WKU Hosts UTEP for Senior Day

Saturday, February 28

Bowling Green, Ky.

2:00 PM

Western Kentucky University

UTEP

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Photo by: Liam Downie/WKU Athletics

2/27/2026 4:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball hosts UTEP on Saturday, Feb. 28, for Senior Day. Tipoff inside E.A. Diddle Arena is set for 2 p.m. CT and the game will stream live on ESPN+.

GAME INFO

UTEP (10-18, 6-11 CUSA) at WKU (17-11, 10-7 CUSA)
Saturday, Feb. 28 | 2 p.m. CT | E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Ky.
Watch: ESPN+ (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: WKU | UTEP

AT THE GAME

Purchase tickets to Saturday's game against UTEP 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.
The first 500 students at Saturday's game will receive a $10 voucher, valid at any WKU Restaurant Group Concession stand, plus Rita's and Chaney's inside Diddle Arena. Students can pick up their voucher at Entrance 2 by showing a valid student ID. Vouchers are limited to the first 500 students — one per student. Students will not receive cash back when redeeming their voucher.
WKU is offering $10 game day special concessions deals on Saturday. At select locations, fans have the following options for $10 game day special deals: Two 12-ounce Busch Light; one 16-ounce beer and small popcorn; one 16-ounce beer and hot dog; one soda, one hotdog and small popcorn; or soda and large popcorn.
Saturday is WKU's annual Senior Day. Prior to the game, WKU will recognize nine seniors for their time on The Hill — Bryant Selebangue, Blaise Keita, Cam Haffner, Ryan Myers, Noah Boyde, Grant Newell, Cade Stinnett, Terrion Murdix and Leeroy Odiahi.
During the game, WKU will recognize the 1942 and 1948 Hilltopper Basketball teams that were inducted into the WKU Athletics Hall of Fame.
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.
For the full WKU Hilltopper Basketball Digital Gameday Guide, click HERE.

