BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball opens its 100th season with its first
exhibition against Campbellsville at 7 p.m. Tuesday at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Hilltoppers went 27-11 in 2017-18, their most wins in 10 seasons and the most in
the state of Kentucky last year, while advancing to the NIT semifinals for the first
time since 1954.
WKU head coach Rick Stansbury was a four-year letterman at guard for Campbellsville
from 1977-81 and got his coaching start as a CU student assistant.
As a senior, Stansbury helped lead Campbellsville to the school’s first District 32
hoops title and an appearance in the 1981 NAIA Tournament. He received
Campbellsville’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999 and was inducted into the
school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.
EXHIBITION 1
Campbellsville (0-0) at WKU (0-0)
October 30, 2018 | 7 p.m. CT
E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Ky.
BROADCAST
Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network (WKLX 100.7 FM flagship),
WKUSports.tv (free), TuneIn Radio (free) (Paul Roper, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: WKU-PBS (BG), WBNA (Louisville); Facebook live stream on WKU Athletics page (radio simulcast)
Live Stats: WKU Stats
QUICK SHOTS
• WKU is 58-4 all-time in preseason exhibition games, and the Hilltoppers have won
26 straight preseason tune-ups dating back to a 2002-03 loss to the Harlem
Globetrotters.
• E.A. Diddle Arena is sold out of general season tickets in the preseason for
what’s believed to be the first time since the venue opened in 1963. A handful of
premium season tickets remain.
• The Hilltoppers are tied with Arkansas for the fourth-longest streak in the nation
of consecutive games with a made 3-pointer at 976. Only UNLV (1,039), Vanderbilt
(1,031) and Duke (1,021) have longer streaks.
• The Hilltoppers graduated 51.4 percent of their scoring, 60.8 percent of their
rebounding and 48.7 percent of their assists with the loss of seniors Justin
Johnson, Darius Thompson and Dwight Coleby.
• WKU was one of four schools in the nation – along with Kansas, Syracuse and Texas
A&M – with wins over teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 last season. The
Hilltoppers were the only school outside the Power 5 to accomplish the feat.
• The Hilltoppers’ 12-win improvement from the year before in 2017-18 tied for the
fifth-largest improvement in the nation. Of the teams ahead of the Hilltoppers, only
Final Four team Loyola (Ill.) had more wins than WKU’s 27.
• WKU finished the 2017-18 season with an official RPI of 32 – its highest since the
2007-08 season, when the Hilltoppers also finished 32nd. The program had not had a
higher final RPI since 1994-95, when it finished at No. 27.
• Head coach Rick Stansbury’s 12-win improvement from the 2016-17 to 2017-18 season
is the largest increase in wins for any Hilltopper Basketball coach between their
first and second seasons. The previous best was seven-win improvements by Darrin
Horn, Ralph Willard and John Oldham.
• Sophomore guard Taveion Hollingsworth is the team’s leading returning scorer at
13.3 points per game. Hollingsworth was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman
Team and set new Hilltopper records in 2017-18 for most points scored (506), minutes
played (1,312) and games started (38) by a freshman. He and graduate senior Desean
Murray were named to the Preseason All-C-USA Team.
• Not only is freshman center Charles Bassey the highest-rated recruit to play for
WKU in several decades, he’s also one of the top-five youngest players in college
basketball this season.
TICKETS
WKU Ticket Office: The WKU Ticket Office will not be open on gameday for any games
this season. General season tickets are sold out, while a handful of premium season
tickets remain. Available single-game tickets for the Campbellsville game can be
purchased online at WKUTickets.com or by calling 1-800-5-BIGRED.
PROMOTIONS
• Free schedule magnet for the first 2,500 fans
• First piece of 16-piece 100th season commemorative poster (Rick Stansbury/E.A.
Diddle) for first 3,000 fans
LAST GAME AGAINST CAMPBELLSVILLE: NOVEMBER 1, 2017 (EXHIBITION)
WKU used an all-around team effort to roll past Campbellsville, 92-51, in a
preseason exhibition victory at E.A. Diddle Arena. Taveion Hollingsworth led all
scorers with 20 points and seven steals, and Jake Ohmer had 18 points with three
3-pointers.
MED CENTER HEALTH
The 2018-19 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.
