Hilltoppers Open C-USA Championship Play in Thursday's Quarterfinals

Stansbury Interview | Coleby Interview | Nelson Interview
WKU Tournament Guide/Game Notes

FRISCO, Texas — WKU Hilltopper Basketball enters this week as the No. 3 seed in the Conference USA Basketball Championship in Frisco, Texas.

WKU will face either sixth-seeded UAB or 11th-seeded Florida Atlantic at 9 p.m. CT Thursday in the quarterfinals at Ford Center at The Star.

The Hilltoppers are coming off back-to-back road losses to Middle Tennessee and UAB – the preseason league favorites – to end the regular season, but they won six straight before that.

WKU head coach Rick Stansbury is 16-13 all-time in conference tournament play.

GAME 32

Conference USA Basketball Championship Quarterfinals
No. 3 WKU (22-9) vs. No. 6 UAB (19-12) or No. 11 Florida Atlantic (12-18)
March 8, 2018 | 9 p.m. CT
Ford Center at The Star | Frisco, Texas

BROADCAST

Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship), WKUSports.tv (free), TuneIn Radio (free) (Randy Lee, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: Facebook (online streaming) (Chris Hassel, pxp | Tim Doyle, analysis)
Live Stats: Conference USA Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• WKU's No. 3 seed is its highest finish in its four years in C-USA, as well as its highest finish overall since earning the No. 2 seed in the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
• The Hilltoppers' 22 overall wins and their 14 league wins are both their most since 2008-09.
• WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 969 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 seven games, WKU is averaging 84 points and shooting a combined 53.8 percent from the field.
• WKU's current scoring average of 78.8 points per game would be the program's highest since 1994-95.
• WKU ranks 11th in the country in field goal percentage and first in Conference USA at 49.8 percent. That percentage would rank eighth for a single season in program history.
• The Hilltoppers are tied with Arizona and Villanova for most games shooting 55 percent or better this season with 10.
• WKU has outscored its opponents 1,248-928 in the paint this season.
• Taveion Hollingsworth has scored in double figures in 20 of the last 25 games, and the freshman is the team's second-leading scorer over the last 10 outings at 14.8 points per game.
• 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 has grabbed at least 12 rebounds in seven of the last 17 games and has done so in 10 games overall this season. He had just seven such games all last season.
• Justin Johnson leads C-USA in rebounding at 9.4 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.
• Coming into the week, Justin Johnson was ranked eighth among active NCAA players for career rebounds and tied for ninth in career double-doubles. Johnson is one of four active NCAA players with at least 1,500 career points and 950 rebounds.
• Justin Johnson is ranked 15th on WKU's all-time scoring list with 1,580 career points. He needs two points to pass A.J. Slaughter to move into 14th.
• Justin Johnson ranks fifth on WKU's all-time rebounding list with 988 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 needs 12 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.

LAST TIME OUT IN C-USA TOURNAMENT: MARCH 8, 2017

With a 56-52 defeat to UTSA, WKU was eliminated from the Conference USA Championship in the first round in Birmingham, Ala. Justin Johnson led the Hilltoppers with 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.

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.

Hilltoppers Open C-USA Championship Play in Thursday's Quarterfinals

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Taveion Hollingsworth

Justin Johnson

Hilltoppers Open C-USA Championship Play in Thursday's Quarterfinals

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Taveion Hollingsworth

Justin Johnson

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