WKU Basketball: Toppers Take Down Liberty in Diddle in Back-and-forth Battle, 70-68

Liberty controlled most of the first half, and WKU built a double digit lead in the second, only to have the Flames come back with a chance to win it at the end.

I’m not sure the script could have been written any better.

WKU Basketball is BACK!

First year head coach Steve Lutz has WKU off to a nearly historically great start, beginning the season 12-3 for the first time since 2001-02.

Against what will likely end up being WKU’s biggest (and perhaps temporary) CUSA competition, WKU pulled off what Vegas considered an upset (Liberty was -3.5 at Diddle Arena) and won in thrilling, comeback fashion. Perhaps the only better script would be if WKU had extended that double digit lead and won by 20 to really announce to the world that the Tops are for real.

Whatever the case, not much could go better than calling for a big crowd, getting it, and winning in a thriller when they finally rewarded this team for the brilliant start to 2023-24. It seems somewhat rare that WKU as an athletics program cashes in on big opportunities in front of tons of fans lately. However, this time, the Tops did it, and it was majestic to behold.

Flames Burn Out in Second Half

WKU came into this game looking to prove itself, and heading in, most that had a relative idea on the two teams knew Liberty was small and feisty and WKU is big and athletic and can struggle to score from deep.

Early on, it looked like Liberty may have the edge. Liberty’s feisty 5’10” ish double point guard combo in Kaden Metheny and Colin Porter gave the Toppers fits during much of the first half. WKU would hang around with Liberty, really not allowing them to build much of a lead. The Flames would hold as much as a 31-24 lead at 2:51 remaining in the half before WKU would scratch away at the lead quickly, actually taking a lead into halftime at 34-33.

Liberty’s guards and passing really ruled the first 17 minutes of the game. Then there was a lull where both teams were fighting for scoreboard superiority. From 1:53 in the first half until 11:38 left in the second, no team had more than a possession’s advantage. However, during this time, it did feel like maybe things were starting to tilt toward WKU.

Until Rodney Howard’s dunk to make it 48-44 with 11:38 left, it was absolutely a dog fight. From that point, WKU seized complete control. With a Dontaie Allen three with 4:42 remaining, Western was fully in charge at 65-52.

From there, however, Liberty would show its mettle. Despite clearly being a little tired from the constant, physical war that is a WKU Basketball game these days, Liberty caught its breath and not only made it a game but had a chance to win. At 68-58 with 3:39 remaining, obviously the Toppers felt completely in control.

However, two turnovers along with several missed free throws that could have made details window dressing ultimately cost WKU the chance to breathe easy until the final buzzer sounded.

In an absolute frenzy to end the game, Liberty actually had the ball with 11 seconds on the clock and could tie or win the game. After watching the replay, Liberty had the chance to possibly attack the basket with some significant space inside the paint. Instead, the Flames’ passer skipped the ball to the corner for a contested three. Liberty would still get the offensive rebound and heave a desparation airball that would not come very close as the buzzer sounded.

And Diddle went wild. It was a great scene and great to see WKU get it done in front of a big crowd.

What Went Right

WKU obviously showed some serious toughness to be down early against a good team and switch the margin by 20 points at one point. From a seven point deficit to a 13 point advantage, WKU showed its potential, and Conference USA should be pretty terrified if that WKU team ever plays 40 minutes in a row.

Rodney Howard had a really game in a moment where he needed to. Despite some foul trouble on some poor timing by officials to make a bad call or two, he was able to stay on the court enough to spell Babacar Faye, who hardly played (13 minutes) because of foul trouble. WKU needed its forwards and centers to step up, and they did. Rodney Howard, Dontaie Allen, Enoch Kalambay, and Tyrone Marshall all had moments. WKU needed its size to dominate, and there’s no question Liberty’s lack of size was a huge factor in this one.

Liberty came in to this one averaging over 37 percent from three point land. In this one, they were 8-of-35 for a shade under 23 percent. Huge credit to WKU’s defense, but perhaps “what went right” was just WKU getting a little lucky that LU didn’t do what LU does. Otherwise, this may have been a much different outcome.

