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Fans can join the WKU Men's Basketball team at E.A. Diddle Arena at 4 p.m. CT Sunday, March 17, for a free NCAA Tournament Selection Show watch party!
For more information, CLICK HERE
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – WKU Men's Basketball (22-11) claimed its first-ever Conference USA Tournament Championship and earned its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 2013 by beating UTEP 78-71 in the CUSA Championship game on Saturday at VBC Propst Arena.
The Hilltoppers, entering the tournament as the No. 3 seed, defeated the 5-seed Miners after taking down No. 6-seed New Mexico State 89-69 in the quarterfinals on Thursday and dominating No. 7-seed Middle Tennessee 85-54 in the semifinals on Friday.
It was the fourth appearance in the Championship Game in the last six CUSA Tournaments for the Hilltoppers, who will now make an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the 24th time in program history.
"I'm obviously extremely proud of these guys," first-year WKU Head Coach Steve Lutz said. "They battled through a lot of adversity toward the end of the season and when it was time to tune out all of the outside noises and to band together and play for one another, they did it. That's hard to do in today's age with social media and people always coming at you from a lot of different angles, but, to me, that just shows the character of these young men. They cared more about Western Kentucky and winning and going to the NCAA Tournament than maybe scoring a few extra points. They deserve all of the credit. Everybody that's out there watching – these are guys that you're going to want to employ down the road because they're winners and they're about the right stuff."
Don McHenry was named the CUSA Tournament MVP after the Hilltoppers with a game-high 25 points. Brandon Newman added 15 and was named to the All-Tournament Team, along with Rodney Howard. Khristian Lander added 11 points for WKU and Babacar Faye had nine.
WKU continued its hot start to the tournament through the beginning of the title bout and led the Miners 17-4 at the 12:48 mark of the first half, before being forced to weather a UTEP comeback attempt. The Miners took their first lead with 2:35 to play in the period, but a 7-0 run pushed the Hilltoppers back in front and they entered halftime ahead, 40-36.
UTEP quickly pulled ahead in the second half and grew its lead to as high as seven points, before the Hilltoppers came roaring back in Huntsville. WKU used a 13-0 run in a roughly four-minute stretch to take a seven-point lead with 8:49 to play and grew its lead as high as 12 points before closing out the 78-71 victory.
Fans are invited to join the CUSA Champion WKU Men's Basketball team for a free NCAA Selection Show watch party on Sunday, March 17, at E.A. Diddle Arena. Doors will open at 4 p.m. CT and the Selection Show will be shown live on the videoboards, beginning at 5 p.m. CT. For more information, click here.
Updated at 4 p.m. Monday (3/18): Those who placed ticket deposits will be notified no later than Tuesday. Tickets will be granted based on HAF priority points and are eligible for same amount of season tickets you have, up to 6. Fans can purchase tickets directly through the NCAA by CLICKING HERE.
Fans can celebrate WKU's 24th NCAA Tournament appearance with a gift to the Hilltopper Athletic Foundation in the amount of $24, $240 or $2,400 today! To make your donation, click here.
Follow the team on social media (@wkubasketball) for the latest news and updates on all things Hilltopper Basketball. Visit wkusports.com for more information.
