Hilltoppers Look for Fifth Straight Road Win at UTEP

WKU Game Notes | UTEP Game Notes | Conference USA Notes

EL PASO, Texas — WKU Hilltopper Basketball begins a stretch of 6 of 10 games on the road to end the regular season at UTEP at 9 p.m. CT Thursday in El Paso, Texas.

The Hilltoppers are a half-game back of the C-USA lead after beating Marshall 85-74 at home Saturday.

UTEP has lost three straight games, all on the road. WKU leads the all-time series against UTEP 3-1, but lost the only meeting in El Paso in overtime in 2016 in a game celebrating UTEP's 1966 national championship.

WKU head coach Rick Stansbury is 1-0 all-time in his career against the Miners.

GAME 22

WKU (15-6, 7-1 C-USA) at UTEP (7-14, 2-7 C-USA)
February 1, 2018 | 9 p.m. CT
El Paso, Texas | Don Haskins 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: CBS Sports Network (John Sadak, pxp | Tim Doyle, analysis)
Live Stats: UTEP Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• WKU has won four straight road games, including three straight in C-USA play. The Hilltoppers haven't won four straight conference road games since 2013-14.
• WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 959 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 78.4 points per game would be the program's highest since 1994-95.
• WKU ranks 19th in the country in field goal percentage and second in Conference USA at 49.5 percent. That percentage would rank eighth for a single season in program history.
• WKU ranks 53rd in the country in 3-point percentage and second in Conference USA at 38.3 percent. That percentage would rank fifth for a single season in program history.
• WKU has outscored its opponents 862-622 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 ranks second in C-USA in field-goal percentage in league play at 60 percent and is fifth in free-throw percentage in league play at 85.7 percent (42 of 49).
• In his last 18 games, Darius Thompson has 92 combined assists and just 31 turnovers. He has at least four assists in 16 of 21 games this season and ranks second in C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.7-to-1.
• Through 21 games, Lamonte Bearden has 35 steals. No Hilltopper had more than 28 steals all last year.
• Lamonte Bearden is 76 points from reaching 1,000 for his career across his time at Buffalo and WKU.
• As of Tuesday, Justin Johnson was ranked ninth among active NCAA players for career rebounds and tied for 13th in career double-doubles. He's one of just four 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 1,409 career points. He needs 102 points to pass Art Spoelstra to move into 16th.
• Justin Johnson is tied with George Fant for eighth on WKU's all-time rebounding list with 894 career boards. He needs 31 rebounds to pass Harry Todd for seventh. Johnson is 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 54.5 percent. He's just over one percentage point from fifth place.
• Justin Johnson needs 106 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 UTEP: JANUARY 26, 2017

Pancake Thomas scored 25 points, Justin Johnson had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and WKU held off UTEP with a 65-62 win at E.A. Diddle Arena. Thomas hit 7 of 10 3-pointers in the game, including his first five.

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

Pancake Thomas

Darius Thompson