Finally, and perhaps the most major nugget to take away from this game:

Diddle was full and loud once again. It took a little bit for the crowd to get into it, but Liberty wasn’t used to playing in front of that many people.

“It’s a quick realization that we’re not in the ASUN,” said (Liberty Head Coach Ritchie) McKay of the first contest in CUSA. “I don’t remember a game having that many people in the previous 5 or 6 years, some of it is just capacity, that we’ve played. Certainly a dose of reality how good this conference is.”

We always imagine Diddle as a “wall of noise” as it was coined several decades ago. This crowd was engaged and fun, but this wasn’t WKU’s best ever crowd. The great thing is it’s building. WKU administration, The Towel Rack, other fans, and The Red Towel Trust all put out significant efforts to get fans to show up and cheer on the Tops. Despite few students, WKU increased its attendance by right at 25% from one game to another. Once students come back, assuming the Tops keep winning, Diddle will be packed. Then they may know what Diddle Arena is really like when it’s truly great.

What Went Wrong

I think the main thing that went wrong is WKU showed significant vulnerability despite ultimately showing that it might be better than most of Conference USA. Western was extremely exposed on its help-side defense against Liberty. LU’s quick guards and above average passing really got WKU all out of sorts, more than once creating a dunk or layup.

Western hasn’t had tons of lapses defensively this season, but this game was especially troubling in the first half. The Tops clamped down and made life difficult, but it was definitely alarming to see a team with less athleticism and less length carve up the Tops. It could be a formula teams will try going forward.

The other thing that really sticks out in terms of a negative was the fact WKU got up 13 and nearly lost, especially considering this was very late in the game when WKU built its lead. Thankfully, WKU did what it had to, but the Tops got absolutely lucky Liberty did not capitalize on a few more opportunities.

Western turned the ball over 21 times in this one. That just cannot happen again. If Liberty had not bricked wide open threes several times, WKU loses this one. WKU absolutely did not play its best game. The encouraging thing is Western made tons of mistakes, spotted the other team a lead in the first half, and won despite some really poor aspects to the game.

WKU must find a way to handle smaller guards going forward. If the second half was the Tops figuring it out, great. But smaller, quick guards that can slice you up with decision making could really give Western some fits moving forward, especially if those quality passers are rewarded with drained threes from outside the arc.

Also, here’s a simple one: WKU gave up a couple of rebounds on free throws. This is understandable once every few games on freakish bounce type of plays, but it should almost never happen. It happened twice in this one and it’s happened several times already throughout the season. It is absolute malpractice for the shooter to get the rebound if everyone did their job. It could be argued that this simple mistake could have cost WKU the game on a different night.

Topper Takeaways

• Don McHenry=HIM. Don McHenry is Western’s leading scorer, but he’s also Western’s most consistent scorer while also posting a nearly 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He has finished in double figures scoring against all DI opponents thus far this season. His only two performances below double digits were mainly because of limited minutes in blowouts.

• Dontaie Allen is a performer. Dontaie Allen may not be a starter, and he may not be WKU’s most consistent scorer. However, there are moments when Dontaie just absolutely explodes and wins a game on his own. Did he beat Liberty on his own? No, but his explosiveness in key moments really helped WKU take control in this one.

• WKU has legitimate post presence. Rodney Howard is averaging 9 and 5, while Babacar Faye is shooting well into the 60s in shooting percentage and averaging six rebounds. In addition, WKU has players from point to center who can get to the cup when they need to, or at least when given the opportunity. Tyrone Marshall is actually the team’s leading shot blocker at over one per game.

• WKU’s team three point defense is elite. Coming into Saturday’s game against Liberty, the Tops were giving up 28% shooting from deep. With 22.9% shooting from the Flames, the Tops are even more formidable on paper on the perimeter defensively.

• The Hilltoppers’ rebounding was a little suspect in this one, but WKU still led the rebounding battle by one against Liberty.

• WKU’s 12-3 start is the program’s best since 2001-02.

