WKU Hilltopper Basketball will play its second ranked foe in as many days when it takes on No. 18/16 Purdue at 6 p.m. CT Thursday in the Hilltoppers’ second game of the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
WKU dropped its first game of the tournament 66-58 to Villanova, ranked as high as third in the country in the coaches’ poll.
Purdue lost 78-75 to Tennessee in overtime to start its play in the Bahamas. The Boilermakers are averaging 96.6 points per game and shooting 46.2 percent from 3-point range.
Purdue leads the all-time series against WKU 3-1, but the programs haven’t met since March 10, 1982, in the NIT in West Lafayette, Ind. WKU head coach Rick Stansbury has never faced Purdue.
GAME 5
No. 18/16 Purdue (4-1) at WKU (2-2)
November 22, 2017 | 6 p.m. CT
Paradise Island, Bahamas | Imperial Arena
BROADCAST
Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship), WKUSports.tv (free), TuneIn Radio (free) (Randy Lee, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: ESPN3 (Kevin Fitzgerald, pxp | Paul Biancardi, analysis)
Live Stats: Atlantis Stats Central
QUICK SHOTS
• WKU will face back-to-back ranked teams for the first time since playing No. 6 Seton Hall and No. 11 Florida State consecutively in the 1993 NCAA Tournament.
• The Hilltoppers are 11-20 all-time against the current membership of the Big Ten Conference. Head coach Rick Stansbury is 1-1 in his career against Big Ten programs.
• WKU is 1-13 in its last 14 games against ranked opponents, with the lone win in that stretch coming at home against No. 25 Old Dominion on Jan. 10, 2015. The Hilltoppers’ last win over a ranked team on a neutral court was a 76-69 victory over No. 24 Vanderbilt at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on 12/11/09.
• WKU is 4-8 all-time in games played outside the United States. The Hilltoppers are now 0-1 in the Bahamas, 3-6 in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and 1-1 in Cancun, Mexico.
• WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 942 consecutive games, dating back to March 15, 1987. The 3-point shot was instituted prior to the 1986-87 season.
• The Hilltoppers have made 76 of 109 free throws through four games, while their opponents have made just 39 of 53. WKU’s 45 free throws attempted against Nicholls were its most since shooting 50 against Alabama A&M on Nov. 15, 2010. Nicholls’ 32 fouls were the most by a Hilltopper opponent since Alabama A&M was whistled 37 times against WKU on Nov. 15, 2010.
• Six of WKU’s seven active scholarship players are averaging in double figures, between 10 and 14.5 points.
• As of Wednesday, Justin Johnson was tied for ninth among active NCAA players for career rebounds and tied for seventh in career double-doubles. He’s one of just eight active NCAA players with at least 1,000 career points and 700 rebounds.
• Justin Johnson is 33rd on WKU’s all-time scoring list with 1,163 career points. He needs just two points to pass Sergio Kerusch to move into 32nd.
• Justin Johnson currently ranks eighth on WKU’s all-time list for career field goal percentage at 54.4 percent. He’s less than two percentage points from fifth place.
• Justin Johnson needs 260 rebounds to reach 1,000 for his career. That would make him just the fifth player in WKU history with 1,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds, joining Tom Marshall, Art Spoelstra, Ralph Crosthwaite and Jim McDaniels, the last to accomplish the feat in 1971.
LAST GAME AGAINST PURDUE: MARCH 10, 1982
The Boilermakers and former WKU head coach Gene Keady delivered the Hilltoppers a 72-65, season-ending loss in the first round of the NIT in West Lafayette, Ind. Craig McCormick led WKU with 16 points, while Bobby Jones and Kevin Dildy each contributed 11 points.
MED CENTER HEALTH
The 2017-18 WKU Basketball season is presented by Med Center Health. With The Medical Center at its core, Med Center Health has served Southcentral Kentucky for more than 90 years, and its system of care includes six acute care hospitals, a complete network of immediate to emergency services and services in dozens of specialties. Whether it is emergency treatment for heart attack victims or preventative programs to improve the health of the communities it serves, Med Center Health is committed to providing the highest level of care and service.
How to follow the Hilltoppers: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Basketball, follow the team’s social media channels, @WKUBasketball on Twitter, @WKUBasketball on Instagram, and WKU Basketball on Facebook.
-@WKUSports-
Zach Greenwell
Associate Director
WKU Athletic Communications/Media Relations
Men’s Basketball | Men’s Golf | Women’s Golf
