Tops Host Old Dominion in Major Matchup on Sold-Out Senior Night

WKU Game Notes | Old Dominion Game Notes

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Still right in the hunt for a conference championship, WKU Hilltopper Basketball hosts Old Dominion in a huge Senior Night clash at 6 p.m. CT Saturday in the regular-season home finale at E.A. Diddle Arena.

WKU – winner of 14 of its last 16 – and ODU are tied for second in the league standings, with the Hilltoppers winning the first meeting 75-68 in January in Virginia.

Old Dominion, which has won six straight, leads the all-time series 18-17, and WKU head coach Rick Stansbury is 2-2 in his career against the Monarchs.

GAME 29

Old Dominion (22-5, 13-2 C-USA) at WKU (21-7, 13-2 C-USA)
February 24, 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 (free) (Randy Lee, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: Stadium (online streaming) (Roger Twibell, pxp | Tim Scarborough, analysis); WKU PBS
Live Stats: WKU Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• WKU is 23-6 (.793) at E.A. Diddle Arena under head coach Rick Stansbury. The Hilltoppers are 596-168 all-time at Diddle Arena for a .780 winning percentage.
• WKU's 20 regular-season D-I wins are its most since 2009-10. Its 13 league wins are its most since 2008-09.
• WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 966 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.
• In the last four games, WKU is averaging 90.8 points and shooting a combined 57.9 percent from the field.
• WKU's current scoring average of 79.2 points per game would be the program's highest since 1994-95.
• WKU ranks 13th in the country in field goal percentage and first in Conference USA at 49.9 percent. That percentage would rank eighth for a single season in program history.
• WKU has shot 55 percent or better in four straight games for the first time since at least 1986-87. The Hilltoppers last shot at least 50 percent in four straight games in the 2004-05 season.
• WKU has outscored its opponents 1,142-824 in the paint this season.
Taveion Hollingsworth has scored in double figures in 18 of the last 22 games, and the freshman is averaging 15.7 points per game over his last seven 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 19 points over his last four outings while shooting 9 of 17 from 3.
• Lamonte Bearden is nine 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 14 games and has done so in 10 games overall this season. He had just seven such games all last season.
• As of Friday, Justin Johnson was ranked eighth among active NCAA players for career rebounds and tied for 12th in career double-doubles. Johnson, Seton Hall's Angel Delgado 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 1,529 career points. He needs 16 points to pass Steffphon Pettigrew to move into 15^th.
• Justin Johnson ranks sixth on WKU's all-time rebounding list with 959 career boards. He needs six 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 41 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

• Senior Night – ceremony directly before the game

LAST GAME AGAINST OLD DOMINION: JANUARY 11, 2018

WKU shot 62.5 percent in the second half at Old Dominion, powering its way to a 75-68 victory. Senior forward Justin Johnson had 25 points and 14 rebounds. Senior guard Darius Thompson scored 24 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.

Tops Host Old Dominion in Major Matchup on Sold-Out Senior Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lamonte Bearden

Taveion Hollingsworth

Justin Johnson

Darius Thompson

Tops Host Old Dominion in Major Matchup on Sold-Out Senior Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lamonte Bearden

Taveion Hollingsworth

Justin Johnson

Darius Thompson

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