Hilltoppers Open Myrtle Beach Invitational Against Valpo

WKU Game Notes | Valparaiso Game Notes

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball opens play in the Myrtle Beach Invitational against Valparaiso at 4 p.m. CT Thursday on the campus of Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

The Hilltoppers most recently defeated UT Martin 86-71 on Saturday in their home opener at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Valparaiso opened its season with a 121-65 victory over Concordia Chicago on Nov. 6. The Crusaders will have been off for nine days between games. WKU and Valpo have never met before, while head coach Rick Stansbury is 0-1 in his career against the Crusaders.

GAME 3

Myrtle Beach Invitational First Round
Valparaiso (1-0) vs. WKU (1-1)
November 15, 2018 | 4 p.m. CT
HTC Center | Conway, S.C.

BROADCAST

Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship), WKUSports.tv (free), TuneIn Radio (Jeff Younglove, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: ESPNU (Rich Hollenberg, pxp | Debbie Antonelli, analysis)
Live Stats: Myrtle Beach Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• WKU went 4-3 last season in neutral-site games, including two regular-season victories over top-25 Purdue and SMU at the 2017 Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.
• WKU is averaging 6.5 blocks per game through two contests. The Hilltoppers' highest final season blocks average since 1986 is 5.0 per game.
• The Hilltoppers have made a 3-pointer in 978 straight games dating back to March 13, 1987. WKU entered the season tied with Arkansas for the fourth-longest streak in the nation of consecutive games with a made 3. Only UNLV (1,039), Vanderbilt (1,031) and Duke (1,021) had longer streaks to start the year.
• WKU was one of four schools in the nation – along with Kansas, Syracuse and Texas A&M – with wins over teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 last season. The Hilltoppers were the only school outside the Power 5 to accomplish the feat.
• WKU finished the 2017-18 season with an official RPI of 32 – its highest since the 2007-08 season, when the Hilltoppers also finished 32nd. The program had not had a higher final RPI since 1994-95.
• The Hilltoppers are 37-1 under head coach Rick Stansbury when leading with five minutes to play.
• Sophomore Taveion Hollingsworth has scored at least 10 points in 28 of his 40 career games. He's scored at least 20 points in nine of those outings, including a 22-point showing against UT Martin on Nov. 10.
• Last season, Taveion Hollingsworth was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team and set new Hilltopper records in 2017-18 for most points scored (506), minutes played (1,312) and games started (38) by a freshman. He and graduate senior Desean Murray were named to the Preseason All-C-USA Team.
• Not only is freshman center Charles Bassey the highest-rated recruit to play for WKU in several decades, he's also one of the top-five youngest players in college basketball this season.
• After just two college games, Charles Bassey needs just seven blocks to reach WKU's all-time top 10 list for most blocks in a season by a freshman.

LAST GAME AGAINST VALPARAISO

First meeting

MED CENTER HEALTH

The 2018-19 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

Charles Bassey

Taveion Hollingsworth