| Game 10 at Louisville Wednesday, December 14 | 8 p.m. CT | Louisville, Ky. Season presented by Med Center Health |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Records | WKU (8-1) • Louisville (0-9, 0-2 ACC) | ||||
| Listen | Randy Lee (play-by-play) | Hal Schmitt (analysis) Hilltopper Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship); C-USA.tv Audio; Varsity Network |
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| Watch | Doug Sherman (play-by-play) | Cory Alexander (analysis) ESPN2 |
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| Live Stats | Louisville MBB Stats | ||||
| Tickets | Louisville Tickets | ||||
| Game Notes | WKU Game Notes | Louisville Game Notes | ||||
| Pregame Video | HC Rick Stansbury | ||||
| Social Media | @WKUBasketball  | @WKUBasketball  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball will travel just under two hours to the KFC Yum! Center for an 8 p.m. CT mid-week match-up at Louisville on Wednesday evening. The game will be nationally broadcast on ESPN2.
WKU is off to its best start in over 15 seasons at 8-1, most recently defeating Wright State at home on Saturday night. Louisville has started the season 0-9 and is coming off two ACC losses.
The Cardinals lead the all-time series 42-40, dating back to 1926. Head coach Rick Stansbury is 1-2 in his career against Louisville.
WKU VS. LOUISVILLE SERIES BREAKDOWN
Overall History: Louisville leads 42-40
Series Record at Location: Louisville leads 27-18
Last Meeting: WKU 82, Louisville 72 | December 18, 2022 | Bowling Green, Ky.
WKU Hilltopper Basketball led wire-to-wire against in-state rival Louisville, earning the program's first-ever win over the Cardinals in E.A. Diddle Arena with a convincing 82-72 victory.
The Hilltoppers shot 50% from the field and dominated the free throw line, making 25 of 31 from the stripe while the Cardinals netted just 5 of 7.
WKU moved to 11-8 against the Power Five in the last five seasons, including four straight victories over Power Five teams at home.
The emotional win in front of 7,053 fans also came one week after the devastating tornadoes that rocked Bowling Green and the region.
WKU led from the outset, getting 3s from redshirt senior guard Luke Frampton and graduate senior guard Camron Justice to open play. That was the start of a career game for the veteran Justice, who scored a career-high 25 points and made 5 of 7 shots from 3-point range.
The Hilltoppers went on a 14-2 run to lead 20-7 after a dunk by junior center Jamarion Sharp, but a flurry of 3s got the Cardinals back within three at 28-25.
WKU scored 13 of the next 15 points and went into the half with a 46-37 advantage.
Louisville responded early in the second half with a 10-0 run to trim its deficit to three, and a 3 by Noah Locke made it just 54-52 Hilltoppers with 15:04 remaining.
WKU countered with a 7-0 run, sparked by a three-point play from Justice, and later threw the knockout blow with an 8-0 spurt that held the Cardinals scoreless for more than four minutes.
The Hilltoppers eventually led by as much as 15 with 4:53 to go.
Sharp controlled the paint with 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, while McKnight added 13 points, nine assists and five rebounds. Senior forward Jairus Hamilton had 13 points and seven boards.
Locke led Louisville with 20 points.
TOP STORYLINES
- WKU is 11-9 against Power Five teams since the start of the 2017-18 season. The Hilltoppers' most recent Power Five win was over Louisville on Dec. 18, 2021. WKU's most recent Power Five win on the road was at Alabama on Dec. 19, 2020. This is the 17th of 21 Power Five contests that WKU has played away from home.
- WKU has the opportunity to defeat Louisville in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1949. In 2021, the Hilltoppers defeated the Cardinals for the first time ever in Diddle Arena.
- WKU and Louisville are two of 22 teams in NCAA DI that have father-son, coach-player duos.
- As of Tuesday, WKU is second in the country in 3-point percentage (43.3%). WKU is also third in blocks per game (6.3).
- As of Tuesday, Jamarion Sharp leads the country in total blocks (43) and blocks per game (4.78). Luke Frampton is second in the country in 3-point percentage (58.3%).
- In WKU's win over Wright State, Dayvion McKnight became the ninth player in college basketball since 2010-11 to log at least his stat line or better: 32 points, three assists, four steals, four rebounds and 76% FG.
- Dayvion McKnight became the first Hilltopper since 2000 to log seven steals when he did so at Austin Peay on Nov. 30.
- With 13 blocks against Indianapolis on Nov. 15, the Hilltoppers broke the program's record for blocks in a single game.
MED CENTER HEALTH
The 2022-23 WKU Basketball season is proudly presented by Med Center Health. Med Center Health has served Southcentral Kentucky for more than 90 years, and its system of care includes six acute care hospitals, a comprehensive network of physician practices and clinics, and hundreds of area physicians offering care in dozens of specialties. From emergency treatment to preventative care, Med Center Health is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the communities it serves. Learn more at medcenterhealth.org.
