Tops Welcome UT Martin to Diddle Arena in Home Opener

WKU Game Notes | UT Martin Game Notes

Stansbury Video Interview | Savage/Horton Video Interview

THE TIP-OFF

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball plays its home opener against UT Martin at 6 p.m. CT Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena. The game will air on ESPN3, as well as locally in Bowling Green on WKU-PBS and in Louisville on WBNA.

The Hilltoppers opened the season with a 73-55 loss at No. 25/24 Washington, in which WKU led by nine at half.

UT Martin began its season Tuesday with a 91-58 victory over Cumberland (Tenn.). This will be the first meeting between WKU and UT Martin since 1998. The Hilltoppers lead the all-time series 2-1. WKU head coach Rick Stansbury is 4-0 in his career against the Skyhawks.

GAME 2

UT Martin (1-0) at WKU (0-1)
November 10, 2018 | 6 p.m. CT
E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Ky.

BROADCAST

Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship), WKUSports.tv (free), TuneIn Radio (Jeff Younglove, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: ESPN3, WKU-PBS (BG), WBNA (Louisville); (Graham Doty, Paul Roper (broadcast team)
Live Stats: WKU Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• WKU has won 12 of its last 14 home openers and is 80-19 all-time in the season's first home game. The Hilltoppers had won three home openers in a row until falling to Missouri State last season.
• WKU is 25-6 (.806) at E.A. Diddle Arena under head coach Rick Stansbury, including 11-2 against non-conference opponents. The Tops are 598-169 all-time at Diddle Arena for a .780 winning percentage.
• E.A. Diddle Arena is sold out of general season tickets in the preseason for what's believed to be the first time since the venue opened in 1963. A handful of premium season tickets remain.
• The Hilltoppers are tied with Arkansas for the fourth-longest streak in the nation of consecutive games with a made 3-pointer at 977. Only UNLV (1,039), Vanderbilt (1,031) and Duke (1,021) have longer streaks.
• WKU has played 33 straight games with at least one player scoring 15-plus points.
• 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.
• WKU's Taveion Hollingsworth and Jared Savage each played a full 40 minutes at Washington on Nov. 6. It's the first time two Hilltoppers have each played a full game in the same contest since Roland Shelton and Brett McNeal did against San Diego on Jan. 5, 1989.
• WKU freshman center Charles Bassey scored 11 points with 12 rebounds in his college debut at Washington on Nov. 6. His 12 rebounds were the most by a Hilltopper freshman in a season opener since Lloyd Terry also grabbed 12 against Little Rock in the 1975-76 opener, which was also the last time a WKU freshman had a double-double in the season opener. Bassey's 12 boards were the most overall in a game by a WKU freshman since Derrick Gordon pulled down 15 vs. Little Rock on March 4, 2012.

TICKETS

WKU Ticket Office: The WKU Ticket Office will not be open on gameday for any games this season. Limited premium season tickets and single-game tickets remain for UT Martin.

PROMOTIONS

• Third piece of 16-piece 100th season commemorative poster (Patrick Murphy/Tellis Frank) for first 3,000 fans

LAST GAME AGAINST UT MARTIN: JANUARY 26, 1998

Steven Bides had 26 points and nine rebounds to lead the Hilltoppers in a 70-67 loss at UT Martin. The SkyHawks shot nearly 56 percent from the field, and Melvin Adams was the only other WKU player in double figures scoring with 13 points.

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

Patrick Murphy

Jared Savage