LEXINGTON – WKU men’s basketball team will wrap the BBN Invitational with a nationally televised road battle facing No. 9 and unbeaten Kentucky on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Tipoff from Rupp Arena is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET with the game set to broadcast live on ESPNU. Roy Philpott and Pat Bradley will call the action for the network.
The Hilltoppers posted a 79-62 win over Jackson State in Diddle Arena last time out on Nov. 20. The win marked the third straight for WKU and improved the Tops to 3-2 overall for the season. Three Hilltoppers charted in double figures in the win, with Khristian Lander leading the way scoring 15 points off 5-for-7 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Don McHenry accounted for 13 points with five rebounds, five steals and an assist, and freshman Julius Thedford charted 12 points off 5-for-8 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range.
ABOUT THE TOPS
Lander led the Tops in scoring for the second time on the season last Wednesday night; the graduate guard posted 15 points in the win over Jackson State and 23 points in a win over Campbellsville on Nov. 12
McHenry has finished with 20+ points in three of the Tops’ five games this season, recording a team-high 23 points on the road at Grand Canyon and 21 points in the team’s season opener against Wichita State and Lipscomb on Nov. 17
McHenry currently charts as the Hilltoppers’ leading scorer at 17.2 ppg and has averaged 1.8 assists per game, good for second-most on the team; the Hilltopper guard currently charts as the fifth-leading scorer in CUSA and boasts the fourth-highest shooting clip in CUSA at .447%
Faye led the Tops in scoring in the team’s season opener against Wichita State, charting a career-best 28 points with 8 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block
Faye leads the team in rebounding and blocks, pulling down 7.8 rebounds per outing and a total of five blocks on the year; the Hilltopper big currently charts fifth in CUSA for rebounding
Faye is currently second on the team in scoring and 10th in CUSA with 15 points per outing
The Tops lead CUSA in bench points per game with 31.8 per outing
Jalen Jackson’s +5 assist-to-turnover ratio is the second best in CUSA and 21st nationally
Don McHenry charts third in CUSA in total field goals with 34
Tyrone Marshall Jr. currently averages 6.4 defensive rebounds per game, good for second in CUSA and 60th in the nation
The Hilltoppers rank third in CUSA in three-pointers per game with 9.8
WKU ranks fourth in CUSA in fastbreak points, managing an average of 13.8 per game
The Hilltoppers and the Wildcats are currently tied for seventh in the nation in adjusted tempo, each averaging 73.4 possessions per 40 minutes
SERIES INFORMATION
A win would improve WKU to 3-5 all-time in meetings against Kentucky. The matchup will mark the fourth time the two have squared off in Rupp Arena and the first meeting between the teams since Dec. 21, 2021. The Wildcats won the matchup, 95-60. Tuesday will also mark the first regular-season matchup for the Tops against an AP Top 25 ranked team since 2023 when the Tops visited No. 21 FAU.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Kentucky enters the game unbeaten at 5-0 and ranked ninth in the current AP Top 25 poll
Last time out, Kentucky defeated Jackson State, 108-59, on Nov. 22
Graduate guard Koby Brea led the Wildcats with 22 points, connecting on 5-of-8 from beyond the arc; Brea leads the Wildcats in three-point percentage with a .741% shooting clip from deep
The Wildcats were picked to finish eighth in a stacked Southeastern Conference
Jaxson Robinson was named Preseason Third-Team All-SEC
The Wildcats boast a prolific high-scoring offense, charting 100 or more points in three of the team’s five games
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