WKU Basketball: Letter to the Fans-Why You Should Go to Middle Saturday

Dear Fellow Topper Fans,

There are few things that should make a Topper more happy than stomping on Middle Tennessee. I have seen people argue that Murray, Eastern, or Marshall is WKU’s biggest rival. I even saw one lone wolf saying La Tech. Y’all crazy!

For this lifetime Topper that knows his history and also went to college when Western (Yes I know it’s WKU for those concerned about branding) and Middle had some of their greatest battles (‘08-’14, ‘15-’17), I now say that Middle Tennessee State is now our greatest historical rival.

Since Kermit Davis left, Middle may not be our greatest on-court rival the past half decade, but they are certainly our greatest rival in women’s basketball and have been part of some of the better battles on the gridiron. Keep in mind, WKU defeated MTSU two years in a row to make it to the NCAA Tournament in 2008-09. WKU also beat Middle for its first FBS win in 2007, a real shocker. Middle also handed out its own pains to the Tops, defeating WKU in all sports but specifically men’s and women’s basketball in recent memory. If you don’t at minimum dislike Middle, it’s time to brush up on your Topper history.

Fast forward to this season…

For the first time since what would probably be the 2017-18 season, when WKU was fighting for an at-large bid and Middle was also really good in Kermit Davis’ final year, there is a tangible number of people excited to go down to Murfreesboro to see the guys play. When was the last time people were really talking publicly about traveling to see the Tops?

Since CUSA has done this mirror scheduling stuff (where guys and girls play on the same day against the same school), it has really hampered travel, especially to regional rivals like Middle. Well, now that excuse is out the window for this one game, because the girls play at 11 AM and it gives WKU fans 5.5 hours to finish with the girls (who hopefully shock CUSA’s best team), rest (or shop in Nashville or whatever, really) and drive less than two hours (90 miles or so) to Murfreesboro.

Make a day of it!

The Lady Tops play at 11 on ESPNU in Diddle Arena and need your support to combat a Middle Tennessee that bafflingly is not getting votes in the polls, despite four total losses, zero losses in CUSA, and a top 40 NET ranking.

Why they’re not getting much national respect is beyond me. Nonetheless, it is crucial for the Lady Tops to have some support in Diddle Saturday morning.

Then go home, take you a Topper nap (remember, we don’t DO cat naps at WKU!), and get down to Murfreesboro and let’s cheer on the Tops.

Again, I don’t remember a time in recent memory where the fan base is this juiced up for men’s basketball. And I don’t remember a time within the last decade that it was feasible to attend both the men’s and the women’s games in the same day without cramming it in, hoping you don’t hit traffic.

Why It Matters

There are so many reasons to go to an away game. First of all, you love the Tops and you love watching WKU Basketball. That’s the first thing and that’s really all you should need. But if you’re on the fence, there’s so much more incentive than that!

First of all, if you’ve never traveled to an away game, period, you’re missing out on some of the best experiences there are in intercollegiate athletics. Sure, I love Diddle Arena, but my most vivid memories are playing Rummikub in the car stuck in traffic with Evan Brown heading to freaking UALR (when Trency Jackson hit the three at the buzzer btw), rollling by myself to a women’s game at South Al for no real reason, going to conference tournament with the pep band, watching WKU’s men and women celebrate in the confetti after a conference championship win, and finally going to Middle games and taking over the stadium with several hundred to nearly 1,000 other Western fans.

There’s nothing better.

I’m telling you.

There’s NOTHING better.

You get to meet all the hardcore people you see on Facebook and Twitter talking Tops. You get to meet former players. You get access to random Hilltopper people that you probably wouldn’t otherwise. You get to meet opposing fans of varying class lol. Plus, it’s just an adrenaline rush to have everybody give you the evil eye and you give em a “what’s up?” nod back!

I go into it like I’m going to war. It’s fun, man! It’s a rush! I’m telling you. Just do it. Tickets are cheap down there. You’ll see how thankful you should be that you’re at WKU. You’ll see what everybody means by it being a high school gym and/or being outdated.

And on top of the non-2023-24 season reasons, what about the current circumstances? First of all, Middle may have an ugly 11-16 record and sit at 5-7 in CUSA play, but they have been playing good basketball of late. Before Saturday’s loss at JSU by eight (respectable), they had won three straight, including winning a road game at FIU. They also have Jestin Porter, who had been averaging over 20 this month. He had a really down game against JSU (five points on 2-of-8 shooting), but had scored 26 and 41 the previous two games en route to his second CUSA Player of the Week honors.

The point is, this is not a pushover game, and more importantly, the Tops are looking like the best team in CUSA of late, but they need some serious help. They need to win every game, most likely in order to steal CUSA from La Tech and Sam Houston.

With a win, WKU clinches no worse than a tie for fourth place in CUSA, and really almost guarantees the three horse race that we pretty much know it is between 8-3 SHSU, 8-3 La Tech, and 8-4 WKU.

Speaking of which, as of writing this, we don’t know where La Tech and Sam will stand heading into Saturday’s games, but if either or both of them lose (both are slight road favorites), that just makes this even more of an opportunity for WKU. If either of them lose Saturday (La Tech will be favored; Sam Houston will likely be a slight underdog), again, that just opens all kinds of doors for WKU to apply the pressure by simply continuing to win.

All of this to say…

Paint the blue town red.

Call your old college friends, hit up your cousin in Smyrna to crash for the night, carpool, whatever you gotta do. Get down to Murfreesboro and let’s turn up for the Tops.

Sincerely,

An avid Topper fan like you

P.S. BEAT MIDDLE!