| Game 27 at Rice Saturday, February 18 | 7 p.m. CT | Bowling Green, Ky. Season presented by Med Center Health |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Records | WKU (14-12, 6-9 C-USA) • Rice (16-10, 7-8 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 | ESPN+ Jason Metko (pxp) | Nate Griffin (analysis) |
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| Live Stats | Rice MBB Stats | ||||
| Tickets | Rice Tickets | ||||
| Game Notes | WKU Game Notes | Rice Game Notes | ||||
| Most Recent Media | N/A | ||||
| Social Media | @WKUBasketball  | @WKUBasketball  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — After dropping an overtime game at Charlotte on Thursday, WKU Hilltopper Basketball is looking to bounce back with a win at Rice on Saturday evening. The 7 p.m. CT game will be streamed on ESPN+.
The loss at Charlotte ended the Hilltoppers' three-game win streak. On Thursday, Rice lost to UTSA 84-79.
WKU is 8-3 all-time against the Rice Owls. The last meeting between the programs on Dec. 29 was the first time WKU had lost to Rice in the Rick Stansbury era, moving that record to 7-1. It was also the first of nine games that Phil Cunningham served as interim head coach for.
WKU VS. RICE SERIES BREAKDOWN
Overall History: WKU leads 8-3
Series Record in Houston: WKU leads 3-1
Last Meeting: Rice 81, WKU 78 | December 29, 2022 | Bowling Green, Ky.
In a game of runs with seven lead changes and five ties, WKU Hilltopper Basketball ultimately dropped its conference opener, taking its first home loss of the season to the Rice Owls 81-78.
The Tops scored the first 10 points of the game, jumping out to a 10-0 lead. WKU held Rice without a field goal for the first 7:24 of the game. The Owls netted three free throws prior to hitting a 3-pointer at the 12:36 mark; WKU still led 14—6.
WKU held a steady lead throughout the first half as Rice only came as close as eight points. The Hilltoppers led at halftime 36-26.
Coming out of the break, WKU scored the first bucket but Rice proceeded to hit three 3-pointers in the first three and a half minutes of the game, cutting into the Tops' lead 44-40.
The Owls then went on a 9-0 run to flip the game from 46-40 WKU to 49-46 in their own favor. From there, the Hilltoppers regained a two-point lead with a layup from Davyion McKnight and 3-pointer from Luke Frampton, but Rice continued to battle.
The game was back and forth for the next four minutes before WKU used a 9-0 run of its own to take a 66-64 lead at the 6:49 mark. All Hilltopper momentum was diminished as the Owls hit back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers.
Shortly after Rice took a 73-66 lead with just over five minutes remaining, McKnight took a hard hit to the head and neck, resulting in him being carried off the floor with 17 points, five rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes of action.
The Hilltoppers did everything they could to swing momentum back in their direction, eventually taking a 78-77 lead via a Jairus Hamilton 3-pointer. Late foul and goal-tending calls ultimately led to Travis Evee at the charity stripe twice, sinking four free throws.
In-bound attempts for WKU and then Rice both resulted in turnovers, but the Hilltoppers weren't able to make up in the three-point deficit.
WKU outscored Rice in the paint 34-22 and off the bench 14-3. Rice shot just 21.9% from the floor in the first half and ramped it up to 58.1% from the field in the second half, including a 60% (9-15) clip from the 3-point line.
WKU was led in scoring by Hamilton who had 18 points along with seven boards. He added four steals and two assists.
Jamarion Sharp neared a double-double with 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Frampton looked like his old self, knocking down three 3-pointers and scoring 11 points. Emmanuel Akot added five assists, eight points and six boards.
TOP STORYLINES
- Junior Dayvion McKnight is the only player in the country to have two games this season of at least 32 points, three assists, four rebounds and two steals. His stat lines of that or better came against Wright State on Dec. 10 and Middle Tennessee on Feb. 9.
- In the last four games Dontaie Allen has made 18 3's on 34 attempts, shooting 52.9% from the arc.
- Two weeks ago, Luke Frampton underwent surgery to repair his right ACL that he tore less than three minutes into the game against Charlotte on Jan. 21.
- As of Friday, Jamarion Sharp leads the country in total blocks (106) and blocks per game (4.2). His average of 4.2 blocks/game is more than what 83% of Division I teams are averaging. His 106 blocks are more than what 78% of Division I programs have logged as a team.
- After passing former Hilltopper Bobby Jones on WKU's career assists list, Dayvion McKnight officially has more career assists than any other 1,000-point scorer in WKU's history.
- On Jan. 26, Jamarion Sharp was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watch list for the second year in a row.
- In just 50 games as a Hilltopper, Jamarion Sharp broke the program record for blocks in a career, previously held by Jeremy Evans.
- In the last two seasons, Dayvion McKnight has started in all 58 of WKU's contests, scoring at least 10 points in 51 of those.
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.
