WKU Basketball: Tops Trounce Louisiana Tech 65–54.
WKU Basketball bounced back from last week’s disappointing Florida road trip handling Louisiana Tech 65–54 in front of a blackout crowd of…
WKU Basketball bounced back from last week’s disappointing Florida road trip handling Louisiana Tech 65–54 in front of a blackout crowd of 5,769 at EA Diddle Arena.
The Hilltoppers started off hot as they scored the first six points of the game. Louisiana Tech would respond but WKU’s early fortunes would continue as Carson Williams paced WKU with 8 early points and WKU was up 15–9 at the 11:42 mark.
WKU’s stingy first-half defense continued as they held the Bulldogs to just 36.7% shooting for the half.
WKU extended the lead to twelve points as Jordan Rawls hit a corner three with 5:27 remaining and WKU played with the focus we’ve only seen in spurts this season.
The lead ballooned to 20 points as Jordan Rawls hit a layup at the buzzer to give the Hilltoppers a 44–24 lead at the half. WKU would finish the half shooting a blistering 63.6% from the field.
WKU couldn’t keep up their scorching shooting and Louisiana Tech slowly cut into the Hilltopper lead outscoring WKU 17–9 in the first eight minutes of the half to get the game within 12 points.
Both defenses clamped down over the next five minutes as each team would go on extended scoring droughts as WKU held on to a 56–43 lead with 7 minutes remaining.
Taveion Hollinsworth & Carson Williams ended WKU’s field goal drought and the Hilltopper lead extended to 15 with four minutes remaining.
From there each team would trade a few baskets before Jordan Rawls made a three-pointer to put a feather in the cap of a 19 point performance with 1:16 remaining to give WKU an 18 point lead.
The Tops cruised from there to a 65–54 victory moving to 15–8 & 8–3 in Conference USA on the season.
Here are some thoughts on tonight’s convincing victory
This was arguably WKU’s best win of the season. Why Arkansas might be the best team, Louisiana Tech is a close second and WKU controlled throughout. This will definitely help the Hilltoppers computer rankings and most importantly their confidence moving forward.
Carson Williams was a load inside again tonight scoring 14 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and also gaining 2 blocks to have a great well-rounded performance inside.
Jordan Rawls had his best game yet scoring 19 points and dishing out 2 assists. He was also efficient with his offense shooting 8–12 on the night. He’s only going to get better as the year goes on
Cam Justice came back from injury in a big way, providing rest from the bench and production going along with it. He scored 11 points in 21 minutes and gave several starters much needed rest.
WKU absolutely destroyed Tech at the free-throw line. The Hilltoppers outscored the Bulldogs 19–2 at the charity stripe.
WKU also won the turnover battle 15–11 and only lost the rebounding battle by two. When you add up all three of those factors it leads to a comfortable victory over a really good team.
Josh Anderson & Jared Savage both had quiet nights scoring as they only combined for 13 points but they made their presence felt defensively with 15 combined rebounds and four blocks. It’s great to see different players step up on a night in and night out basis.
Other than Justice’s 21 minutes the bench (Cozart, Gambrell & Horton) only played 5 minutes combined.
The Blackout Uniforms and crowd made the atmosphere special tonight and I was happy to see the team respond and look focused throughout. Hopefully, they can learn to carry that intensity on from here on out.
This win puts WKU in great shape to make the top pod in Conference USA heading into bonus play. They realistically now only have to win 1 of their next three to guarantee that spot and clinch a top 5 seed in the CUSA tournament. North Texas also won tonight at MTSU so WKU still remains a game out of first place in the Conference for now.
After last week’s frustrating losses it’s great to see this team get back on track and prove the skeptics (me included) wrong against a really good conference opponent.
WKU (returns to action on Saturday at 6:30 PM CT as they take on the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss (7–17, 3–8 in CUSA). Like we stated above, a win guarantees WKU a top pod spot and keeps them alive for the Conference USA Regular Season Championship. Hopefully, the Tops take care of business at home.
Here are your final stats from tonight’s great win
