sports Classic at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The Hilltoppers (3-1) are coming off a 77-56 home win over North Carolina A&T on Tuesday, highlighted by making 31 of 37 free throws. Graduate senior Que Johnson, a Washington State transfer, has averaged 12.5 points per game in six previous matchups against Washington.
Washington (3-1) most recently defeated Long Beach State 94-88 at home Tuesday. The Huskies feature star freshman guard Markelle Fultz, a top pro prospect who's averaging 25.5 points per game.
WKU is facing a first-time opponent for the second straight outing. Stansbury is 0-1 all-time against Washington. The Hilltoppers are 4-4 all-time against the current Pac-12 Conference alignment. They most recently faced UCLA in the 2008 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, and they most recently beat USC on Dec. 6, 1986.
GAME 5
WKU (3-1) vs. Washington (3-1)
November 25, 2016 | 7 p.m. (CT)
Las Vegas, Nev. | Thomas & Mack Center (19,522)
BROADCAST
Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship), TuneIn Radio (free) (Jeff Younglove, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: Campus Insiders (free online stream), via website and Twitter
Live Stats: Gametracker
QUICK SHOTS
• Starting this week, WKU will not play at home for almost a full calendar month. The Hilltoppers play seven straight games on the road or at neutral sites before returning to host Ohio on Dec. 21.
• WKU will travel more than 10,000 miles and play in six different states and three time zones on the road swing.
• This is the most consecutive games away from home for the Hilltoppers since 2007-08, when they played eight in a row away from the end of the regular season to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
• This is the most consecutive regular season games away from home since playing seven straight away from Diddle Arena in the 2002-03 season.
• WKU will go 29 days between home games, the most since going 42 days between home contests from Dec. 11, 1999, to Jan. 22, 2000.
• The Hilltoppers started guards Junior Lomomba, Pancake Thomas and Que Johnson alongside forwards Justin Johnson and Ben Lawson in each of their first four games.
• WKU is tied for 29th in the country in 3-point percentage (.418) and 26th in free-throw percentage (.769).
• WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 910 consecutive games, dating back to March 15, 1987. The 3-point shot was instituted prior to the 1986-87 season.
• Junior Justin Johnson has made 5 of 10 shots from 3-point range this year after netting just one 3-pointer over his first two seasons.
• Graduate senior Pancake Thomas and graduate senior Junior Lomomba are a combined 31 of 33 from the free-throw line. WKU's guards are a combined 45 of 51 (.882) from the charity stripe.
• WKU has made significantly more free throws (75) than its opponents have attempted (34). The Hilltoppers 31 makes vs. North Carolina A&T were their most since netting 33 vs. Ball State on Feb. 22, 2003.
• Pancake Thomas played in his 100th career game at Belmont. Junior Lomomba (95) and graduate senior Que Johnson (97) are also nearing the 100-game milestone.
• Justin Johnson needs 289 points this season to become the 49th player in Hilltopper Basketball history to score 1,000 career points.
• Graduate senior Que Johnson needs 103 points to reach 1,000 for his career across his time at Washington State and WKU. Pancake Thomas needs 213 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 136 career blocked shots. His 66 blocks in 2015-16 were the seventh-most in a season in Hilltopper history.
• Head coach Rick Stansbury needs four more wins to reach 300 victories for his career.
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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