WKU Basketball: Hilltoppers Start 2020–21 Season with Impressive 93–87 Win over Northern Iowa
The highly anticipated 2020–21 season started off on a high note as the Hilltoppers put on an offensive fireworks show to overcome a…
The highly anticipated 2020–21 season started off on a high note as the Hilltoppers put on an offensive fireworks show to overcome a hot-shooting Northern Iowa team to start the season off with a 93–87 Win in the Bad Boy Motors Crossover Classic in South Dakota.
WKU started slowly as they fell behind 9–2 early as they were ice cold from deep. Stans would go to the bench and the team would respond with a 12–0 run.
From there there were some ebbs and flows as UNI hit eight first-half threes to stay in the game. The teams would be deadlocked at 26 around the 5-minute mark.
The Hilltoppers would break that deadlock as Taveion Hollingsworth & Charles Bassey take over and the Hilltoppers would end the half on a 13–5 run taking a 39–31 into the locker room. The Hilltoppers would shoot 42.1% from the floor in the first half.
UNI came out of the locker room white-hot as they were unreal from deep, they started the half on a 21–13 run to tie it up at 52 around the 15-minute mark.
The Tops took control over the next eight minutes as they regained the lead and gradually extended it getting up as much as 11 with 5:54 remaining.
The Panthers wouldn’t go away as they would chip the WKU lead down to three with a minute remaining. The Hilltoppers offense ground to a halt but they did a great job of getting to the line as Hollingsworth, McKnight, Anderson, Frampton & Cooper all drained late free-throws as the Hilltoppers would prevail 93–87 to move to 1–0 on the season.
Here are some thoughts on today’s
We’ve harped a lot over the years on Stansbury’s penchant for a short rotation, that went out the window today as he went 9 deep with each of those topping 10 minutes overall. He can finally play the hot hand and the matchup game, this development is a welcome sign after the last four seasons.
Taveion Hollingsworth picked up right where he left off last season as he scored 26 points and added 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. He is the heart and soul of this team and it’s great to see his senior season start off on the right foot.
Charles Bassey was a little rusty early but got better as the game wore on as he finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He dominated the interior defensively and the team figured out how to play with him offensively as the game wore on.
UNI hit 20 three-pointers tonight which obviously kept them in the game. While some of those were wide open, most the result of a great all-around shooting team. In the past teams like Belmont would use that shooting to run WKU out of the gym but tonight it didn’t matter for a variety of reasons. WKU will run a lot of teams out of the gym when they can’t match the Panthers shooting heroics.
The Tops shot 46.2% (30 field goals) with only six of those coming from three-point range. if this team doesn’t fall in love with the deep ball the sky is the limit.
Dayvion McKnight had perhaps the best debut by a freshman on the Hill in a long time. The Shelbyville native put up 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals and repeatedly came up with crucial buckets when UNI cut down the lead. He could be the Tops go-to player for years to come after this season.
WKU outrebounded UNI 29–24, it’s always good to see them take care of the glass against a physically inferior opponent.
The bread and butter of Stansbury ball is alive and well in this one as WKU racked up a 27–9 margin at the free throw line. This helped WKU overcome UNI’s hot shooting and shows that Stansbury ball does work on a high level.
Jordan Rawls had to split minutes with Kenny Cooper (who struggled) but he was a steady hand finishing with 5 points, 2 rebounds. It’s good to know that WKU has two capable point guards that don’t need to score to make an impact.
Luke Frampton is the shooting specialist we’ve been waiting on. He went 3–4 from deep & 5–5 from the line finishing with 14 points and 4 rebounds.
Josh Anderson might get lost in the shuffle with all the offensive fireworks but his athleticism came in handy and he had his own 6–0 run in the second half to keep WKU ahead while UNI was unconscious from deep. The sheer amount of weapons on this team is mouthwatering.
WKU dominated inside outscoring the Panthers 44–10 over the course of the game. That won’t happen every night but this team is long, athletic, and happy to take it inside.
Turnovers were an Achilles heel last season for the Tops tonight they won the battle 17–9. Yet another stat that helped them overcome the 20 three-pointers the Panthers hit.
WKU’s stay in South Dakota continues tomorrow as they take on the talented Memphis Tigers (1–0) for a spot in the Bad Boy Motors Crossover Classic Championship Game. Tipoff is 11 AM CT on ESPN. What a great way to start the season, this team’s potential was shown and it’s a sign of great things to come in 2020.
Here are your final stats from today’s impressive victory:
