GAME INFO
- Tulsa (10-1) at WKU (7-3)
- Friday, Dec. 19 | 6:30 p.m. CT | E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Ky.
- Watch: ESPN+ (PxP: Tyler Eaton | Analyst: Craig McCormick)
- Listen: The Varsity Network (PxP: Randy Lee | Analyst: Hal Schmitt)
- Live Stats: Sidearm | StatBroadcast
- Social: @WKUBasketball | @WKUSports
- Game Notes: WKU | Tulsa
AT THE GAME
- Purchase tickets to Friday's game against Tulsa HERE.
- The ticket booths at E.A. Diddle Arena will be open prior to doors opening. Doors will open 90 minutes prior to tipoff for the public.
- Friday's game theme is Deck The Hill — come celebrate the holiday season with Hilltopper Basketball. Deck The Hill in red and white, enter our Ugly Sweater Contest and visit with Santa Claus at Diddle Arena.
- The first 200 kids — ages 12 and under — inside Diddle Arena on Friday will receive a free basketball. Kids can pick up their voucher for the basketball at the kids' corner on the second level concourse before the game and pick up their basketball at the conclusion of the game at Entrance 4.
- Fans who donate a toy or stuffed bear for our Toys for Tots Drive will receive a voucher for a $10 ticket. We ask that fans who want to participate in the Teddy Bear Toss to hold their stuffed animal until instructed to throw at halftime.
- Schedule cards, posters and roster cards will be available at the marketing table near the entrance while supplies last.
- WKU Athletics offers a kids' corner in Diddle Arena, an area for kids to enjoy. This area includes bean bag tic-tac-toe, inflatable axe throwing and more. The kids' corner is located on the upstairs concourse by the concessions stand.
- After the game, stick around for postgame fist bumps from the WKU Hilltopper Basketball team and listen to the live postgame interview with Mahurin Family Foundation Head Coach Hank Plona.
- The full 2025-26 WKU Hilltopper Basketball promotional schedule can be found HERE.
- Want to make your gameday special? Check out our Hilltopper Highlights premium fan experiences for basketball season, including videoboard messages, Big Red visits, fan tunnels and more! Check out our Hilltopper Highlights HERE. Purchase WKU Hilltopper Basketball experiences HERE.
- For the full WKU Basketball Gameday Information page, click HERE.
- For the full WKU Basketball Winter Sports Yearbook, click HERE.
ABOUT THE TOPS
- WKU Hilltopper Basketball improved to 7-3 with a 102-59 win over Campbellsville on Monday night inside E.A. Diddle Arena. The Hilltoppers used balanced scoring in the 43-point victory, their largest margin of the season, as Ryan Myers led six players in double figures and WKU shot 50.0% from the field, dominated the glass 49-25 and committed just eight turnovers in one of its most complete efforts of the year.
- WKU is 5-0 at Diddle Arena this season, with home wins over Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State, Bethel (Tenn.), Evansville and Campbellsville. The Hilltoppers are 18-5 at home under Mahurin Family Foundation Head Coach Hank Plona during his two seasons on The Hill.
- Through the first 10 games, WKU has been one of the nation's premier free throw teams, tying for seventh nationally with 21.3 makes on 28.8 attempts per game. The Hilltoppers have earned at least 21 attempts in every contest, including three games with 30 or more against Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State and Vanderbilt, plus a season-high 41 attempts against Bethel (Tenn.). They have made at least 17 free throws in nine of 10 games, highlighted by a season-best 31 makes against Bethel, their most free throws made and attempted in a game since going 36-of-45 in an 88-74 win over Tennessee State on Dec. 1, 2018.
- Depth has been a major strength early in the season, as WKU averages 38.5 bench points per game to rank 11th nationally. The Hilltopper reserves have provided a consistent scoring punch, surpassing 40 bench points five times, including 56 against Bethel, 54 against Evansville and 46 in each of the Tennessee Tech and Campbellsville games.
- Graduate guard Ryan Myers has become one of WKU's hottest scoring options over the past two weeks. Over the last five games, he is averaging 15.2 points, shooting 48.0% from the field (24-of-50) and 63.0% from 3-point range (19-of-30), while adding 3.8 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per contest, a significant jump from his first five outings when he averaged 4.8 points on 24.0% shooting and 16.7% from deep in 17.8 minutes per game. Myers delivered a breakout performance against Evansville with 27 points off the bench, one shy of his career high, matching his career best with seven made 3-pointers while going 9-of-16 from the field in a season-high 31 minutes. He earned his first start of the season against Campbellsville and posted a game-high 19 points in 25 minutes in the 102-59 win.
- Redshirt sophomore guard Teagan Moore has been a major catalyst in WKU's 7-3 start, averaging a team-best 17.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in nine of 10 games and posted a career-high 27 points against South Florida on day two of Battle 4 Atlantis. The Dry Ridge, Kentucky, native ranks sixth in points per game in Conference USA after missing all of last season due to injury. He earned CUSA All-Freshman Team honors in 2023-24.
- Freshman guard Armelo Boone was named Conference USA Freshman of the Week for three straight weeks from Nov. 17-Dec. 1. After scoring a combined eight points in the two games against Evansville and Marshall, Boone bounced back in the win over Campbellsville, scoring 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting and adding a game-high eight rebounds and two steals. Through 10 games, he is WKU's second-leading scorer at 11.6 points per contest on 43.9% shooting, adding 5.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
QUOTABLE
- "I think it's very important that we continue to feel like we're playing good basketball, and we continue to prepare as well as we can, play together as well as we can, give the effort and attitude that we need to win games. We've proven to ourselves that we can do that versus top-level competition. So, obviously, it's one more chance to do that. I think the group is excited about the game on Friday. And so far, we've been pretty good when we get amped up and juiced to play." — Mahurin Family Foundation Head Coach Hank Plona, on hosting Tulsa.
SERIES INFORMATION
- Friday will mark the seventh meeting all-time between WKU and Tulsa and the first meeting since 2011.
- Tulsa leads the all-time series 5-1, winning the last five matchups. The Hilltoppers only win in the series came on Dec. 12, 1952, when WKU defeated Tulsa 79-70 in Louisville, Kentucky. At the time, WKU was ranked #10 in the AP Poll while Tulsa was ranked #8.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN HURRICANE
- Tulsa enters Friday's game with a 10-1 overall record after an 83-70 win over New Mexico State last Saturday, Dec. 13 in Frisco, Texas. Tulsa is ranked #40 in the NCAA Men's Basketball NET rankings. The last time the Hilltoppers hosted a top 40 team in the NET rankings was Jan. 16, 2022 when then-#24 Florida Atlantic (#13 in the NET rankings) came to Diddle Arena.
- Tulsa is led by head coach Eric Konkol, who is in his fourth season at the helm and 11th season as a head coach. He owns a 197-136 career record, including a 44-61 mark at Tulsa.
How to follow WKU Hilltopper Basketball: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Basketball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKUBasketball on Instagram and X.
