WKU Basketball: Previewing WKU vs Jacksonville State
The return of Ray Harper to Diddle Arena is this Saturday, January 13, at 4 p.m. CT. Here is everything you need to know about WKU vs Jacksonville State.
Overview
On Saturday, January 13, the Jacksonville State University Gamecocks head to E.A. Diddle Arena for a showdown with the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers. Jacksonville State (10-7, 2-0 CUSA) is coming off of a surprising upset 61-51 win at Liberty to take a share of the top spot in the conference with Sam Houston State. Western Kentucky (12-4, 1-1 CUSA) is coming off of a head-scratching loss of 78-74 at the aforementioned Sam Houston, snapping Western’s eight game winning streak, which puts them at a tie for third in the conference. As of publication, ESPN’s BPI favors WKU with a 55.4% chance to win.
Notable Statistics
WKU Stat Leaders
PPG: Don McHenry- 15.1 points per game
RPG: Branden Newman- 6.4 rebounds per game
APG: Don McHenry- 2.5 assists per game
Jax State Stat Leaders
PPG: Kyky Tandy- 19.1 points per game
RPG: Juwan Purdue- 5.9 rebounds per game
APG: Quincy Clark- 3.1 assists per game
WKU Team Stats
79.3 PPG
44.8% FG
31.6% 3PT
41.4 RPG
12.9 APG
7.9 SPG
Jax State Team Stats
71.8 PPG
46.4% FG
33.6% 3PT
38.5 RPG
11.6 APG
6.8 SPG
Keys To Victory
WKU
To have a chance in this game, WKU is going to have to take care of the ball. In their game against Sam Houston, Western ended up falling behind early because they couldn’t stop turning the ball over. Nearly half of their turnovers came in the first 12 minutes of the game. Perhaps taking care of the ball early would have given WKU the cushion to pull off the road win.
Turnovers gave Sam Houston the opportunity to get out on the break and gain a lot of momentum and Western could never get over the hump in the second half. While WKU ended the game with the same number of turnovers as Sam Houston, they lost the momentum early and dug themselves into a hole and couldn’t get out. Turnovers have become a very big problem within these last few games for Western. If they don’t get it together, then it will be much more difficult to win tough games in this conference.
Possibly the biggest thing that WKU should focus on defensively is to shut down Kyky Tandy. Tandy has been on fire recently, and if Western lets him get going, it’s going to be a long night for the Tops. He dropped 35 points against FIU, then turns around and drops 14 points at Liberty. Western is going to have to shut him down completely (or at least slow him down) and let someone else for the Gamecocks score if they want to have a chance to win.
Finally, Western needs to attack the paint. The main reason why Jax State beat Liberty is because Liberty only scored 18 points in the paint all game. Western is going to have to score from all around the court to be able to stay in this game. WKU is usually very good at attacking the rim and scoring in the paint, but they’re going to have to keep that going this game if they want to win.
Jax State
Again, it’s all about Kyky Tandy. He has been their most reliable source of offense all season long and if they can get him going then that would be huge for the Gamecocks offense. Like I mentioned before, he had 35 against FIU and 14 at Liberty so he can definitely turn it on when he needs to. If Jacksonville State really cannot get him going, who could they turn to as an alternative?
Another big thing that Jacksonville State is going to need to do is protect the paint. WKU scores a large majority of their points in the paint. Jax State did a great job inside lagainst Liberty, but they are going to have to do an even better job if they want to be able to have a chance in this game. WKU is going to drive the ball every chance they get. Western is also going to try to get both of their big men going and when they get going, Howard in particular, they can be very difficult to stop.
The last thing that Jacksonville State needs to do is win the rebound battle. WKU is one of the best rebounding teams at rank 19 in the country with an average of 41.38 rebounds per game. One of the main indicators of every outcome of a college basketball game is who wins the rebound battle and if Jax State wants to win this game then they’re going to have to keep Western off of the boards.
Richards’ Expectations and Predictions
I feel like I keep saying this every game, but this is going to be a huge game for both of these teams. Both teams have a bunch of talent and are very well coached. It will be very interesting to see Ray Harper back in Diddle Arena, and I’m sure he is going to bring everything he’s got to win this game against his former team. After all, he was the last coach to take this Hilltopper program to the NCAA tournament, and WKU let him walk after his contract expired. I expect this game to be very exciting with a lot of running up and down the floor and can definitely see this game going either way.
I was way off with my last score prediction, but I won’t let it discourage me, because you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take! My score prediction for Western Kentucky vs Jacksonville State will is going to be 80-71 WKU. I chose WKU for a few reasons, but the main reasons are definitely their defensive pressure and three-point defense. WKU is known for their defensive pressure, and it will be difficult for Jax State to get Tandy going with all of the pressure that the Hilltoppers are going to bring. Also, WKU is currently ranked 18 in the country in three-point percentage defense. It’s going to be very hard for Jacksonville State to score consistently in this game for those reasons.
Don’t forget the bad taste in their mouth from last game, as well. The Tops felt like they let one get away Wednesday, missing double digit layups and committing several uncharacteristic turnovers. In addition, most WKU parties felt like the Tops didn’t put forth their greatest, most focused effort of the season.
Conclusion
Overall, I am very excited for this game. One team is trying to go 3-0 in conference play and the other is trying to bounce back from last week and prove that the Liberty win wasn’t a fluke. Both teams want to win badly, and I know that both coaches want it just as much, if not more. It’s another great day for a great crowd in Diddle so everyone needs to show up and support this Hilltopper team as they defend their homecourt against former coach Ray Harper and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.
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