Tops wrap homestand hosting Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU men’s basketball wraps its four-game homestand and closes home non-conference competition hosting Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday, Dec. 21. Tipoff from E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. is slated for 2 p.m. CT with ESPN+ set to broadcast the event.

The Hilltoppers enter Saturday’s game coming off an 86-71 win over Seattle on Tuesday to improve to 8-3 on the year with a 7-1 record at home. Don McHenry once again led WKU in the scoring column, posting 28 points off 9-for-12 shooting from the field with a 4-of-5 shooting clip from beyond the arc and 6-of-6 from the stripe. Braxton Bayless finished with a season-high 13 points and led the team in rebounds with eight to match a career best.

As a team, WKU shot the ball at a season-best .592% clip. The Tops connected on 29-of-49 total shots, marking the team’s most efficient game from the field since January of last season. WKU also shot at a .600% clip from range, connecting on 12-of-20 three-pointers as a collective.

Tuesday’s win marked a fifth-straight for the Tops with the team now seeing victories in eight of its last nine contests.

GAME INFO
WKU (8-3, 0-0) vs. Kentucky Wesleyan (8-2, 2-0)
Saturday, Dec. 21 | 2 p.m. CT
E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Ky.

Watch: ESPN+ (Jack Kizer & Jay Walton)

Listen: Hilltopper Sports Radio Network | 100.7-FM (WKLX)/Varsity Network (Randy Lee & Hal Schmitt)

Live Stats: Sidearm Stats // StatBroadcast

Tickets: WKUTickets.com | 1-800-5-BIG RED

Game notes: WKU | KWC

ABOUT THE TOPS

• Don McHenry leads the Hilltoppers in scoring with 17.5 points per outing; the senior guard averages 1.9 assists per game, good for second-most on the team, and touts the ninth best field-goal percentage in CUSA with a .443% mark
• Babacar Faye currently charts as the team’s second-leading scorer and leads the Tops in rebounding, averaging 15.2 points and 7.8 boards per contest; the senior big has also shot at a team-high .537% clip from the field (min 10 attempts) and ranks fifth in CUSA for rebounding
• Faye holds the conference’s eighth-best free-throw percentage at .804% (45-of-56) off the fourth-most attempts in the league
• McHenry and Faye currently chart as the fourth and ninth-leading scorers in CUSA respectively
• Tyrone Marshall Jr. leads the Hilltoppers and ranks 12th in CUSA in blocks with a total of nine on the year
• Marshall leads WKU in defensive rebounding with 66 (6.0/G) on the year, good for third-most in CUSA and 49th in the nation
• Freshman Julius Thedford is currently the team’s third-leading scorer averaging 11.4 points per game and leads the team in three-point percentage (min 10 attempts) with a .422% clip from range
• WKU leads CUSA in FG% defense allowing a mark of just .382%, good for 17th best in the nation
• WKU ranks first in CUSA in defensive rebounding with 31.09 per contest, good for fourth most in the nation
• WKU ranks third in CUSA in scoring offense with 81.2 points per contest
• The Tops rank second in CUSA in steals with 8.55 per contest; McHenry charts fourth in the league in steals and 94th nationally with a total of 21 on the year (1.9 per contest)
• Jalen Jackson leads the team and charts 19th in CUSA in assists with 23 (2.1/G) on the year
• WKU currently ranks eighth in the nation in adjusted tempo with an average of 73.3 possessions per 40 minutes
• WKU currently leads CUSA with 14.09 fastbreak points per game, good for 65th most in the nation
• The Tops’ 26.09 bench points per game ranks second in CUSA and ranks 99th in the nation

SERIES INFORMATION

WKU holds a 27-9 all-time advantage over Kentucky Wesleyan in a series dating back to 1922. The first-ever meeting between the programs was held in Owensboro on Feb. 5, 1922, with WKU falling to KWC, 40-27. The Hilltoppers lead the Panthers 14-5 all-time when hosting the matchup in Bowling Green. WKU previously defeated the Panthers, 90-64, last season in a home contest on Nov. 6.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

• KWC enters Saturday’s game on an eight-game winning streak and coming off an 89-61 win over East-West on Thursday
• Logan McIntire led the Panthers in the win with 24 points and a 4-of-6 clip from range in 28 minutes of action
• McIntire leads KWC in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per contest with a team-best 29 made three-pointers on the year
• McIntire holds team high marks from the field and from beyond the arc, shooting at a .602% clip from the field and .569% from three-point range
• Fifth-year guard Kennedy Miles leads the Panthers in assists with a total of 42 on the year

AT THE GAME

Saturday will serve as Big Red’s Holiday Extravaganza featuring an Ugly Sweater Contest, a Teddy Bear Toss at halftime and a visit from Santa Claus. Fans are encouraged to wear their favorite holiday sweater to the game and will have the opportunity to take photos with Santa Claus on the second-floor concourse. Fans who donate a toy or stuffed bear to ‘Toys For Tots’ can also receive a voucher for a 10 dollar ticket for future use.

Student section seat tickets will be offered to all WKU Alum who have graduated within the last 10 years. Those purchasing a student section seat will be entered to win a free WKU NIL Store team jersey. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 1-800-5-BIG RED or visit WKUTickets.com.