| Game 22 at #21 Florida Atlantic Saturday, January 28 | 3 p.m. CT | Boca Raton, Fla. Season presented by Med Center Health |
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| Records | WKU (11-10, 3-7 C-USA) • Florida Atlantic (20-1, 10-0 C-USA) | ||||
| Listen | Hilltopper Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship); C-USA.tv Audio; Varsity Network Randy Lee (pxp) | Hal Schmitt (analysis) |
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| Watch | Stadium | WKU PBS Ari Wolfe (pxp) | Tim Scarborough (analysis) |
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| Live Stats | Florida Atlantic Stats | ||||
| Tickets | Florida Atlantic Tickets | ||||
| Game Notes | WKU Game Notes | ||||
| Most Recent Media | N/A | ||||
| Social Media | @WKUBasketball  | @WKUBasketball  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball closes out the month of January at Florida Atlantic on Saturday afternoon. The 3 p.m. CT game will be broadcasted on Stadium and WKU PBS in Bowling Green.
Florida Atlantic is on a 19-game win streak entering Saturday, most recently beating MTSU 85-67 on Thursday. The Hilltoppers dropped their fourth game in a row in a 78-69 loss at FIU.
WKU is 17-8 all-time against the Owls, including a 5-4 mark under head coach Rick Stansbury. When the teams met on Jan. 16, the Owls won in Diddle Arena 76-62.
WKU VS. FLORIDA ATLANTIC SERIES BREAKDOWN
Overall History: WKU leads 17-8
Series Record in Boca Raton: WKU leads 7-4
Last Meeting: No. 24 Florida Atlantic 76, WKU 62 | January 16, 2023 | Bowling Green, Ky.
With its best crowd of the season thus far, WKU Hilltopper Basketball faced a freshly #24 ranked Florida Atlantic team. After staying with the Owls for the first 25 minutes of the game, the final 15 minutes got out of hand and the Hilltoppers were defeated 76-62 in front of 5,206 fans, including a massive student crowd.
Florida Atlantic scored the first eight points of the game, but the Hilltoppers scored 16 of the next 20, taking a 16-12 lead by the 12:27 mark.
WKU used a 7-0 run to extend its lead further, but the Owls chipped away at their deficit from the 3-point line, sinking one after another. They eventually took a 30-29 lead with just over two minutes to play, and held that one-point lead into half time.
#24 Florida Atlantic led the Hilltoppers 34-33 at the break. Frampton came out firing, shooting 4 for 4 in the first half including 3 of 3 from beyond the arc in the first half.
Starting the second half, it was a dog fight. Both teams stayed within two points of each other for the first five minutes of the game. It was all tied up at 48-all at the 15:04 mark, thanks to a Jamarion Sharp poster dunk.
From there, Florida Atlantic outscored WKU 15-4 over the next 10 minutes, taking a full-blown lead of 69-55 with 6:13 on the clock.
In the final 13 minutes, the Tops only had four made field goals, resulting in the 76-62 loss.
The Hilltoppers' offense was lacking in the second half. After shooting 50% from the arc in the first period, WKU shot just 30% from the 3-point line, making only three shots, following the break.
WKU was outrebounded by the Owls 43-25 as Florida Atlantic also outscored the Tops in the paint 24-12.
WKU was led in scoring by Dayvion McKnight for the fourth time in the last five games. The junior guard scored 15 points and pulled down a massive nine rebounds. He added two assists and two steals.
TOP STORYLINES
- Over the last 13 games, Dayvion McKnight is averaging 20.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 46.9% (99-211) from the field and 84.8% (56-66) from the charity stripe. He's scored 25 points or more in 5 of those 12 games. He's shooting 50% (12-24) from 3 in conference play.
- WKU is 34-105 all-time against ranked opponents. Since the start of the 2017-18 season, the Tops have gone 3-9 against Top-25 teams. WKU has not beaten a ranked opponent since December 2018.
- One week ago, Luke Frampton suffered a season-ending ACL injury to his right knee less than three minutes into the game. He will undergo surgery next week. Frampton tore his left ACL just before beginning his freshman season at Davidson.
- On Thursday, head coach Rick Stansbury returned to the sidelines at FIU after being out nine games. Associate head coach Phil Cunningham has stepped in the interim as he did before in 2021.
- On Thursday, Jamarion Sharp was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watch list for the second year in a row.
- As of Friday, Jamarion Sharp leads the country in total blocks (84) and blocks per game (4.2). His 84 blocks are more than what 76% of Division I programs have logged as a team. His average of 4.2 blocks/game is more than what 77% of Division I teams are averaging.
- In just 50 games as a Hilltopper, Jamarion Sharp broke the program record for blocks in a career, previously held by Jeremy Evans.
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.
