Hilltoppers Visit Ohio on Sunday in First True Road Game

WKU Game Notes | Ohio Game Notes

ATHENS, Ohio — WKU Hilltopper Basketball, on a four-game winning streak and receiving votes in the AP Top 25 Poll, hits the road to face Ohio at 1 p.m. CT Sunday in Athens, Ohio.

This is the Hilltoppers' first true road game of the season, and the program's latest first true road game of the year since the 1985-86 campaign.

Ohio is 4-4 after Thursday's 87-62 loss at Maryland. WKU leads the all-time series 4-1, including last year's 67-66 victory in Bowling Green.

Hilltopper head coach Rick Stansbury is 1-0 in his career against the Bobcats.

GAME 9

WKU (6-2) at Ohio (4-4)
December 10, 2017 | 1 p.m. CT
Athens, Ohio | Convocation Center

BROADCAST

Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship), WKUSports.tv (free), TuneIn Radio (free) (Randy Lee, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: ESPN3 (Marty Bannister, pxp | Toni Roesch, analysis)
Live Stats: Ohio Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• With two points in this week's AP Top 25 Poll, WKU is receiving votes in a national poll for the first time since Nov. 13, 2009, when it received votes in the AP Preseason Top 25. The Hilltoppers are also ranked 32nd in the NCAA's official RPI released this week.
• WKU is trying to win five straight nonconference games for the first time since the start of 2004-05. The Hilltoppers haven't won three straight games away from Diddle Arena since the 2014-15 season.
• WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 946 consecutive games, dating back to March 15, 1987. The 3-point shot was instituted prior to the 1986-87 season. The Hilltoppers' streak is the fifth-longest in the nation behind Kentucky, UNLV, Vanderbilt and Arkansas.
• Six of WKU's seven scholarship players are averaging in double figures, between 10 and 14 points.
• The Hilltoppers have made 118 of 170 free throws through seven games, while their opponents have made just 67 of 95.
• In his last two games, Darius Thompson has a combined 14 assists and zero turnovers. In his last five games, he has 25 combined assists and just three turnovers.
• WKU ranks 21st in the country in 3-point percentage at 41.9 percent. Jake Ohmer has made 16 of 34 shots from long range to start his career and is 12 of 19 from deep (63.2 percent) in his last five games.
• WKU ranks 39th in the nation and first in C-USA in turnovers forced at 16.9 per game, despite ranking fifth in the nation in personal fouls. Lamonte Bearden ranks 35th in the country and second in C-USA with 2.3 steals per game. Bearden has 18 total steals after no WKU player had more than 28 steals all last season.
• Coming into the week, WKU was one of seven programs with two players – Dwight Coleby (4) and Justin Johnson (3) – who had at least three double-doubles each.
• As of Friday, Justin Johnson ranked 10th among active NCAA players for career rebounds and tied for ninth in career double-doubles. He's one of just nine active NCAA players with at least 1,000 career points and 750 rebounds.
• Justin Johnson is 29th on WKU's all-time scoring list with 1,209 career points. He needs 13 points to pass Bobby Jones and Forest "Frosty" Able to move into 27th.
• Justin Johnson currently ranks ninth on WKU's all-time list for career field goal percentage at 54.1 percent. He's just over two percentage points from fifth place.
• Justin Johnson needs 229 rebounds to reach 1,000 for his career. That would make him just the fifth player in WKU history with 1,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds, joining Tom Marshall, Art Spoelstra, Ralph Crosthwaite and Jim McDaniels, the last to accomplish the feat in 1971.

LAST GAME AGAINST OHIO: DECEMBER 21, 2016

Justin Johnson and Pancake Thomas each scored 15 points, and Damari Parris' free throw with two seconds left lifted WKU over Ohio 67-66 at E.A. Diddle Arena. The Hilltoppers hadn't played a home game since Nov. 22.

MED CENTER HEALTH

The 2017-18 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.

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Players Mentioned

Lamonte Bearden

Dwight Coleby

Justin Johnson

Jake Ohmer

Damari Parris

Pancake Thomas

Darius Thompson