Second-Place Hilltoppers Host FIU on Saturday Night

WKU Game Notes | FIU Game Notes

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — With another packed crowd expected, WKU Hilltopper Basketball hosts FIU at 6 p.m. CT Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

WKU will honor its former All-Americans at halftime, with many expected to be in attendance.

The Hilltoppers defeated Florida Atlantic 75-63 on Thursday for their 10th win in their last 12 games.

FIU is 11-14 overall but has several solid C-USA results to its credit, including a win over LA Tech, a victory at UTSA and an overtime loss to Middle Tennessee.

WKU leads the all-time series 33-7 with a 15-3 advantage in Bowling Green. WKU head coach Rick Stansbury is 1-0 in his career against the Panthers.

GAME 25

FIU (11-14, 5-7 C-USA) at WKU (17-7, 9-2 C-USA)
February 10, 2018 | 6 p.m. CT
Bowling Green, Ky. | E.A. Diddle Arena

BROADCAST

Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship), WKUSports.tv (free), TuneIn Radio (free) (Randy Lee, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: Fox College Sports Atlantic, WKU PBS, WBNA (Radio Simulcast)
Live Stats: WKU Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• WKU is 21-6 (.778) at E.A. Diddle Arena under head coach Rick Stansbury. The Hilltoppers are 594-168 all-time at Diddle Arena for a .779 winning percentage.
• WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 962 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 77.3 points per game would be the program's highest since 2007-08.
• WKU ranks 26th in the country in field goal percentage and second in Conference USA at 48.7 percent. That percentage would rank ninth for a single season in program history.
• WKU has outscored its opponents 968-682 in the paint this season.
• The Hilltoppers' seven losses have come by a total of 37 points – an average of 5.3 points per game.
• Taveion Hollingsworth has scored in double figures in 16 of the last 18 games, and the freshman is averaging 19.3 points per game over his last three outings.
• In his last 21 games, Darius Thompson has 103 combined assists and just 37 turnovers. He has at least four assists in 17 of 24 games this season and is third in C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.6-to-1.
• Through 24 games, Lamonte Bearden has 40 steals. No Hilltopper had more than 28 steals all last year.
• Lamonte Bearden is 49 points from reaching 1,000 for his career across his time at Buffalo and WKU.
• Justin Johnson has grabbed at least 12 rebounds in six of the last 10 games and has done so in nine games overall this season. He had just seven such games all last season.
• As of Friday, Justin Johnson was ranked seventh among active NCAA players for career rebounds and tied for 12th in career double-doubles. He's one of just four active NCAA players with at least 1,400 career points and 900 rebounds.
• Justin Johnson is ranked 17th on WKU's all-time scoring list with 1,454 career points. He needs 57 points to pass Art Spoelstra to move into 16th.
• Justin Johnson ranks seventh on WKU's all-time rebounding list with 928 career boards. He needs five rebounds to pass Greg Smith for sixth. Johnson is one of six Hilltoppers in program history ranked in the top 20 in scoring and the top 10 in rebounding.
• Justin Johnson currently ranks ninth on WKU's all-time list for career field goal percentage at 54.0 percent. He's less than two percentage points from fifth place.
• Justin Johnson needs 72 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

• Critter Classic
• Reunion of former WKU All-Americans

LAST GAME AGAINST FIU: JANUARY 2, 2017

Justin Johnson converted a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left and WKU escaped FIU with a 69-66 victory in Miami. Pancake Thomas and Anton Waters each scored 14 points to lead the Hilltoppers.

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

Pancake Thomas

Darius Thompson

Anton Waters