WKU Basketball: Brutal January Continues Against Old Dominion
Following their demolition of the Thundering Herd in Huntington last weekend, the Tops will take on the Old Dominion Monarchs in what…
Following their demolition of the Thundering Herd in Huntington last weekend, the Tops will take on the Old Dominion Monarchs in what should be one of the best conference games this year.
Game Info
Time: 7p.m. CT
Location: Ted Constant Convocation Center| Norfolk, Va.
TV: beIN Sports
Radio: The Hilltopper IMG Sports Network
Both WKU and ODU enter this one perfect in C-USA play, having beaten Charlotte, Rice and North Texas as part of a seven-game winning streak, dating back to December 6.
The Monarchs boast four double-digit scorers, and are led by B.J. Stith (15.0 points per game) and Ahmad Caver (14.5 points per game). Stith (6.3 rebounds per game) and Trey Porter (6.0 rebounds, 12.7 points per game) are the threats down low.
There are two things ODU does well — rebound (they’re averaging 39.9 boards a game, which is 37th in the nation) and stop teams from scoring (allowing just 61.7 points a night, the 11th best mark in the country). Against Marshall, the Tops went up against the ninth-best scoring offense in the country and shut them down until garbage time (which hit early with the huge lead), so we’ll see if the trend of the Tops forcing their opponents to buck trends continues.
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The big news heading into this one is, obviously, Moustapha Diagne being cleared by the NCAA, and is eligible to play with the Tops beginning tonight. Much like when Anderson was cleared last week, it’ll be a bit of a waiting game with getting him to game-condition, so his role might be condensed a bit over the next couple of weeks or so, but if he sniffs what Anderson did in his debut — 19 minutes, 16 points and four rebounds — then it’ll be a win for the Tops.
In all honesty, Diagne being a warm, vertical body on the floor will already help WKU in giving Justin Johnson and Dwight Coleby some rest; Johnson averages the third-most minutes for the Tops this year (32.6) while Coleby averages the fewest of any starter (27.5). Diagne, at 6'9", will allow for more regular breathers for JJ and Coleby, and should be an immediate factor on the glass.
I know he succeeded a the JUCO level, but I’m excited to see how exactly Diagne will be able to contribute to the score sheet. I honestly haven’t seen a ton of tape so I don’t know where his strengths lie, so it’ll be another fun night like it was when we got our first look at Anderson on Saturday.