WKU Basketball: Preview for Western Kentucky vs Florida International, Part 2
It was a very high scoring affair the first time around in Bowling Green with the Tops taking home the 14-point victory. Can they do it again? Here's everything you need to know about WKU vs FIU.
Overview
On Saturday, March 2, The Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers head south to play the Florida International University Panthers in Miami. Western Kentucky (19-9, 8-6 CUSA) is coming off of a tough loss to Louisiana Tech in Bowling Green, 90-84, keeping them at third place in Conference USA and officially soiling their chance at a number one seed for the Conference USA tournament in Huntsville. Florida International (9-19, 4-9 CUSA) is also coming off of a loss at home against Jacksonville State, 77-75, keeping them at last place in Conference USA. As of publication, ESPN’s BPI slightly favors Western Kentucky with a 53.7% chance to win.
Notable Statistics
WKU Stat Leaders
PPG: Don McHenry- 15.8 points per game
RPG: Babacar Faye- 5.8 rebounds per game
APG: Don McHenry- 2.6 assists per game
FIU Stat Leaders
PPG: Arturo Dean-13.2 points per game
RPG: Arturo Dean- 5 rebounds per game
APG: Arturo Dean- 4 assists per game
WKU Team Stats
80.2 PPG
46.6% FG
33.7% 3PT
40 RPG
13.6 APG
7.1 SPG
13.9 TO
FIU Team Stats
73.7 PPG
43.4% FG
33.1% 3PT
32.3 RPG
14.4 APG
10.7 SPG
13.9 TO
Keys to Victory
WKU
Western Kentucky is going to have to make sure they guard the three. When these two teams played in Bowling Green, Florida International attempted 40 threes for the game and they were able to cash in on 17 of them. WKU needed 92 (scored 105) to beat FIU last time. This was probably the primary reason for WKU’s most recent loss against La Tech, and heck, WKU’s loss at MTSU was also largely due to three point shooting. The Bulldogs were able to shoot 55% from three (11-of-20), because the WKU guards weren’t able to close out fast enough, and Louisiana Tech was able to have way too many open looks from beyond the arc. WKU has been amazing all year with guarding the three-point line and have been top 50 in the country in defensive three-point percentage all season long but have really taken a step back lately and they are going to have to fix it if they want to beat FIU.
WKU needs to attack the paint. Florida International is not known for their inside presence. Western Kentucky did a good job of this when these two teams played in Bowling Green. FIU’s Seth Pinkney is a presence down low but plays less than 20 minutes per game. WKU was able to score 58 points in the paint against the Panthers, and a chunk of that damage was done without Pinkney on the floor. Rather than trying to force three-point shots, feed your big men and get Pinkney and others in foul trouble. Rodney Howard and Babacar Faye are more than capable of taking over a game and Western Kentucky will have their best chance of winning if they continue to work from the inside out.
WKU also needs Teagan Moore to continue with the offense, presumably off of the bench. Teagan is a 6’5” guard for the Hilltoppers and he had a career night in WKU’s loss to La Tech. He ended the game with a career high of 22 points to lead all scorers. Go off, young freshman! He has rightfully earned his minutes (and taken them from veterans) and has become a regular rotational player for this Hilltopper team. While he is capable of making threes, Teagan is more of a “take the ball to the hole” type of player. All of his 22 points against La Tech came from either the paint or from the free throw line. With Florida International not having very much of an inside presence, Teagan has the ability to have yet another career night in Miami. Whether it’s Teagan Moore, the big guys, or one of WKU’s many paint penetrators off of the dribble, it was clear in the last matchup that Western can control FIU if it doesn’t fall in love with the three and attack the paint.
Bonus Key from the Editor: Handle the Press
FIU loves to press, and WKU loves to turn it over. Hilltopper walk-on backup point guard Jack Edelen may struggle with FIU’s length and pressure. Don McHenry and Khristian Lander also have a propensity to turn it over. Enoch Kalambay is also a prime prospect for falling for thievery, and Arturo Dean is the best pick-pocket in the country, leading all of America by nearly a half a steal per game, an astounding margin! Watch out for this guy. He had a steal from his knees in the open court last game against WKU that was just incredible. If WKU is going to give FIU a chance to win in a slight upset, it very well could be because they allow FIU’s pressure defense to affect them, or they don’t take advantage of the benefits of a risk-it-all defensive mindset.
