| Game 29 vs. UAB Saturday, February 25 | 7 p.m. CT | Bowling Green, Ky. Season presented by Med Center Health |
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| Records | WKU (15-13, 7-10 C-USA) • UAB (21-8, 12-6) | ||||
| 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 | CBS Sports Network Dave Ryan (pxp) | Mark Turgeon (analysis) |
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| Live Stats | WKU MBB Stats | ||||
| Tickets | WKU Tickets | ||||
| Game Notes | WKU Game Notes | UAB Game Notes | ||||
| Most Recent Media | Coach Postgame | Player Postgame | ||||
| Social Media | @WKUBasketball  | @WKUBasketball  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — For the final home game of the season, WKU Hilltopper Basketball will face off against the UAB Blazers on Senior Night on Saturday. The 7 p.m. CT game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.
Both teams enter the contest off of a win as WKU beat LA Tech 76-66 on Thursday night and UAB defeated Rice 85-57.
The Hilltoppers are 18-26 all-time against the Blazers. The last time the teams met, WKU handed UAB its first home loss of the season. WKU as a program is 4-5 against UAB in the Rick Stansbury era.
PROMOTIONS
- Black Out: All fans are encouraged to wear black!
- Giveaway: Free black t-shirts to the first 1,000 fans, sponsored by Hospice of Southern Kentucky.
- Senior Night presented by Humana: Join us in celebrating our three seniors with a pre-game ceremony at approximately 6:40 p.m. Dance and cheer seniors will also have ceremonies throughout the game.
- Coming Home King: Stay in your seats at halftime as we crown the 2023 WKU Coming Home King.
- Game presented by Houchens
WKU VS. UAB SERIES BREAKDOWN
Overall History: UAB leads the series 26-18
Series Record in Bowling Green: WKU leads 10-7
Last Meeting: WKU 80, UAB 78 | January 11, 2023 | Birmingham, Ala.
From the jump, WKU Hilltopper Basketball faced challenge after challenge. The Hilltoppers battled for all 40 minutes, overcoming that adversity and beating the league favorite UAB Blazers on their own court, 80-78.
The Hilltoppers held the Blazers scoreless for the first three minutes of the game, creating a 7-2 run to open the game. Each time UAB attempted to cut into WKU's lead, the Tops had an answer.
Just six minutes into the game, Emmanuel Akot was pulled, and would not return, after sustaining a head injury. His absence caused adversity that the Hilltoppers would continue to overcome throughout the game.
Between the 9:07 and 3:24 marks, the Blazers went on an 11-4 run that gave them a 25-23 lead. WKU responded with a handful of buckets, eventually regaining at 32-30 lead headed into halftime.
WKU held the Blazers to just 37.9% from the floor compared to their season average of 47.6%.
Out of the break, UAB went on a 14-5 run, taking a five-point lead of 45-40 by the 14:22 mark. The run included seven straight points, flipping from a WKU lead of 40-38 to the Blazer edge.
The Hilltoppers actively chipped away at UAB, answering with a basket every time the Blazers attempted to run away with it.
At the 7:42 mark, WKU embarked on an 11-3 run that eventually game them a 67-66 lead with just under five minutes remaining.
The game continued to go back and forth, ultimately having 12 lead changes and seven ties. UAB tied it up twice in the waning minutes, 70-all with 3:47 left and 73-all with 1:59 left.
Both Jairus Hamilton and Jamarion Sharp fouled out in that time frame, continuing to provide key opportunities for Hilltoppers off the bench to step up in the adversity.
As time ticked away, WKU's Dontaie Allen hit a long-range 3-pointer from the top of the key with 30 seconds on the clock, giving the Hilltoppers a 76-73 lead.
UAB's Jelly Walker would hit a 3-pointer with just over a second on the clock, but WKU staved off the Blazers final attempts.
WKU's bench outscored UAB's 33-11, with 16 of those points coming at the hands of Jordan Rawls. The senior scored a season high along with four assists against just one turnover in his return from a hand injury.
Dayvion McKnight led the Hilltoppers in scoring with 27 points while Sharp added eight boards, five points, two steals and three blocks.
The Blazers' Walker led all scorers with 28 points, netting 7 of 15 from beyond the arc.
TOP STORYLINES
- Rick Stansbury is 9-5 in his career against Andy Kennedy, a longstanding SEC coaching rivalry from their time at Mississippi State and Ole Miss, respectively.
- 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.
- In the last six games Dontaie Allen has made 24 3's on 48 attempts, shooting 50% from the arc and averaging 18.7 points per game.
- Luke Frampton underwent surgery to repair his right ACL on Jan. 31. He tore that ACL less than three minutes into the game against Charlotte on Jan. 21, ending his collegiate career.
- As of Friday, Jamarion Sharp leads the country in total blocks (115) and blocks per game (4.3). His average of 4.3 blocks/game is more than what 84% of Division I teams are averaging. His 115 blocks are more than what 81% of Division I programs have logged as a team.
- 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 60 of WKU's contests, scoring at least 10 points in 53 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.
