Tops Welcome ACC Foe Boston College to Open NIT Action

WKU Game Notes | Boston College Notes | C-USA Notes | NIT Program

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball will host a postseason game for the first time since 2005 when Boston College comes to E.A. Diddle Arena at 7 p.m. CT Tuesday for a NIT opening-round game.

The Hilltoppers are coming off a 67-66 loss to Marshall in Saturday's Conference USA Championship game.

Boston College won two games in the ACC Tournament before falling to Clemson in the quarterfinals.

WKU leads the all-time series against the Eagles 1-0, and WKU head coach Rick Stansbury has never faced Boston College.

GAME 35

NIT First Round
No. 5 Boston College (19-15) at No. 4 WKU (24-10)
March 13, 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: ESPN3 (online streaming) (Dave Weekley, pxp | Rob Kennedy, analysis)
Live Stats: WKU Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• WKU is 24-6 (.800) 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 has 10 wins this season against programs with at least 20 victories: Old Dominion (3 times), UAB (2), Marshall (2), Purdue (1), Wright State (1) and Nicholls (1).
• The Hilltoppers' 24 wins and 14 conference victories are both their most since 2008-09.
• WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 972 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 78.4 points per game would be the program's highest since 1994-95.
• WKU ranks 14th in the country in field goal percentage and first in Conference USA at 49.3 percent. That percentage would tied for eighth for a single season in program history.
• The Hilltoppers have outscored their opponents 1,348-977 in the paint this season.
• Darius Thompson needs to play just 21 minutes to rank second on WKU's list for most minutes played in a single season. Justin Johnson and Taveion Hollingsworth also rank in the top seven for minutes in a season.
• Taveion Hollingsworth has played more minutes than any freshman in WKU history and needs just 16 points to pass Courtney Lee for the most points scored by a Hilltopper freshman.
• Justin Johnson has four straight double-doubles and six in the last eight games. He has 38 career double-doubles and 14 this season for the second straight year.
• Justin Johnson is on pace to become the first Hilltopper to lead the team in both scoring and rebounding in three straight seasons since Jim McDaniels did it from 1968-71.
• Justin Johnson leads C-USA in rebounding at 9.6 boards per game. He could become the first player to lead the league in rebounding average in back-to-back years since Memphis' Joey Dorsey from 2006-08.
• As of Monday, Justin Johnson was ranked sixth among active NCAA players for career rebounds and tied for fifth in career double-doubles. Johnson is the only active player in the nation with at least 1,600 career points and 1,000 rebounds.
• Justin Johnson is ranked 13th on WKU's all-time scoring list with 1,639 career points. He needs 18 points to pass Chris Robinson to move into 12th.
• Justin Johnson ranks fifth on WKU's all-time rebounding list with 1,023 career boards. Johnson is one of five Hilltoppers in program history ranked in the top 15 in scoring and the top 10 in rebounding.
• Justin Johnson is 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.

NIT EXPERIMENTAL RULES

The 2018 NIT will feature four rules modifications:

• The three-point line will be extended by approximately 1 foot 8 inches to the same distance used by FIBA for international competition (22 feet 1.75 inches).
• The free throw lane will be widened from 12 feet to 16 feet, consistent with the width used by the NBA.
• The games will be divided into four 10-minute quarters as opposed to two 20-minute halves. Teams will shoot two free throws beginning with the fifth foul of each quarter.
• The shot clock will reset to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound instead of the full 30 seconds.

TICKETS

Single-game tickets for Tuesday's matchup are available at WKUTickets.com. Chairback seats will be $25, while bleacher seating will be $15. Student tickets are free courtesy of WKU Athletics. Season ticket holders can buy their season tickets and parking locations starting at 8:30 a.m. Monday. Season ticket holders are encouraged to purchase their seats online through their account manager to avoid lines and wait time through the WKU Ticket Office. Season ticket holders will have first priority to their seats through 8 a.m. Tuesday.

LAST MEETING WITH BOSTON COLLEGE: DECEMBER 29, 1982

WKU shot 51 percent from the field, including 56 percent in the second half, to beat Boston College 74-68 in the Cotton States Classic in Atlanta, Ga. The Hilltoppers were led by Bobby Jones 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

Taveion Hollingsworth

Justin Johnson

Darius Thompson