WKU Basketball: Preview for Western Kentucky vs Louisiana Tech
The Hilltoppers defeated the Bulldogs in Ruston for the first time in 25 years. Will they be able to fend them off on their home court? Here's everything you need to know for WKU vs La Tech.
Overview
On Wednesday, February 28, the Louisiana Tech University Bulldogs head up to Bowling Green to face off against the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers. Louisiana Tech (20-8, 10-3 CUSA) is currently on a four-game winning streak, most recently beating New Mexico State 67-58 in Las Cruces, keeping them at first place in Conference USA, tied with Sam Houston. Western Kentucky (19-8, 8-5 CUSA) is coming off of a crushing loss in Murfreesboro to their rivals Middle Tennessee, 74-72, ending their five-game winning streak and hopes of winning the Conference USA regular season title, but keeping them at third place in Conference USA. As of publication, ESPN’s BPI likes Louisiana Tech with a 66.4% chance of winning.
What The Game Means
For La Tech, WKU is another game on its path to a title. A “semifinal” of sorts, WKU is the last stop for La Tech before playing Sam Houston at home next week for a (likely) CUSA regular season championship. La Tech is certainly looking for some revenge on WKU, who came into their house and handled them fairly routinely considering how difficult it is to win at La Tech. It was an even game, but WKU had the upper hand for most of the game. Can La Tech muster enough focus to not look past WKU to Sam Houston?
For WKU, this game is crucial to keep hopes alive for a Conference USA 1 or 2 seed in the CUSA Tournament in a few weeks. If WKU loses this one, they will likely be the three seed and will have to win three games in three days. If WKU wins, the Tops still need to win out, but they just need La Tech to lose one of its last two games and the Tops steal second place. First place is still technically on the table, but WKU needs the equivalent of an eight game parlay (less than 1% chance) to get said 1 seed.
Regardless of the standings, both teams would get a huge confidence boost to end the season if they were to win. Either team would take extreme confidence into the postseason and announce to the conference that they are ready to compete for a tournament championship.
Notable Statistics
WKU Stat Leaders
PPG: Don McHenry- 15.9 points per game
RPG: Brandon Newman- 5.8 rebounds per game
APG: Don McHenry- 2.6 assists per game
La Tech Stat Leaders
PPG: Isaiah Crawford- 16.3 points per game
RPG: Daniel Batcho- 10.1 rebounds per game
APG: Sean Newman Jr.- 5.1 assists per game
WKU Team Stats
80 PPG
46.7 % FG
33.5% 3PT
40.2 RPG
13.6 APG
7.2 SPG
13.9 TO
La Tech Team Stats
74.5 PPG
45.8% FG
35.7% 3PT
38.9 RPG
12.6 APG
7.7 SPG
12.8 TO
Keys to Victory
WKU
Western Kentucky is going to need to shut down Isaiah Crawford. Crawford is a 6’6” forward for the Bulldogs and is the reigning Conference USA player of the week. He is also the preseason Conference USA Player of the Year. In his last two outings out West, he had 19 points and was 2 rebounds short of a double-double in Louisiana Tech’s win over UTEP. He got his double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the Bulldogs win over New Mexico State. With this type of production, he will be very hard to slow down if the Hilltoppers let him get going. WKU did a good job of getting Crawford into foul trouble early in the game when WKU played in Ruston earlier this season and it will be very important for them to either do the same or just completely shut Crawford down on their home court. If Western can’t control him like they did in Ruston, that immediately swings the matchup more in favor of the Bulldogs.
Western Kentucky is also going to need to win the paint battle. La Tech’s starting big man, Daniel Batcho, is currently averaging a double-double with 14.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game and is one of the front runners for the Conference USA player of the year award. WKU also did a great job on Batcho, holding to just 6 points and getting him into foul trouble along with his partner in crime, Isaiah Crawford, forcing those two to sit on the bench for a large portion of the game. Rodney Howard, in particular, did a superb job on Batcho. Howard is a 6’11” center for the Hilltoppers and had an amazing game in Ruston. Rodney had a season-high 18 points against the Bulldogs and did a really good job against Batcho, making sure everyone knows that he is a force in the paint. Western Kentucky should really try to get Howard going because he was a big reason for the win in Ruston.
WKU needs to shake off their last game and focus on their task at hand. Western Kentucky had really just a terrible night in Murfreesboro against Middle Tennessee, and they won’t win this game if they can’t shake it off and move on. If they repeat the silly mistakes on both ends of the court, the bad shooting, and the undisciplined help defense like they did in Murfreesboro Saturday, La Tech will wipe the floor with them.
