Hilltoppers Host Kentucky State in Opening Exhibition

WKU Game Notes | Kentucky State Notes | WKU Basketball Gameday Information

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball opens its 101st season with its first exhibition against Kentucky State at 7:30 p.m. CT Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena. The Hilltoppers finished 20-14 in 2018-19, advancing to the Conference USA Tournament championship game for the second straight season.

WKU returns four starters from last year's squad that went 3-1 against Power Five competition. Kentucky State opens its season Friday night with an exhibition game at Kentucky. The Thorobreds went 13-14 last season but were winners of six of their last seven games.

The exhibition will be not be televised.

EXHIBITION 1

Kentucky State (0-0) at WKU (0-0)
November 2, 2019 | 7:30 p.m. CT
E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Ky.

BROADCAST

Listen: Hilltopper Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship), WKUSports.tv (free), TuneIn Radio (Brett Williams, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: No live stream
Live Stats: WKU Stats

QUICK SHOTS

• WKU is 60-4 all-time in preseason exhibition games, and the Hilltoppers have won 28 straight preseason tune-ups dating back to a 2002-03 loss to the Harlem Globetrotters.
• WKU has the fifth-longest streak in the nation of consecutive games with a made 3-pointer at 1,010. Only UNLV (1,071), Vanderbilt (1,063), Duke (1,060) and Arkansas (1,011) have longer streaks.
• WKU is 7-3 against the Power Five over the last two years, including 3-1 against ranked Power Five foes.
• In head coach Rick Stansbury's three seasons at the helm, WKU has shot 716 more total free throws than its opponents. The Hilltoppers shot 202 more free throws than their opponents in the 2018-19 season.
• The Hilltoppers return 75.2 percent of their scoring, 64.1 percent of their rebounding, 48.4 percent of their assists, 74.1 percent of their blocks and 69.4 percent of their steals from 2018-19. WKU returns its top four leading scorers in Charles Bassey, Taveion Hollingsworth, Jared Savage and Josh Anderson – all of whom averaged between 12.1 and 14.6 points per game.
• The Hilltoppers have six players on the 2019-20 roster from the state of Kentucky, which is the second-most in the state this season and is the most on a WKU roster since the 2007-08 season.
• WKU has three former Kentucky Mr. Basketball winners on their roster – Camron Justice (2015), Carson Williams (2016) and Taveion Hollingsworth (2017). This is just the second time in history that a team has featured three such award winners, along with the 1993-94 Louisville squad (Dwayne Morton, Tick Rogers, Jason Osborne). WKU previously didn't have a Mr. Basketball since 2007.
• Junior guard Taveion Hollingsworth was named to the All-C-USA Preseason Team for the second straight year. Hollingsworth needs just four points in WKU's regular-season opener to reach 1,000 for his career.
• Sophomore center Charles Bassey was also named to the All-C-USA Preseason Team. It was one of many honors for Bassey in the preseason, as he was named a First Team Preseason All-American by both Lindy's Sports and Street & Smith's Basketball Yearbook. He received votes in AP Preseason All-American voting.
• Senior guard Camron Justice will be the eighth graduate transfer to compete for the Hilltoppers since 2015. Over that time, grad transfers have accounted for 25 percent of WKU's scoring, 19 percent of its rebounding and 29 percent of its assists.

TICKETS

WKU Ticket Office: Limited single-game tickets for the Kentucky State game remain available in person at the WKU Ticket Office, by phone at 1-800-5-BIGRED or online at WKUTickets.com.

PROMOTIONS

• American Bank and Trust putt from 3-point line to win $1,000 cash
• Wendy's Freeze Out Promo - If an opposing player misses two free throws in a row, every fan in the arena gets a free Wendy's Frosty
• Smart Start Post Game Shootaround on court for all kids
• Taco Bell Challenge – When WKU scores 70 points or more, all fans can redeem a free taco at Taco Bell

LAST GAME AGAINST KENTUCKY STATE: DECEMBER 29, 2005

Boris Siakam scored a career-best 15 points as WKU earned an 87-71 non-conference victory over Kentucky State at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Courtney Lee added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Anthony Winchester had 10 and seven, respectively.

Siakam made 7-of-9 attempts from the floor, adding three boards, two assists and a blocked shot. Daniel Emerson shared team-high rebounding honors with a career-best seven. WKU outrebounded the Thorobreds, 50-34, while 20 offensive boards led to 42 points in the points.

MED CENTER HEALTH

The 2019-20 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

Josh Anderson

Charles Bassey

Taveion Hollingsworth

Camron Justice

Jared Savage

Carson Williams