Tops Begin Final Homestand Against Charlotte on Thursday

WKU Game Notes | Charlotte Game Notes

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball will look to secure a top-four seed and a first-round bye in the Conference USA Basketball Championship when it hosts Charlotte at 7 p.m. CT Thursday to start the final homestand at E.A. Diddle Arena.

The Hilltoppers have won four straight games and 13 of their last 15, securing the 44th 20-win season in program history.

Charlotte has lost 12 straight since a road win at North Texas on Jan. 4.

WKU leads the all-time series 18-10, while WKU head coach Rick Stansbury is 4-2 in his career against the 49ers.

GAME 28

Charlotte (5-20, 1-13 C-USA) at WKU (20-7, 12-2 C-USA)
February 22, 2018 | 7 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 (free) (Randy Lee, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: beIN SPORTS (Mike Gleason, pxp | Jason Capel, analysis)
Live Stats: WKU Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• WKU is 22-6 (.786) at E.A. Diddle Arena under head coach Rick Stansbury. The Hilltoppers are 595-168 all-time at Diddle Arena for a .780 winning percentage.
• The Hilltoppers' 12-2 conference record is their best through 14 league games since 2007-08.
• WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 965 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 78.7 points per game would be the program's highest since 1994-95.
• As of Tuesday, the Hilltoppers were tied with UNLV for the national lead in free-throw differential with 246 more free throws than their foes. They've made 55 more free throws than their opponents have attempted, which ranks second in the country to Xavier (+84).
• WKU ranks 16th in the country in field goal percentage and first in Conference USA at 49.7 percent. That percentage would rank eighth for a single season in program history.
• WKU has outscored its opponents 1,098-790 in the paint this season.
Taveion Hollingsworth has scored in double figures in 17 of the last 21 games, and the freshman is averaging 16.3 points per game over his last six outings.
• After averaging 10.2 points over a six-game span and shooting 2 of 17 from 3-point range in that time, Darius Thompson is averaging 21.3 points over his last three outings while shooting 8 of 14 from 3.
• Lamonte Bearden is 19 points from reaching 1,000 for his career across his time at Buffalo and WKU.
• Justin Johnson has grabbed at least 12 rebounds in seven of the last 13 games and has done so in 10 games overall this season. He had just seven such games all last season.
• As of Tuesday, Justin Johnson was ranked eighth among active NCAA players for career rebounds and tied for 12th in career double-doubles. He and Winthrop's Xavier Cooks are the only active NCAA players with at least 1,500 career points and 950 rebounds.
• Justin Johnson is ranked 16th on WKU's all-time scoring list with 1,513 career points. He needs 32 points to pass Steffphon Pettigrew to move into 15th.
• Justin Johnson ranks sixth on WKU's all-time rebounding list with 954 career boards. He needs 11 rebounds to pass Bob Daniels for fifth. Johnson is one of six Hilltoppers in program history ranked in the top 20 in scoring and the top 10 in rebounding.
• Justin Johnson needs 46 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

• Coming Home King
• Crossroads IGA Scholarship Giveaway

LAST GAME AGAINST CHARLOTTE: JANUARY 13, 2018

WKU overcame a tough offensive first half at Charlotte, shooting better than 50 percent in the second half on its way to a 73-63 road victory. Lamonte Bearden led the Hilltoppers with 19 points.

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

Taveion Hollingsworth

Justin Johnson

Darius Thompson