FIU
FIU really needs to focus on minimizing the paint battle. If FIU can hold their own, they’ll have a great chance at an upset. WKU was able to out rebound FIU 37-31 in Bowling Green. The Hilltoppers also outscored the Panthers in the paint 58-26. Granted, FIU is more of a three-point shooting team than an inside scoring team, but it’s very hard to win games when you allow the other team to get more rebounds and get blown out in points in the paint. The FIU big men are really going to have to give it their all to establish a presence in the post or it could be a long night for the Panthers.
Florida International is also going to have to try to shut Dontaie Allen down. Allen dropped a season high of 30 points against the Panthers, shooting 9-11 from the field, 5-7 from distance, and cashing in on 7-of-7 free throws. The Panthers know what Dontaie is out there to do, and they will have to make sure they don’t let him catch fire, because a streaky shooter like Allen could go off at any time.
Finally, FIU needs to get Arturo Dean going. Dean is a 5’11” guard for the Panthers and he is the reigning Conference USA Freshman of the Year. He is currently leading the Panthers in points, rebounds, assists, and steals per game. He is also leading the country at 3.41 steals per game, and no one else in the country is within ten total steals of him. Dean is a do-it-all type of player and could easily take over the game offensively if the Panthers can get him some good looks. Defensively, FIU loves to do an unconventional full-court press that can create a lot of turnovers, and if Dean can get some quick steals and turn those into transition points, he could really give the Panthers a good chance to win.
Richards’ Expectations and Predictions
First of all, this game will most likely be just as chaotic and intense as the first time these two teams played this year in Bowling Green. FIU is loves to go fast and can really cause some mayhem on the defensive side of the ball. On the other hand, WKU is leading the nation in adjusted tempo. This game could be either a very high scoring game like last time or a super low scoring game. Anyone’s guess is just as good as mine when it comes to these two teams. However, it’s probably not going to be a historic 105 point night offensively for the Hilltoppers, so they will need to rely on good decision making and defense to hold FIU to a reasonable number.
My score prediction for WKU vs FIU is going to be 88-79 WKU. I think that it will still be a very fast and chaotic game, but I think that the Hilltoppers will pull it together and get their first win in three games. FIU is honestly not a terrible team and has proven to be able to hang with the best in this conference. For example, they beat the preseason number one team Liberty 76-71 and the current number one team Sam Houston 68-61, both in Miami (FIU only has four wins in conference thus far, however). Western Kentucky has proven that they have the ability to win on the road, and I believe that WKU will buckle down on the three-point defense and dominate the paint again which will ultimately lead to the Hilltopper victory in Miami. Surely there’s no way a team as well-coached and conditioned as WKU comes out flat and inconsistent for a third straight game.
Conclusion
This is the second to last game for WKU and the third to last game for FIU, so it’s time for both of these teams to get on a winning streak to bring some momentum with them to the Conference USA Tournament. It hasn’t been a great season so far for the Panthers, but they have the ability to turn it around and go into the conference tournament as a decent seed. They also have elite guards, so anything can happen once they get to Huntsville. WKU, on the other hand, has had a very unfortunate last couple of games, losing to Middle Tennessee on the road and Louisiana Tech at home, and losing their chance at a number one seed for the Conference USA tournament in Huntsville without much suspense. WKU needs to win at least one of these last two (really probably needing both) in order to make sure they don’t fall lower in the standings. Overall, both teams have a lot to play for and I am very excited to see it all unfold Saturday night.
For anyone that is not able to make it to Miami, the game will be on ESPN+ at 5:00 pm CT. You can also tune into @thetowelrackwku on Twitter/X for build-up, live tweets, and reactions. While you’re at it, go ahead and check out the RedOut Podcast on Twitter/X and on YouTube. Also, for Lady Topper live tweeting, follow RedOut, as RedOut will have live tweets when the men play at the same time. As always, we are your #1 source for unfiltered and honest WKU content!