WKU Basketball: Preview for WKU vs Sam Houston on January 10
Both teams are coming off of an upset win at home. Here's everything you need to know about Western Kentucky vs Sam Houston.
Overview
On Wednesday, January 10, 2024, the newly established Conference USA favorite, the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers, will head down to Huntsville, Texas, to face off against the Bearkats of Sam Houston State University. This will be the second conference game for both teams. WKU (12-3, 1-0 CUSA) sits in a four way for first after one game played for most of the conference.
Last time out, the Tops held on for dear life to a 70-68 win in Bowling Green against the preseason number one team in the conference, the Liberty University Flames. Sam Houston (8-8, 1-0 CUSA) is one of the other three teams TTU who found victory to open CUSA. Like the Tops, the Bearkats are also coming off of a big, close home win against a conference contender, 81-77, in Huntsville against a very good Louisiana Tech team. La Tech came into conference play with a sub-80 NET ranking and stands as SHSU’s best win of 2023-24 thus far. As of publication, ESPN’s BPI favors Sam Houston with a 61.3% chance to win.
Notable Statistics
WKU Stat Leaders
PPG: Don McHenry- 15.1 points per game
RPG: Brandon Newman- 6.5 rebounds per game
APG: Don McHenry- 2.6 assists per game
Sam Houston Stat Leaders
PPG: Davon Barnes- 14.3 points per game
RPG: Kian Scroggins- 5.7 rebounds per game
APG: Jaden Ray- 4.1 assists per game
WKU Team Stats:
79.7 PPG
44.8% FG
30.7% 3PT
41.9 RPG
12.8 APG
7.7 SPG
Sam Houston Team Stats:
72.4 PPG
40.6% FG
33.4% 3PT
37.3 RPG
13.7 APG
7.4 SPG
Keys to Victory
WKU
Against Sam Houston, Western must take care of the ball. Sam Houston, much like WKU, applies pressure on defense. This allows them to get out in transition, which is something they are looking to do every possession if possible. In their meeting with Louisiana Tech, La Tech turned the ball over 14 times, which led to 19 fast break points for the Bearkats. They also like to set up a 1-2-2 full-court press which can cause opposing offenses some fits. WKU is prone to turning the ball over more than you might like and if they have another bad game in regard to turnovers, it will be very hard for Western to come out on top of this one. Western certainly can’t turn it over 21 times like they did against Liberty and expect to win.
Another big key for this game is for WKU to attack the paint. If Sam Houston is going to be applying pressure like they have been all year, then it will be critical for Western to attack the paint so then the Bearkats will have to back off a little bit. Sam Houston is usually pretty good at defending down low, but Western is going to need to attack the paint every chance they get to be able to relieve some of that pressure.
Finally, WKU is going to need to protect the perimeter. Western is currently ranked 11th in the country in three-point percentage allowed. However, Sam Houston shot 9-of-21, 42.9% from three-point range in their last contest against La Tech. The Bearkats are only shooting 33.4% from three on the year but have managed to find some rhythm lately from behind the arc. It is going to be very important for WKU to hustle on defense and try to give as little open shots as possible.
Sam Houston
Sam Houston’s first key to victory is to crash the boards. In my opinion, the main reason why the game was even close with La Tech is because the Bearkats only had 33 rebounds compared to La Tech’s 43. Sam Houston only averages 37.3 rebounds per game compared to Western’s 41.9 rebounds per game. One of the main keys to winning and losing almost every college basketball game is the rebound battle. More times than not, whoever has more rebounds wins the game. If Sam Houston wants to be in this game, then they are going to have to crash the boards and not let WKU control the glass.
Sam Houston is also going to have to have really good transition defense to have a chance of winning this game. As we all know, WKU is known for creating turnovers and getting out in transition. Western likes to play fast and if Sam Houston is going to try to play at Western’s pace, which they probably will, then they are going to have to be ready to run all game and not let Western get out in transition to score fast-break points. Sam Houston is 2-6 when they lose the fast break point battle; they are 6-2 when tied or winning that crucial statistic. I’m not sure if they will be able to pull out the victory if they don’t get back on defense during transition.
Lastly, Sam Houston is going to need to get Davon Barnes and Lamar Wilkerson going fast. In their last meeting with La Tech, Barnes and Wilkerson combined for 39 points and 9 assists. These two players have caught fire recently and it will be crucial for both of them to get going early and stay hot on their home court. When Wilkerson gets going, he is very hard to stop. He ended last game with 24 points and 5 assists, going 4-of-8 from three, while having to sit out a good amount of the first half due to foul trouble. Barnes, on the other hand, has been the Bearkats’ best source of offense all year and it will be very important for them to be a big part of the offense in this game because, like I said, they are both very hard to stop when they get going.
Richards’ Expectations and Predictions
Expectations
I can honestly see this game going either way and fully expect this game to come down to whoever has the better conditioning, and to whoever just wants it more. Both teams play their best on the defensive side of the ball, as well as in transition, and I can see this game being a very entertaining game to watch. Differently from last game, I see this game being a high scoring game with a ton of fast-break points.
Predictions
First of all, Sam Houston, much like their football team, is way better than their record. They have played a very hard schedule with five really tough road games including four power-5 teams and another at Grand Canyon University, who is currently having a historic season. On the other hand, you have Western Kentucky, who is on an eight-game winning streak, and is coming off of a huge win against the preseason number one team in the conference. Both teams are looking very good at the moment, but I think one team has the edge right now.
Without further delay, my prediction is 87-81 WKU. WKU is just on fire right now and has proven that they can go on the road and win against good teams. WKU seems like they have mastered their style of play, which is to run all game, pressure the living crap out of the opposing offense, and score fast-break points. The thing is, Sam Houston plays pretty much the same exact way, but I just don’t think they can execute that specific style of play at the level that Western can.
I think WKU is going to bring too much pressure for Sam Houston’s guards to handle and dominate on the glass and in transition. We’ve seen teams try to play at Western’s pace time and time again, but it never works because WKU does not get tired, and they don’t let up. If it’s not the fitness and pace playing in favor of WKU, it’s the perimeter defense. I think that Western’s three-point defense is going to play a huge part in this game and will ultimately lead to a victory.
Conclusion
Overall, I just think this is going to be a very exciting game. Both teams have first year coaches. However, they are both good young coaches. Like I said before, I can honestly see this game going either way and I believe it will come down to who wants to win more. Sam Houston hasn’t had very good crowds all year but hopefully that will change this game because they really do have a good team. If you’re a Bearkats fan, I would not want to miss this game!
If you’re a Topper fan, check it out on ESPN+ Wednesday night at 6:30 and tune in to @thetowelrackwku on Twitter for build-up, live tweets, and reaction! As always, we are your #1 source for honest and unfiltered WKU content!
GO TOPS!