Louisiana Tech sure as heck doesn’t feel sorry for the Hilltoppers and is going to come into Diddle Arena ready for revenge. WKU fell short of Middle Tennessee in key stats such as rebounds, three-point percentage, field goal percentage, and turnovers, and had what many say was their worst game production-wise all season. When you lose to your rival, it can be hard for you to bounce back and try to win a game just four days later, but WKU is going to have to eat the loss and use it as motivation because you can’t go back and change anything. You have to suck it up and focus on what’s in front of you.
La Tech
Louisiana Tech is going to have to shut down Don McHenry. Don is a 6’2” guard for the Hilltoppers and, to many people’s opinions, is also one of the front runners for Conference USA player of the year. Although he hasn’t had a great last two games, he led the Hilltoppers in scoring with 20 points, including zero threes, in their win over the Bulldogs in Ruston. Don was able to get into the paint with ease and was making what seemed like every shot he put up over the Bulldogs. It will be crucial for Louisiana Tech to try to keep McHenry out of the paint and shut him down or it could be a long night for the Bulldogs. Western’s guards in general could help make up what should be a mismatch in the frontcourt for the Bulldogs.
Along with their star players in Isaiah Crawford and Daniel Batcho, the Bulldogs are going to have to try to get one of their guards going. In particular, Jordan Crawford or Tahlik Chavez. Jordan Crawford is a 6’3” guard for Louisiana Tech and was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs when these two teams played in Ruston with 25 points coming off the bench. It seemed like every shot he put up was going in and was a big reason for keeping the game so close towards the end. If he can get going again, WKU may be in trouble. Tahlik Chavez is a 6’2” guard for the Bulldogs and is their third leading scorer at 13.6 points per game. He is a streaky guard that can both light it up from three or take inside. He missed the first meeting this season with WKU due to personal reasons but should be playing this time around. If the Bulldogs can get Chavez going, they could have a great chance of running away with this one. Could Chavez being the difference given he didn’t even play last game?
Finally, La Tech is going to need to stay out of foul trouble. Isaiah Crawford and Daniel Batcho, the two best players for this Bulldogs team, both ended up fouling out WKU came to Ruston. Crawford only played a total of 24 minutes for the whole game which limited his production. When your best or most trusted players aren’t on the floor, it is always going to be hard to get momentum and take over a game, especially when the other team is having a night like WKU was having in Ruston. With Tahlik Chavez not being able to play, Crawford and Batcho were going to have to step up and win without him and when they aren’t on the floor, it’s pretty hard to do that. Not only did losing their star players effect the game negatively for the Bulldogs, but Louisiana Tech ended up sending WKU to the free throw line a total of 28 times and the Hilltoppers were able to cash in on 23 of them. Louisiana Tech is going to have to play tough, aggressive defense without fouling or it could be a very long night for the Bulldogs.
Richards’ Expectations and Predictions
Louisiana Tech has been playing great basketball recently and will be bringing all of that momentum with them to Bowling Green Wednesday night. Western Kentucky has also been playing really well with the exception of their last loss to Middle Tennessee. They are still playing with good effort, but will the loss slow the momentum of the Hilltopper tide? The Bulldogs have now proven that they can win on the road in the toughest of environments after going 2-0 out West against UTEP and New Mexico State, who have been extremely hard for the rest of the conference to beat at their places. Louisiana Tech is currently playing for the sole possession of first place over Sam Houston and will be very hungry for this win. WKU on the other hand is 12-1 at home this season and should have a great home environment for this one with this being their last home game of the season and the athletic department selling $5 tickets. Both teams have very good rosters that run deep and both teams are going to want this win badly. You can expect a very intense game Wednesday night. After all, both teams have a lot to play for.
My score prediction for La Tech vs WKU is going to be 78-74 WKU. I realize that Western Kentucky is coming off of a flat-out horrible game at Middle Tennessee, but I think that the Tops will gut this one out. Nobody is more disappointed in Saturday’s loss in Murfreesboro than Steve Lutz himself and if he is the coach that everyone thinks he is, he will have his players beyond fired up for this game. Louisiana Tech is having a great season and has a great chance to win it all come conference tournament time in Huntsville, but WKU seems to be a bad matchup for the Bulldogs, and it will be especially hard for them to win in Bowling Green with hopefully a pack-out Diddle Arena.
Conclusion
Honestly, I’m pumped for this game. Leaving Murfreesboro with an L made everyone sick but it’s time to bounce back and beat the number one team in Conference USA for the second time this season. Wednesday night’s game is going to be a black out and the first 500 students will get a free “Diddle After Dark” t-shirt and will possibly be getting free concessions again, thanks to Coach Lutz. If you aren’t a student, tickets are only $5! There should be no excuse for anyone to not show up. It’s the last home game of the season and there is a lot on the line, so we need to show up and be loud for this Hilltopper team.
For anyone that is not able to make it to Diddle Arena, the game will be on ESPN+ at 7:00 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!