WKU Basketball: Preview for Western Kentucky vs Sam Houston 2
The Bearkats got the better of the Tops in the first go around, but Western is looking for revenge in Diddle. Here's everything you need to know about WKU vs Sam Houston.
Overview
On Thursday, February 1, The Sam Houston State University Bearkats head to Bowling Green to face off against the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky University. Sam Houston (12-9, 5-1 CUSA) is coming off of two wins at home over New Mexico State 79-67 and UTEP 60-56, keeping the Bearkats atop the conference, tied with Louisiana Tech. Western Kentucky (14-6, 3-3 CUSA) is coming off of two crushing losses out West against New Mexico State and UTEP, but bounced back against Florida International, beating the Panthers 105-91, moving the Hilltoppers to third in the conference, tied with New Mexico State and Jacksonville State. As of publication, ESPN’s BPI favors WKU with a healthy 70.4% chance to win.
Notable Statistics
WKU Stat Leaders
PPG: Don McHenry: 14.8 points per game
RPG: Brandon Newman: 6.3 rebounds per game
APG: Don McHenry: 2.9 assists per game
Sam Houston Stat Leaders
PPG: Lamar Wilkerson: 15 points per game
RPG: Damon Nicholas Jr.: 5.9 rebounds per game
APG: Jaden Ray: 4 assists per game
WKU Team Stats
80.6 PPG
46.7% FG
33.7% 3PT
40.5 RPG
13.9 APG
7.9 SPG
14.5 TO (18.3 in CUSA)
Sam Houston Team Stats
71.5 PPG
40.8% FG
32.5% 3PT
38.3 RPG
13.1 APG
7.1 SPG
13.1 TO
Keys to Victory
WKU
WKU is really going to have to take care of the ball. Throughout conference play, Western has averaged 18.3 turnovers per game. You can say that every team in this conference has really good defense, but a lot of Western’s turnovers have been self-inflicted and haven’t been forced by the defense. WKU is going to need to try to settle in early this game and make sure they aren’t careless with the ball to make sure that Sam Houston can’t get out in transition.
WKU is also going to have to win the rebound battle. When the Hilltoppers played Sam Houston in Huntsville, WKU got outrebounded 34-40 which is something that doesn’t happen often with this Hilltopper team. Western will need to make sure they are boxing out and keeping the Bearkats off the glass. There were several times SHSU got rebounds simply because WKU didn’t use good technique on the glass in the first meeting.
The last thing that WKU is going to need to do is keep Lamar Wilkerson under control. Wilkerson is Sam Houston’s leading scorer and has been on a tear throughout conference play. The last time these two teams faced off, Wilkerson had a slow start in the first half but ended up with 21 points to lead all scorers at the end of the game. He can get hot out of nowhere and end up taking over the game if you’re not careful, so Western is really going to have to shut him down. Khristian Lander, a starting guard for WKU who has missed the past two games due to a concussion, should be back for this game and if I were Steve Lutz, I would definitely try to put Lander on Wilkerson. Lander has the quickness and perimeter defense to be able to lock him down, just like he did with Kyky Tandy of Jacksonville State. If Lander is not available, then you’re really shuffling your defenders around trying to fix matchup problems at several positions.
Sam Houston
Sam Houston is going to have to make sure they can get their shooters going. WKU is currently top 50 in the country in three-point defense. It’s going to be crucial for Sam Houston to get good looks and try to get hot from beyond the arc. Their three-point percentage isn’t the best, but they are definitely capable of turning it on from distance and taking over the game. Sometimes a team shooting a little above or below their average doesn’t really change the outcome, but if SHSU could light it up, that gives them a great chance on the road to pull off an upset.
Sam Houston is also going to have to keep Dontaie Allen under control. Allen has had a slow season so far but is finally starting to come out of his shell and do what we all know he can do. In WKU’s last game against FIU, Allen had 30 points to lead all scorers. He was 9-11 from the field and 5-7 from three. If they let him get too many catch and shoot opportunities, then it could be a long night for the Bearkats. Given that SHSU’s defense can be stingy inside, what would be worst case-scenario for them? Having a shooter go crazy and open up the interior for teammates.
The last thing that Sam Houston is going to need to do is play at their pace. WKU is currently second in the country in possessions per game. Western likes to play fast and some would say out of control. The Bearkats are going to have to make sure that they control the pace of this game and not let Western get out in transition and run away with the game.
Richards’ Expectations and Predictions
For Western Kentucky vs Sam Houston, I am expecting a very good game out of both teams. Sam Houston has surprised everyone with the conference season that they are having and have proven themselves to be a real contender in their first season in Conference USA. If they beat WKU at WKU, it is a real achievement and really should announce to the league that they are for real. Coach Chris Mudge has really done a great job so far with this Bearkat team and I don’t think they plan on slowing down any time soon. WKU, on the other hand, has had a very up and down conference season so far but is very capable of playing great basketball and dominating this conference as long as they clean some things up. I’m expecting this game to be fast-paced and high scoring. I definitely wasn’t expecting Western’s last game with FIU to be in the 100’s, but I could definitely see another high scoring affair if WKU gets its way.
I am going to predict that WKU wins over Sam Houston by a score of 86-76. I think that this will be a really good environment and Western will keep their home winning streak alive. Sam Houston has proven to be no joke in this conference, but I think that WKU is overall the better team and Western has proven to be hard to beat at home this season.
Conclusion
Overall, I’m very excited to see how this rematch plays out. The Bearkats got the better of the Tops in Huntsville, but WKU is a whole different team in Diddle. If you are a current student at Western, make sure to go get your free hotdog and beverage and cheer on the Tops as they face off against a very good Sam Houston team. Western is going to need a packed-out Diddle Arena to have their best chance at winning this game.
For anyone that is not able to make it to Diddle Arena, the game will be on CBS Sports Network at 8:00 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. As always, we are your #1 source for unfiltered and honest WKU content!