WKU Basketball: Tops Take On Southern Miss in Tournament Semifinals

A trip to the Conference USA title game is at stake for the Hilltoppers as they’ll take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in the C-USA…

A trip to the Conference USA title game is at stake for the Hilltoppers as they’ll take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in the C-USA tournament quarterfinals.

Game Info

Time: 3 p.m. CT
Location: The Star | Frisco, Texas
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: The Hilltopper IMG Sports Network

WKU defeated Southern Miss in both matchups this year; a 66–63 road win for the Tops and a 76–71 in Bowling Green as part of bonus play.

The Eagles shot 58.3% from the floor and 52.6% from three against the Herd, while holding Marshall to percentages of 42.6% and 45.9%, respectively.

A couple of things are running through my mind entering this match up; the first is that, while a small sample size, the Tops are playing the right style of basketball at the right time. Never was last night’s win against North Texas in doubt and the duo of Josh Anderson and Taveion Hollingsworth were as electric as we’ve been waiting to see all season.

Secondly, the Hilltoppers have had their share of running into some hot shooting teams (hello, Missouri State), but Southern Miss was shooting, at one point, 65% from the floor. I may be hedging my bet, but I don’t see how that performance can be replicated a second night. (Although, I see the argument made on the Golden Eagles side about WKU’s performance against the Mean Green).

The last thought is a bad one — last year, the Tops entered the title game against Marshall having won each of the two regular season meetings and lost. Is the same fate awaiting the Red Towels at the end of this game?