WKU Basketball: Tops, Knights Meet for Myrtle Beach Invitational Title
The Hilltoppers have already made a couple of statements this season and they have their sights set on one more as they take on UCF in the…
The Hilltoppers have already made a couple of statements this season and they have their sights set on one more as they take on UCF in the Myrtle Beach Invitational title game to close out their stay in the Palmetto State.
Game Info
Time: 5:30 p.m. CT
Location: HTC Center | Conway, S.C.
TV: ESPN2
Radio: The Hilltopper IMG Sports Network
Much like the Tops, the Knights seem to be finding their stride, having won two of their last three, although they did drop an 80–79 decision to FAU in their second contest of the year.
In Myrtle Beach, UCF has taken care of Cal State Fullerton (68–52) and Saint Joseph’s (77–57).
The Knights are led, statistically, by a trio of double-figure scorers in B.J. Taylor (17.5 ppg), Aubrey Dawkins (14.5 ppg) and Terrell Allen (12.5 ppg). Allen posted 22 points and hit a career-best four three pointers in the win over SJU.
However, the “name” for UCF is one you’ve probably heard a lot over the last 48ish hours is Tacko Fall (who is listed as 7'6", 300 pounds on CollegeReference). Fall has had a strong MBI and is averaging 12.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots per game.
Matching up with Fall will be another huge test in the development of Charles Bassey, who had a strong performance against WVU’s Sagaba Kontae, keeping him in check for five points and six rebounds.
If the Hilltoppers want to stay competitive, foul trouble cannot be an issue (although, I’ll be the first to admit some of those fouls against the Mountaineers were a bit ticky-tacky). Jared Savage, Desean Murray, Bassey and Marek Nelson all finished the game against WVU with four fouls.
Also if the Tops want to keep rolling in the MBI, they’re going to not only need another big night from the likes of Savage, Taveion Hollingsworth and Josh Anderson but they’re going to need more from Murray, who is averaging just eight points and 4.5 rebounds in Myrtle Beach.
If there’s one “key,” to tonight, it’s the continued development of the point guard position — Anderson looked slightly more comfortable running point against WVU and the Tops didn’t really succumb to the Press Virginia defense (however, the ‘Neers didn’t really implore it too often) and Dalano Banton does a great job with the second unit, but it’s still frustrating to watch at times, especially when the ball doesn’t go inside the arc until about six seconds left on the shotclock.
Regardless, this should be a really fun game and the winner will have a great resume coming out of the tournament as the regular portion of non-conference play kicks back up.