• For those scoffing at the three non-Division I wins, the last time WKU only had three losses at this point in the season was 2020-21. By the time this article publishes, that will not be true, since the fourth loss came on January 9 of that season. WKU was also 9-3 against DI competition up to that point.

• Since 2001-02, WKU has matched the 9-3 start vs Division I opponents only three times (2020-21, 2007-08, and 2001-02). Only in 2001-02 did the Toppers improve on that record the next game, so if Steve Lutz wins this next game at Sam Houston, he will have surpassed any start since 2001-02 regardless of whether detractors want to discount the “softness” of WKU’s schedule.

  • It’s time to appreciate the rarity of the occasion. Steve Lutz’s non-conference performance of three losses matches only 12 team’s in WKU’s basketball history. Eight of those 12 happened before 1970. To put a bow on it, Steve Lutz has accomplished something in his first year that has happened less than once a decade at WKU in the modern era.

Summing it Up

WKU is obviously riding high at a 12-3 record, so that’s wonderful. However, WKU still has plenty to work on, and the Tops better shore up some things before getting too much farther into conference. WKU really needs to work on its defensive help. Steve Lutz has a unique design to his defense, in that WKU may be one of the “stickiest” teams in the country. He has clearly coached his players to help until they know they’re not needed instead of the confusion of whether you need to switch or not on a pick-and-roll situation. However, that creates some imbalances, and WKU has not figured out how to rectify such an extreme philosophy. It’s a good one, but it’s pretty rare that anyone is coached to be as sticky as Lutz’ defense.

WKU also needs to finish things off and expand leads when they have them. This has happened a few times where the Tops had some leads suspiciously disappear. Liberty was allowed to hang around and nearly stole one in a game that you just can’t lose at home up 13 late in the second half. It almost happened and the Tops can’t be that clumsy going forward.

That being said, if you’re a Topper fan, you should be on Cloud 9 right now enjoying the start to this season. Like I covered above, this is historically rare to be this good this early in the season. Unless you’re a Facebook board curmudgeon who somehow thinks WKU is doomed until eternity and should never expect any kind of greatness, it’s completely fair for Topper fans to start dreaming of March Madness for the first time in over a decade.

It’s ok to dream a little bit, Topper fans. Appreciate it. Embrace it. Own it. As fans, there is no reason to hold back the “what-if” type of thinking. You’re not jinxing it. You have zero effect on them, except how you help them out on gamedays, how you support them on the road, through social media (if they even see it), and how you support the program with your money. All of those impacts are minimal compared to the excitement that should course through the veins because of one of the better records in the nation. Go ahead and dream a little bit, Tops. Steve Lutz is way ahead of schedule, and the buzz is building. Dream big!

Next Up

WKU takes on Sam Houston in a battle of the two teams with the most impressive CUSA wins to start the season. WKU (12-3, 1-0 CUSA) knocked off Liberty in a slight upset, albeit at home. Sam Houston upset La Tech in way more of a shocker. The Bearkats (8-8, 1-0 CUSA) were seven point underdogs at home, meaning on the road, SHSU would have been easily double digit underdogs. WKU/Liberty was considered a much tighter battle, of course.

Sam Houston has had an up-and-down non-conference, losing to some questionables like Utah Valley, Missouri State, and Texas State, all of which have at least six losses. However, they also have the aforementioned shocker vs. La Tech, a respectable performance at OK State, and a really impressive three point loss at Ole Miss, who is currently ranked.

SHSU has fallen back from its 2010s success, where the Bearkats made an NCAA Tournament and five other postseason tournaments (4 CITs, 1 NIT). Last season, however, SHSU did make the NIT and win a game, falling to eventual champion, North Texas.

This program and this team is not a pushover. Sam Houston has solid athletic tradition, and the athletes at SHSU are expected to represent their school well. Never underestimate Texas heart and Texas pride.

At home after a top 100 win, I’m sure SHSU will be hyper confident and ready to take down just another CUSA goliath standing in its way.

WKU will need to come in ready to play, or it could be a long night in southeastern Texas.