ABOUT THE TOPS

WKU Hilltopper Basketball earned its fifth straight win with a wire-to-wire, 90-73 rout of New Mexico State on Thursday night in E.A. Diddle Arena. The Hilltoppers exploded to a 17-0 start and never looked back, stretching their lead to as many as 32 points behind a balanced attack that saw five Hilltoppers score in double figures in the win over the Aggies. The starting lineup of Terrion Murdix, LJ Hackman, Teagan Moore, Grant Newell and Blaise Keita improved to 6-0 this season, as Moore finished with 23 points and seven boards and Newell added 18 points. Ryan Myers provided 17 points off the bench, Hackman recorded his first Division I double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Leeroy Odiahi chipped in 10 points on perfect shooting.
Depth has been a major strength for WKU this season as the Hilltoppers are averaging 32.9 bench points per game to rank first in CUSA and top-15 nationally. The WKU reserves have delivered a consistent scoring spark, topping 40 bench points five times, highlighted by 56 against Bethel, 54 against Evansville and 46 in both the Tennessee Tech and Campbellsville contests. The Hilltoppers have posted over 30 bench points in 11 of their last 14 outings, including seven of the last eight games.
WKU is among the top rebounding teams in the country, ranking top-20 nationally with 13.4 offensive boards per game and top-30 nationally with 39.8 total rebounds per outing. The Hilltoppers have topped 40 rebounds in 16 contests this season, including nine CUSA games. In league play, WKU paces CUSA with 38.4 rebounds and 13.4 offensive boards per game.
Through 28 games, WKU has established itself as one of the nation's premier free throw teams, ranking 16th nationally with 19.2 makes on 25.1 attempts per game. The Hilltoppers have earned at least 21 attempts in 24 contests, including six games with 30 or more against Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State, Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee, Delaware and New Mexico State, plus a season-high 41 attempts against Bethel (Tenn.). WKU's free throw percentage has skyrocketed over the last three games as the Hilltoppers have shot 82.9% (97-of-117) at the line, highlighted by a season-best 95.7% (22-of-23) effort against league-leading Liberty last Saturday.
Redshirt sophomore guard Teagan Moore has emerged as WKU's go-to offensive option, pacing the Hilltoppers with 18.5 points per game to go along with 5.7 rebounds. He has reached double figures in 20 of his 23 appearances this season, scoring at least 15 points 19 times and posting 10 20-point outings. The Dry Ridge, Kentucky, native is putting together an efficient all-around shooting campaign, converting 52.0% from the field, 40.3% from beyond the arc and 79.9% at the free throw line. Those numbers place him among the league's elite, ranking second in CUSA in scoring (18.5 ppg), third in field goal percentage (52.0%) and seventh in free throw percentage (79.9%). Since returning from a five-game absence due to a head injury, Moore has delivered four straight standout performances. In WKU's 82-80 victory over long-time rival Middle Tennessee, he matched his career high with 28 points, going 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and a career-best 13-of-15 at the foul line, including a perfect 2-of-2 trip to seal the win with three seconds remaining. He was named CUSA Player of the Week after leading WKU to road wins at Delaware and Liberty. He scored 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 8-of-9 at the line with four rebounds in an 88-87 overtime win at Delaware, then recorded 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 3-of-3 from long distance and 6-of-7 at the line with four rebounds in a 94-73 victory that snapped Liberty's 17-game winning streak and marked their first CUSA loss since March 2, 2025. He followed that up with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds in WKU's dominant 93-70 win over New Mexico State on Thursday, Feb. 26.
Senior forward Grant Newell has provided a reliable scoring punch in his first season on The Hill, averaging a career-high 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds across 28 games. He has scored in double figures 20 times, highlighted by four outings with 20 points or more. The Chicago, Illinois, native has been playing his best basketball of the year during WKU's four-game winning streak, averaging 17.6 points and 5.2 rebounds over that span. He scored 23 points against FIU, 20 against Middle Tennessee, 21 at Liberty and 18 against New Mexico State, helping the Hilltoppers extend their winning streak to five games. He's been highly efficient during the streak, shooting 51.7% (30-of-58) from the field, 48.1% (13-of-27) from 3-point range and 83.3% (15-of-18) from the free throw line.
Freshman guard Armelo Boone has emerged as one of the league's top newcomers, tying for a conference-best four CUSA Freshman of the Week honors while averaging 11.0 points, a team-best 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals. The Lexington, Kentucky, native has recorded three double-doubles this season — 16 points and 12 boards against Tulsa, 16 points and 13 rebounds at Sam Houston and 13 points and 13 rebounds against Liberty — to become the first WKU freshman with multiple double-doubles in a season since Charles Bassey in 2018-19.
Graduate guard Terrion Murdix has made a strong impact in his first season back on the floor, averaging 6.3 points, a team-high 4.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 steals after missing the last two years with leg injuries. He ranks seventh nationally in steal percentage and leads Conference USA in the category, while also tying for the league lead in steals per game and averaging a CUSA-best 2.3 steals in conference play. Murdix has recorded at least one steal in 19 of 20 games, including 12 outings with multiple steals. He is averaging 6.0 points, 6.6 assists and 2.8 steals during WKU's current five-game winning streak.
Graduate forward Blaise Keita has recently become a steady force in the paint for WKU, grabbing 63 rebounds over his last eight games for an average of 7.9 boards per game — the best stretch of his Division I career.

QUOTABLE

"I heard President Caboni is handing out free food and free sodas and all that. I don't know what students will be doing at 2 o'clock other than coming over to watch the Hilltoppers play their last game of the year — but man, we'd love to have a great crowd. We obviously have one more game here at Diddle. We've been playing pretty well. That's not a promise that we're going to play perfect on Saturday, but I know that the more energy in that building, the bigger crowd that we have, the more passion that our guys can feel. They really feed off that." — Mahurin Family Foundation Head Coach Hank Plona, on Saturday's Senior Day game against UTEP.

SERIES INFORMATION

Saturday will mark the 17th meeting all-time between WKU and UTEP. The Hilltoppers lead the series, 14-2.
WKU has won the last five meetings, including a 68-56 win over the Miners earlier this season in El Paso.

SCOUTING THE MINERS

UTEP enters Saturday's game with a 10-18 overall record and a 6-11 mark in Conference USA play after a 77-67 loss at Middle Tennessee on Feb. 26.
UTEP is led by head coach Joe Golding, who is in his fifth season at the helm. He owns a 76-74 overall record with the Miners and a 234-218 career record in 15 seasons.

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.