Hilltoppers to Host Rival Middle Tennessee at Sold-Out Diddle Arena

WKU Game Notes | Middle Tennessee Game Notes

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Conference USA-leading WKU Hilltopper Basketball welcomes Middle Tennessee for a huge league matchup at 6 p.m. CT Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

The Hilltoppers are 6-0 in league play and anticipating a sellout crowd. Middle Tennessee, the two-time defending C-USA champion, is 5-1 in conference action after falling at Marshall on Thursday.

WKU leads the all-time series – which dates back to the 1914-15 season – 93-41, but MTSU has won 11 of the last 13. WKU head coach Rick Stansbury is 0-2 all-time against the Blue Raiders.

GAME 20

Middle Tennessee (13-5, 5-1 C-USA) at WKU (14-5, 6-0 C-USA)
January 20, 2018 | 6 p.m. CT
Bowling Green, Ky. | E.A. Diddle Arena

BROADCAST

Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship), WKUSports.tv (free), TuneIn Radio (free) (Randy Lee, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: Stadium (online streaming), WKU PBS
Live Stats: WKU Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• WKU is 19-5 (.792) at E.A. Diddle Arena under head coach Rick Stansbury. The Hilltoppers are 592-168 all-time at Diddle Arena for a .779 winning percentage.
• WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 957 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 sixth-longest in the nation behind Kentucky, UNLV, Vanderbilt, Duke and Arkansas.
• WKU's current scoring average of 78.9 points per game would be the program's highest since 1994-95.
• WKU ranks 18th in the country in field goal percentage and first in Conference USA at 49.8 percent. That percentage would rank eighth for a single season in program history.
• WKU ranks 37th in the country in 3-point percentage and first in Conference USA at 39.2 percent. That percentage would rank fourth for a single season in program history.
• WKU has outscored its opponents 788-564 in the paint this season.
• The Hilltoppers' five losses have come by a total of 22 points – an average of 4.4 points per game.
• Dwight Coleby is tied for the C-USA lead for free-throw percentage in league play at 90 percent (27 of 30).
• In his last 16 games, Darius Thompson has 86 combined assists and just 29 turnovers. He has at least four assists in 16 of 19 games this season and ranks second in C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.7-to-1.
• Darius Thompson ranks 28th in the country in minutes per game (36.4) and 43rd in total minutes (691).
• Through 19 games, Lamonte Bearden has 32 steals. No Hilltopper had more than 28 steals all last year.
• Lamonte Bearden is 91 points from reaching 1,000 for his career across his time at Buffalo and WKU.
• As of Friday, Justin Johnson was ranked ninth among active NCAA players for career rebounds and tied for 11th in career double-doubles. He's one of just seven active NCAA players with at least 1,300 career points and 800 rebounds.
• Justin Johnson is ranked 17th on WKU's all-time scoring list with 1,386 career points. He needs 125 points to pass Art Spoelstra to move into 16th.
• Justin Johnson ranks 10th on WKU's all-time rebounding list with 873 career boards. He needs 16 rebounds to pass Dan King to move into ninth. He's one of six Hilltoppers in program history ranked in the top 20 in scoring and the top 10 in rebounding.
• Justin Johnson currently ranks eighth on WKU's all-time list for career field goal percentage at 54.7 percent. He's just over one percentage point from fifth place.
• Justin Johnson needs 127 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.

TICKETS

WKU Ticket Office: Online at WKUTickets.com, in person at E.A. Diddle Arena, via phone at 1-800-5-BIG Red or 745-5222 locally.

PROMOTIONS

• Red Out: First 1,000 fans receive a free WKU T-shirt
• X Pogo Halftime Show

LAST GAME AGAINST MIDDLE TENNESSEE: FEBRUARY 16, 2017

JaCorey Williams and Reggie Upshaw each had double-doubles for the Blue Raiders as Middle Tennessee rolled to a 78-52 victory over WKU at E.A. Diddle Arena. Pancake Thomas scored 12 points to lead the Hilltoppers.

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.

Hilltoppers to Host Rival Middle Tennessee at Sold-Out Diddle Arena

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lamonte Bearden

Dwight Coleby

Justin Johnson

Pancake Thomas

Darius Thompson

Hilltoppers to Host Rival Middle Tennessee at Sold-Out Diddle Arena

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lamonte Bearden

Dwight Coleby

Justin Johnson

Pancake Thomas

Darius Thompson

Related Videos