GAME INFO
- Evansville (4-5) at WKU (5-2)
- Saturday, Dec. 6 | 3:00 p.m. CT | E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Ky.
- Watch:Â ESPN+Â (PxP: Barry Gresham | Analyst: Tyler Olden)
- Listen: The Varsity Network (PxP: Randy Lee | Analyst: Hal Schmitt)
- Live Stats: Sidearm | StatBroadcast
- Social: @WKUBasketball | @WKUSports
- Game Notes:Â WKUÂ |Â Evansville
AT THE GAME
- Purchase tickets to Saturday's game against Evansville 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.
- Saturday is Big Red's Birthday Celebration — celebrate your favorite mascot alongside our local friends and kick off the annual Toys for Tots drive, running now through December 19. Fans who donate a toy or stuffed animal will receive a voucher for a $10 ticket!
- The first 250 students inside Diddle Arena will receive free pizza.Â
- 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.Â
- 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.
- For the full WKU Hilltopper Basketball Digital Gameday Guide, click HERE.
ABOUT THEÂ TOPS
- WKU improved to 5-2 with a 75-70 win over Wichita State in the final game of Battle 4 Atlantis last Friday at Imperial Arena in The Bahamas. The Hilltoppers used a balanced offensive attack and several clutch second-half runs to secure the victory over the Shockers. WKU led 33-29 at the break behind an early surge from Armelo Boone and Teagan Moore, then weathered a big Wichita State push before answering with a 10-0 run to regain control. Boone, making his first career start, poured in a game-high 22 points, while Grant Newell and Moore added 18 apiece, and key late 3-pointers from Ryan Myers plus multiple and-ones from Moore helped the Hilltoppers close it out down the stretch.
- Through the first seven games of the season, WKU has been one of the nation's premier free throw teams, tying for first nationally with 23.0 makes per game and ranking third with 31.4 attempts per contest. The Hilltoppers have earned at least 23 free throw attempts in every game, including three outings with 30 or more attempts against Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State and Vanderbilt, plus a season-high 41 attempts against Bethel (Tenn.). They have converted at least 18 free throws in all seven games, highlighted by a season-best 31 makes against Bethel (Tenn.), and have won the free throw battle in six of seven contests. Their performance against Bethel marked the program's 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.
- Moore has been a major catalyst in WKU's 5-2 start, averaging a team-best 20.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He has scored at least 15 points in every outing and posted a career-high 27 points against South Florida on day two of Battle 4 Atlantis. Moore was one of the top players in Battle 4 Atlantis, finishing second in points per game (23.0), fifth in rebounds per game (7.3), fifth in assists per game (4.0), sixth in field goal percentage (51.2%) and third in free throw percentage (92.6%). The Dry Ridge, Kentucky native is the second-leading scorer in Conference USA and ranks 31st nationally in points per game. He missed all of last season due to injury after earning Conference USA All-Freshman Team honors in 2023-24.
- Freshman guard Armelo Boone has been named Conference USA Freshman of the Week for three straight weeks. He turned in an impressive three-game run at Battle 4 Atlantis, averaging 17.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.7 blocks and 0.3 steals while shooting 45.9% from the field and 82.3% at the free throw line. Boone opened the week with what was then a season-best, totaling 16 points and seven rebounds while going 4-of-11 from the floor and 6-of-7 at the stripe in just 23 minutes against the #23/24 Commodores, highlighted by a thunderous alley-oop dunk that landed at #6 on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays. He followed that with another strong effort against South Florida, finishing with 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and one block in 26 minutes on 5-of-12 shooting and a 3-of-4 mark at the line. Boone capped the week with a career night in his first start, leading the Hilltoppers with a career-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting and a 5-of-6 effort at the line, while adding three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in a career-high 35 minutes in the win over Wichita State.
- Senior forward Grant Newell has been a steady scoring option for the Hilltoppers, averaging 11.7 points on 44.8% shooting from the field and 40.0% from 3-point range.
QUOTABLE
- "Obviously, a challenging week for us at Battle 4 Atlantis. We went down there knowing it would be three difficult games no matter who we played, and I think there was a lot of good to take from it. There were definitely some things to learn from as well. Short of Terrion's injury, I think our team is in a pretty good place right now. There are a lot of positives. I think we proved to ourselves that we can compete with anybody, and that's a positive. We also learned that we need to keep improving and figure out how to play together so we can execute on both ends of the floor and become a better team. In November, that's the point of putting yourself in that situation. If we use the lessons we learned on the trip, it can really help us moving forward. This week we'll kind of gather ourselves, collect a little bit Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then by Thursday start getting ready for a big home game versus Evansville on Saturday." — Mahurin Family Foundation Head Coach Hank Plona, ahead of Saturday's game vs. Evansville.
SERIES INFORMATION
- Saturday will mark the 62nd meeting all-time between WKU and Evansville, the second meeting in the last two years. Prior to the 2024-25 season, the Hilltoppers and Purple Aces had not met since the 2009-10 season.Â
- The Hilltoppers lead the all-time series, 41-20. WKU defeated Evansville, 79-65, on Dec. 7, 2024, in Evansville, Indiana.
SCOUTING THE PURPLE ACES
- Evansville enters Saturday's game with a 4-5 overall record, including a 64-52 win over Ball State on Wednesday, Dec. 3.
- The Purple Aces are led by David Ragland, who is in his fourth year at the helm. He owns a 37-71 career record at Evansville.
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.
