WKU Basketball: Tops Look To Snap Skid, Welcome Streaky FAU
I refused to say it in Thursday’s preview but I’m saying it now; Western Kentucky basketball is reeling. They’re 1–3 to open conference…
I refused to say it in Thursday’s preview but I’m saying it now; Western Kentucky basketball is reeling. They’re 1–3 to open conference play and have lost three straight, all while holding leads of 15-points or more.
Florida Atlantic comes to Diddle Arena this afternoon and it’s certainly no gimme game for the Tops.
Game Info
Time: 2:00 p.m. CT
Location: E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Kentucky
TV: Stadium on Facebook
Radio: The Hilltopper IMG Sports Network
Throughout their non-conference schedule, FAU posed themselves as a darkhorse contender in C-USA play. Sure, they have a couple of bad losses (a 10-point defeat to Georgia Southern, a two-point loss to Bethune-Cookman) but they also held off Mercer, beat Illinois by two and upset UCF earlier in the season.
However, they’ve hit a bit of a snag. They’re 2–3 in the C-USA season, with wins against MTSU and Old Dominion but losses to UAB, Charlotte and Marshall. A reason for that may be attributed to the loss of Jailyn Ingram, who suffered a knee injury after 10 games, ending his season.
Ingram paced the Owls both in scoring (18.9 points per game) and on the glass (8.2 rebounds per game).
In his stead steps senior guard Anthony Adger, averaging 15.9 points and 3.8 boards. Adger also leads FAU in PProd (points produced), with 260. He also leads all Owls who have played in 12 or more games in Player Efficiency Rating, logging a 17.7. (For comparison’s sake, WKU’s leading PER is Charles Bassey, with a 27.3. The aforementioned Ingram had a 27.9 through 10 games.)
FAU could present a three-headed monster on the statsheet along with Adger — Xavian Stapleton (14.5) and Michael Forrest (13) have joined him in averaging double figures in conference play.
The Owls don’t score a ton, only averaging 72.9 points a game, but they also don’t allow a ton, averaging 69.9 (nice) points per outing but are incredibly active on the boards, averaging 40.3 rebounds a night.
The key tonight for WKU is the same as it was against FIU on Thursday and they fell flat on their face with it — play a full 40 minutes. Another 10+ point lead that is blown in a loss, and things are going to get really ugly, really quick.