WKU Preview

So, its the battle of Bowling Green renewed again, this time taking it to a new location, Montreal, Quebec.

Sacre Orange.

From 1944-63, BG and WKU played 25 times, often doing a home-home in the same season.  That was the golden age of Falcon basketball, but it wasn't a great series.  WKU won 17 of the 25 matches.  They were rolling during this time, under the tutelage of E.A. Diddle, their Hall of Fame Coach. He had the red towel, which is now part of their logo.  They were regularly ranked during this time with numerous NIT appearances (this is pre-NCAA).

Since that all ended, the two teams have played 9 teams, with WKU winning 6. Making it 23 of 34 for the Hilltoppers.  

Firmly down the rabbit hole, this is the 8th time the two teams have played on a neutral floor.  Other games have been in Cincinnati, the Louisville Armory (twice), Cleveland Arena, Owensboro (KY), the Toledo Sports Arena, Madison Square Garden and the US Virgin Islands....and the Toppers won 6 of 7 on neutral floors.  BG lost the game at the Sports Arena...for a few years there the BG-TU game was played at the Sports Arena as well.

BG's only neutral floor win was the last meeting between the two teams, which was in the Virgin Islands in 2020, the year the MAC Tournament was canceled.  Justin Turner had 27 that night.  Frye 19.

Rick Stansbury was their coach.  He coached there for 7 years and won 61% of his games. However, he never made the NCAA tournament and was fired.  (Some UT fans would like to do the same to Tod Kowalcyk for the same reasons).

Their new coach is Steve Lutz, who was head coach at Texas A&M Corpus-Christi and took them to the NCAAs twice, winning a PIG once.

They are 3-1, but 2 of those wins are non-D1.  They are 1-1 in actual games.  They beat Murray State (158) and lost to Wichita State (98), both games away.  

Their kenpom is 146 right now.  They were picked #3 in the conference poll and Blue Ribbon had them #6.

As is often the case when you switch coaches, they lost all their starters and only returned four players total.

On offense, they have been below average.  They try 73% 2FGs, one of the highest rates in the country.  Which is good, they are #347 shooting 3FGs. They take excellent care of the ball and are very good on the offensive boards.

On defense, they are above average to date. They are #98 in turnovers forced.  They are decent against the shot and on the defensive boards but they foul a lot--one of the most in the country.

Their leading scorer is Don McHenry, who is a JUCO transfer.  He is scoring 13.8 on mostly 2FGs and 43% shooting.  Leads the team with 12 assists.

Brandon Newman is scoring 12 a game, shooting 42% overall and 33% from 3FG.  He also leads the team with 6.5 RPG. He is 6'5" and transferred from Purdue, where he was a role player.

Khristian Lander is scoring 10.3 per game. He was a highly-rated recruit out of HS and transferred from Indiana.

They have six players scoring from 8 to 6 points a game as well. 

First game of 3.  This will be a tough one.  BG has been shooting poorly.  I think Trey Thomas will be back, which should lead to some improvement right away.