Hilltoppers Host Marshall on Saturday in Second Straight Sellout

WKU Game Notes | Marshall Game Notes

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Sitting a half-game back of the Conference USA lead, WKU Hilltopper Basketball hosts Marshall at 6 p.m. CT Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

The arena is sold out ahead of tip-off for the second straight game, as WKU will look for consecutive announced attendance numbers of capacity or higher for the first time since 2006.

The Hilltoppers are coming off a 66-62 home loss to Middle Tennessee in front of an over-capacity crowd of 7,759. WKU has already played Marshall (5-2 in C-USA) once this season, a 112-87 victory on Jan. 6 in Huntington, W.Va.

Marshall most recently beat C-USA preseason favorites UAB and Middle Tennessee at home.

WKU leads the all-time series 14-10, and Rick Stansbury is 1-2 all-time against the Herd.

GAME 21

Marshall (14-6, 5-2 C-USA) at WKU (14-6, 6-1 C-USA)
January 27, 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) (Roger Twibell, pxp | Tim Scarborough, analysis); WKU PBS
Live Stats: WKU Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• WKU is 19-6 (.760) at E.A. Diddle Arena under head coach Rick Stansbury. The Hilltoppers are 592-168 all-time at Diddle Arena for a .778 winning percentage.
• WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 958 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 78.1 points per game would be the program's highest since 2006-07.
• WKU ranks 19th in the country in field goal percentage and second in Conference USA at 49.6 percent. That percentage would rank eighth for a single season in program history.
• WKU ranks 50th in the country in 3-point percentage and first in Conference USA at 38.3 percent. That percentage would rank fifth for a single season in program history.
• WKU has outscored its opponents 816-596 in the paint this season.
• The Hilltoppers' six losses have come by a total of 26 points – an average of 4.3 points per game.
• Dwight Coleby leads C-USA in field-goal percentage in league play at 61.7 percent and is third in free-throw percentage in league play at 87.2 percent (34 of 39).
• In his last 17 games, Darius Thompson has 89 combined assists and just 30 turnovers. He has at least four assists in 16 of 20 games this season and ranks second in C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.7-to-1.
• Through 20 games, Lamonte Bearden has 34 steals. No Hilltopper had more than 28 steals all last year.
• Lamonte Bearden is 84 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 12th in career double-doubles. He's one of just three active NCAA players with at least 1,400 career points and 875 rebounds.
• Justin Johnson is ranked 17th on WKU's all-time scoring list with 1,401 career points. He needs 110 points to pass Art Spoelstra to move into 16th.
• Justin Johnson ranks 10th on WKU's all-time rebounding list with 882 career boards. He needs seven 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 118 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

• Coaches vs. Cancer
• Big Red's Rascals

LAST GAME AGAINST MARSHALL: JANUARY 6, 2018

WKU's Darius Thompson recorded the second triple-double in program history, and the Tops scored their most points since 1994 in a 112-87 rout at Marshall. Thompson finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

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 Host Marshall on Saturday in Second Straight Sellout

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lamonte Bearden

Dwight Coleby

Justin Johnson

Darius Thompson

Hilltoppers Host Marshall on Saturday in Second Straight Sellout

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lamonte Bearden

Dwight Coleby

Justin Johnson

Darius Thompson

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