Hilltoppers Open Regular Season at Top-25 Washington

WKU Game Notes | Washington Game Notes

THE TIP-OFF

WKU Hilltopper Basketball officially begins its 2018-19 season on the road at No. 25/24 Washington at 9:30 p.m. CT Tuesday in Seattle, Wash. The game will air on ESPNU.

The Hilltoppers completed the preseason with tune-up victories over Campbellsville (91-66) and Kentucky Wesleyan (96-71) in exhibition play.

Washington returns nine lettermen and five starters from a team that won 21 games last year and advanced in the NIT. The Huskies defeated Seattle Pacific 70-61 in an exhibition on Thursday and routed preseason top-10 Nevada 91-73 in a charity exhibition earlier in the month.

GAME 1

WKU (0-0) at No. 25/24 Washington (0-0)
November 6, 2018 | 9:30 p.m. CT
Alaska Airlines Arena | Seattle, Wash.

BROADCAST

Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship), WKUSports.tv (free), TuneIn Radio (Paul Roper, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: ESPNU (Eric Rothman, pxp | Corey Williams, analysis)
Live Stats: Washington Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• WKU is 68-31 all-time in season openers. This is the first time the Hilltoppers have opened on the road since starting the 2013-14 campaign at No. 16 Wichita State.
• WKU is 32-98 all-time against ranked opponents, including 8-39 on the road. The Hilltoppers played two ranked teams last season, Purdue and Middle Tennessee, knocking off the Boilermakers in the Bahamas.
• The Hilltoppers' last road win against a ranked opponent was at No. 4 Kentucky on Nov. 15, 2001.
• WKU is 4-6 all-time against the current Pac-12 membership, while head coach Rick Stansbury is 6-7 against current Pac-12 schools. WKU's win at USC in last year's NIT was the program's first-ever road win against a Pac-12 foe, and its first win against a Pac-12 team overall since beating USC at home in 1986.
• The Hilltoppers are tied with Arkansas for the fourth-longest streak in the nation of consecutive games with a made 3-pointer at 976. Only UNLV (1,039), Vanderbilt (1,031) and Duke (1,021) have longer streaks.
• 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.
• Sophomore guard Taveion Hollingsworth is the team's leading returning scorer at 13.3 points per game. 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.

LAST GAME AGAINST WASHINGTON: NOVEMBER 25, 2016

WKU held Washington close throughout the first half, but the Hilltoppers allowed their opponent to pull away late in an 86-47 defeat at the Global Sports Classic in Las Vegas. Que Johnson led WKU with 12 points and five rebounds, and Anton Waters had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

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

Que Johnson

Anton Waters