BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Men's Basketball starts its 107th season with its first exhibition of the year on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m. CT inside E.A. Diddle Arena against Kentucky Wesleyan.
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GAME INFO
• Kentucky Wesleyan at WKU (EXH)
• Wednesday, Oct. 22 | 6:30 p.m. CT | E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Ky.
• Listen: The Varsity Network (PxP: Reily Chestnut | Analyst: Hal Schmitt)
• Social: @WKUBasketball | @WKUSports
• Live Stats: Sidearm | StatBroadcast
• Game Notes: WKU | KWC
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AT THE GAME
• Admission for the exhibition is free for all fans.Â
• Free parking is available in Parking Structure 1 and 2.
• Following the contest, fans can head down to John O. Oldham Court and get autographs from the WKU Hilltopper Basketball team.Â
• For more information, call 1-800-5-BIGRED.Â
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ABOUT THE TOPS
• WKU Hilltopper Basketball begins the 2025-26 campaign under second-year Head Coach Hank Plona with a dramatically retooled roster.Â
• Seven players return to the team for the 2025-26 season, five guards and two big men, while nine newcomers join the squad – five guards and four big men.
• Guards Teagan Moore, Jack Edelen, Terrion Murdix, Cade Stinnett and Kade Unseld return for WKU this season. Edelen is the lone returning guard to see floor time in 2024-25, averaging 2.9 points per game. Moore, Murdix, Stinnett and Unseld redshirted and did not see time on the floor in 2024-25. Moore is looking to build on a promising freshman campaign in 2023-24, where he was twice named CUSA Freshman of the Week and earned a spot on the CUSA All-Freshman Team.Â
• Blaise Keita and Leeroy Odiahi are the two returning big men for the Hilltoppers. Keita started 12 of 24 appearances, averaging 2.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while Odiahi led the squad with 29 blocked in 31 games.
• Transfer guards LJ Hackman, Cam Haffner and Ryan Myers are expected to have significant roles in WKU's backcourt while transfer big men Bryant Selebangue, Noah Boyde, Grant Newell and Louie Semona will be vital to WKU's success in the frontcourt.
• WKU signed freshmen guards Armelo Boone and Lawson Rice. They come to WKU after standout high school careers in Kentucky.
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QUOTABLE
• "Obviously, this feels like somewhat of the first game week for us, so I think we're looking forward to taking the floor here at Diddle and putting on some game uniforms and seeing what we've got. Obviously, it feels like a very new team, a very new start and a very kind of fresh beginning for this group. We've been at it since early June, so I guess that's about four or five months of pretty consistent work. Everybody says first practice is in late September, but you're allowed four hours on the court to do whatever you want to from June on. I guess the length has increased here as we've gotten going, but we've been practicing since June and kind of building our identity, our values, our culture and all that type of thing. I think we've had a productive summer and fall, and we're looking forward to taking the court here and getting started on Wednesday night." – Head Coach Hank Plona on starting the season with the exhibition against Kentucky Wesleyan.
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SERIES INFORMATION
• WKU and Kentucky Wesleyan have previously met 37 times with the most recent meeting coming in the 2024-25 season.Â
• The Hilltoppers have won 23 of the last 24 contests against the Panthers dating back to the 1929-30 season.Â
• WKU defeated Kentucky Wesleyan 91-71 last season in Bowling Green at Diddle Arena on Dec. 21, 2024.
• This year's game will not count towards the all-time series as it is an exhibition.Â
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
• Kentucky Wesleyan compiled a 22-7 overall record in 2024-25, including a 16-4 mark in G-MAC play.
• The Panthers return six players from last year's team while welcoming 12 newcomers to the program.
• Kentucky Wesleyan finished second in the G-MAC regular season standings and lost to Malone, 72-62, in the G-MAC Tournament Quarterfinals last year.
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How to follow WKU Hilltopper Basketball:Â For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Basketball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKUBasketball on Instagram and X.
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