WKU Basketball: Preview for Western Kentucky vs Florida International
After an 0-2 trip out West, the Tops look to stay undefeated in Diddle as the FIU Panthers come into town. Here's everything you need to know for WKU vs FIU.
Overview
On Thursday, January 25, The Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers host the Florida International University Panthers in Bowling Green. Western Kentucky (13-6, 2-3 CUSA) is coming off a frustrating week, starting the week’s action with a 23 point meltdown to lose at New Mexico State, 72-70 and following it up with a brutal loss of 93-87 at UTEP to move the Hilltoppers to seventh in Conference USA. WKU dropped from second to seventh in a week. Florida International (7-12, 2-2 CUSA) is also coming off of a loss of 78-69 at Liberty to move them to fourth in Conference USA. As of publication, ESPN’s BPI favors WKU with a 75.7% chance to win.
Notable Statistics
WKU Stat Leaders
PPG: Don McHenry- 14.7 points per game
RPG: Brandon Newman- 6.2 rebounds per game
APG: Don McHenry- 2.7 assists per game
FIU Stat Leaders
PPG: Javaunte Hawkins- 13.3 points per game
RPG: Arturo Dean- 4.8 rebounds per game
APG: Arturo Dean- 4.4 assists per game
WKU Team Stats
79.3 PPG
45.8% FG
32.6% 3PT
40.6 RPG
13.4 APG
7.8 SPG
14.2 TO
FIU Team Stats
76.3 PPG
45.2% FG
34.2% 3PT
32.9 RPG
15.4 APG
11.4 SPG
14.6 TO
Keys to Victory
WKU
For what feels like the millionth time saying this, but until they fix it, WKU needs to take care of the basketball. Western has averaged 19 turnovers per game during conference play and it is the main cause for those three conference losses. It’s getting old, Tops! FIU is going to apply a lot of pressure defensively and Arturo Dean is leading the country at 74 steals on the season, so it will be critical for the Tops to protect the ball and make the most out of every possession. FIU likes to do an unconventional full court press that can cause a lot of turnovers and the game can get away from you real quick if you are careless with the ball. When WKU played at FIU last year, the Tops struggled breaking the press and it led to the Panthers ultimately winning the game. This year, however, WKU basically has a whole new roster and a new head coach, so we will see how Steve Lutz and his Hilltoppers address the Panther defense.
WKU is really going to have to keep Javaunte Hawkins and Arturo Dean under control. On one hand, you have Javaunte Hawkins who leads the team in scoring and is currently ranked 17th in the country at 44.09% from three. Arturo Dean is leading the Panthers in rebounds, assists, and leading the country at 3.89 steals per game. If WKU lets either one of these players get hot and start taking control of the game, it could be a very long night for the Tops, because both players are having a great season so far and are easily be in the conversation for the best backcourt duo in Conference USA. With both so prolific statistically, an argument could be made for them as one of the best backcourts in the country.
Finally, WKU needs to get Don McHenry going. Khristian Lander, a starting guard for the Hilltoppers, did not play against UTEP due to a concussion and is questionable to return against FIU, so Western is going to need Don McHenry to pick up Lander’s slack if he is unable to play. I don’t mean McHenry needs to score 30 points, but I think he is just going to have to be efficient while he’s in the game to be able to make up for Lander having to sit out. Whether it’s points, assists, steals, or even just not turning the ball over, Don is really going to have to be on his game Thursday night for the Tops to have their best chance to win.
FIU
FIU is going to have to control the glass. WKU is currently ranked 24th in the country at 40.6 rebounds per game, but recently the Tops have been more pedestrian in this area. The games WKU loses, they struggle at times to finish off possessions on both ends. The Panthers big men are really going to have to box out and go for every rebound to be able to keep Western from getting out and scoring and transition, which they are also nationally ranked at 23rd in the country, averaging 15.1 fastbreak points per game. FIU is going to have to rely on players other than Arturo Dean to be able to box out Western’s bigs and get boards if they want to be able to control this game.
The Panthers are also going to have to get Javaunte Hawkins and Arturo Dean going. I alluded to how good of a duo these two are earlier and it will be key for them to get hot early and stay hot. WKU is currently ranked 25th in the country at three-point defense, holding their opponents to just 29.5% from three-point range. Again, those numbers have creeped up since conference play began, a huge reason WKU is sitting tied for seventh. It is crucial for FIU to get their star players, Hawkins in particular, good shot opportunities and maybe catch fire to be able to overcome Western’s elite three-point defense. It’s a classic battle of good-on-good, and FIU needs Hawkins to be at or near 50% shooting from deep.
Lastly, FIU, much like WKU, is going to need to take care of the ball. While they have only had one game with a bad number of turnovers throughout conference play, the Panthers are currently averaging 14.6 turnovers per game, which is 328th in the country, out of 351 teams. The Panthers are going to have to make sure they control the ball and not let WKU’s defensive pressure allow the Tops to create turnovers and get out on the break, which Western will be looking to do all game. FIU’s guards will need to be prepared to make smart decisions with the ball and keep the number of turnovers low to be able to win this game.
Richards’ Expectations and Predictions
FIU is really not a bad team, and they do a lot of good things on both sides of the ball. Their coach knows what he’s doing. However, WKU is also a very good team, but they have certainly been in a slump during these past couple of games. This game is most likely going to come down to whoever has the better conditioning and who wants it more. I can see this game being very close and I wouldn’t be surprised if either team won this game. This is WKU’s only game for the week, so there’s really no excuse for not going all-in and saving anything for Saturday.
I think WKU wins this one 78-68. I know Western is currently on a two-game losing streak and FIU is a pretty good team and has a lot of potential to have a good season, but WKU is, in my opinion, just the better team. I don’t think that FIU’s bigs will be able to control Babacar Faye or Rodney Howard down low, and I think that WKU’s rebounding and defensive pressure will just be too much for the Golden Panthers to handle.
Conclusion
Overall, I believe that this game is going to be very exciting and a great game to go see in person. Thursday night’s game is going to be a Coaches vs Cancer Pink-Out (first 5,000 fans get Pink-Out shirts) game and I believe that it will be a great environment with all of the fans and the students being back in town. It’s a perfect night to go out and support this Hilltopper team as they look to snap their two-game losing streak and stay undefeated on their home court.
It’s time for WKU to make a move in CUSA. WKU’s schedule has been very frontloaded with arguably five of the most difficult eight games in CUSA play all up front. This part of the schedule is where WKU can catch up. If they don’t immediately turn things around, it could be ugly trying to desperately win two road games at the end of the year to salvage a decent seed. Now is the time to make a move, and the Tops are fortunate to have three home games in a row to help get them back on track.
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!