WKU Basketball: Hilltoppers, Herd Duel For First Time Since Title Game
The last time Western Kentucky and Marshall met on the basketball court, it was for a Conference USA title in Frisco, Texas. Despite the…
The last time Western Kentucky and Marshall met on the basketball court, it was for a Conference USA title in Frisco, Texas. Despite the Herd shooting 42.9% from three, including a 27-point performance from Jon Elmore, the Hilltoppers shut Marshall out over the final four minutes, going on an 11–0 run to turn a 12-point Herd lead into a one-point game.
However, Lamonte Bearden’s finger roll as he drove through the lane was spit out by the rim and Marshall grabbed the board, securing the Herd’s first NCAA tournament birth in 31 years and sending the Tops to the NIT.
Game Info
Time: 6:00 p.m. CT
Location: Cam Henderson Center | Huntington, West Virginia
TV: CBS Sports Network on Facebook Watch
Radio: The Hilltopper IMG Sports Network
That was then — a couple of Cinderella teams playing for a chance to go to the big dance. Tonight, it’s to back up a ton of preseason talk and prove that these are truly the two cream of the crop teams in the conference.
The Hilltoppers come into the matchup a little bruised in the ego, seeing a 21–0 lead against Old Dominion diminish into a 69–66 loss.
The Herd have opened conference play with consecutive wins over Old Dominion and Charlotte, winning by a total of four points against the two squads.
Two of last year’s difference makers are no longer on the floor for each team — Marshall is without Ajdin Penava, who averaged 15.6 points and 8.5 rebounds last year, while WKU is lacking Justin Johnson, the heartbeat of the Hill that they’re still looking to replace.
However, that isn’t to say fire power isn’t there, either.
You know the story for the Hilltoppers and you should remember the story from Marshall. Elmore and C.J. Burks lead the Herd in scoring, with 18.9 and 17.2 points per game, respectively, and a respectable cast of characters around them, including a really talented freshman in Taveion Kinsey, who fan-of-the-blog Steven Moffett is a fan of.
The bottom line — I’m really looking forward to this game.
I’m interested to see how Dalano Banton looks in what’ll be one of his first high-pressure moments as WKU’s starting point guard. How will he fare running the offense in his first game in this budding rivalry?
Something I’ll also be looking for is how Rick Stansbury utilizes his bench. One could trace the ODU collapse to his lack of bench utilization, and he’s been pretty stubborn on running a six/seven man rotation despite having a full benchworth of healthy bodies this year.
If Taveion Hollingsworth or Jared Savage go cold, does Stans let them shoot out of their funk or does he swap one of them for Jake Ohmer to see how he’s feeling?
While it’s still early in the conference season so missteps can happen, this is a huge test (for both sides) that could set the tone for the next month or so. Herd fans are going to be out in full force, so it’ll be all about emotion balancing for the Hilltoppers.