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The Hilltoppers enter the conference opener facing the Flames standing at 9-4 overall with an 8-1 mark at home. WKU fell on the road at Michigan on Sunday to close regular-season nonconference play for the year.Â
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Don McHenry charts as the fourth-leading scorer in CUSA with a team-best 18.5 points per contest. The senior guard leads the Tops in steals with 27 (2.1/G) on the year, good for fourth most in the league and 48th most in the nation. McHenry and graduate guard Braxton Bayless chart second on the team in assists with 23 (1.8/G) each, while Tyrone Marshall Jr. leads WKU and ranks ninth in CUSA in total rebounds with 86 (6.6/G) on the year. Marshall's 76 defensive rebounds are good for the third-highest total in CUSA and 66th most in the nation.
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GAME INFO
WKU (9-4, 0-0 CUSA) vs. Liberty (12-1, 0-0 CUSA)
Thursday, Jan. 2 | 6 p.m. CT
Liberty Arena | Lynchburg, Va.
Watch: CBS Sports Network (Carter Blackburn & Pete Gillen)
Listen: Hilltopper Sports Radio Network | 100.7-FM (WKLX)/Varsity Network (Randy Lee & Hal Schmitt)
Live Stats:Â StatBroadcast
Tickets: Purchase | WKUTickets.com | 1-800-5-BIG RED
Game Notes: WKU | LIB
More Info:Â Gameday Central
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ABOUT THE TOPS
- WKU currently averages 80.6 points per game, good for 76th most in the nation
- WKU ranks ninth in the nation for defensive rebounding with 29.54 per contest
- WKU ranks 58th in the nation in FG% defense, limiting opponents to a .401% clip shooting from the field
- The Tops rank second in CUSA and 50th in the nation in steals with 8.9 per contest and a total of 116 on the year
- WKU currently charts eighth in the nation in adjusted tempo with an average of 74.3 possessions per 40 minutes
- Don McHenry leads the Hilltoppers and ranks fourth in CUSA for scoring with 18.5 points per contest; McHenry's 27 steals (2.1/G) are fourth most in CUSA and 53rd most in the nation
- McHenry holds a .365% (31-of-85) shooting clip from three-point range off the most attempts and most made threes on the team; the senior guard also touts the fifth-best free-throw percentage in CUSA with a .804% (37-of-46) mark from the stripe
- Tyrone Marshall Jr. leads WKU and charts third in the league for defensive rebounding with 76 (5.8/G) on the year, good for 66th most in the nation
- Marshall Jr. leads the Hilltoppers and ranks 12th in CUSA in blocks with a total of 10 on the year
- Freshman Julius Thedford is currently the team's third-leading scorer with 11.8 points per game and a .383% clip shooting from beyond the arc
- Jalen Jackson leads the team and charts 18th in CUSA in assists with 29 (2.2/G) on the year
- Babacar Faye currently charts the team's second-best scoring average and rebounding average with 15.2 points and 7.8 boards per contest; the senior big holds the conference's fifth-best rebounding average and eighth-best scoring average
- Faye holds the conference's sixth-best free-throw percentage at .804% (45-of-56) off the seventh-most attempts in the leagueÂ
SERIES INFORMATION
WKU holds a 1-1 all-time record against Liberty in a series that began last season in the Flames' first year competing in CUSA. The Hilltoppers defeated the Flames, 70-68, at home on Jan. 6 of last season for the first-ever meeting between the programs. The teams finished the year with a split in competition as WKU fell on the road in Lynchburg on March 9, 82-79, to close the regular season. WKU will open conference play and close the regular season facing Liberty again this year, with the Tops set to battle the foe in a rematch at home in Diddle Arena on March 8 following Thursday night's conference opener.
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SCOUTING THE FLAMES
- Liberty enters Thursday's game with a 12-1 overall record and coming off a 79-56 win over UT Arlington on Saturday
- The Flames currently hold a nine-game winning streak and an unbeaten 6-0 mark at home in Liberty ArenaÂ
- Redshirt senior guard Kaden Metheny led the Flames in scoring in Saturday's win over UT Arlington with a game-high 25 points off a 7-of-13 three-point shooting clipÂ
- Junior forward Zach Cleveland notched an 18-point, 10 rebound double-double in the win
- Metheny and Cleveland chart first and second on the team in scoring with 13.2 and 10.4 points per contest respectively; Cleveland averages a team-best 6.4 boards per game with a total of 58 rebounds on the year
- Metheny's .427% three-point shooting clip charts as the fourth-best in CUSA (min 50 attempts)
- Liberty charts the second-leading scoring average in CUSA with 81.4 points per game while holding opponents to a league-best 58.2 points per game, good for the fifth-best scoring margin in the nation at 23.2 points
- Liberty leads CUSA and ranks 23rd in the nation in FG% defense, holding teams to a .385% mark shooting from the field
- Liberty touts the nation's sixth-highest team FG% with a .513% shooting clip from the field
- The Flames lead CUSA and rank ninth in the nation in made three-pointers with 146 on the year and 11.2 per game
- Liberty holds the nation's top effective FG% at .610%
- Liberty ranks 15th in the nation in assists with 18.4 per contest and a total of 239 on the year; the Flames hold the nation's 19th best assist/turnover ratio at 1.67
Follow the team on social media (@wkubasketball) and visit wkusports.com for the latest news and updates on all things Hilltopper Basketball as the team continues its 2024-25 campaign.
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