BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The two highest-scoring offenses in Conference USA and the top two teams in the league standings meet Thursday night in Ruston, La., as WKU (14-5, 7-0 C-USA) looks to move to 8-0 in league action and keep sole possession of first place against 6-1 LA Tech.
WKU and LA Tech have played 28 times in previous years, including 22 times as Sun Belt Conference rivals, and WKU holds a 15-13 lead in the all-time series dating back to 1928.
LA Tech has won 22-straight games at Thomas Assembly Center and 41 of the last 42 overall, and that stretch includes 21-straight home conference wins dating back to Feb. 23, 2012.
The Bulldogs were picked to win the league in the preseason coaches poll, and LA Tech returns four starters from last year’s team that went 29-8 and reached the quarterfinals of the NIT. WKU’s George Fant and T.J. Price and LA Tech’s guard trio of Raheem Appleby, Alex Hamilton and Kenneth Smith accounted for half of the 10 spots on the Preseason All-Conference USA Team.
After starting the conference season with five home games and two road games, WKU wraps up the regular season with seven-of-11 on the road including Saturday’s game at Southern Miss.
GAME 20
WKU (14-5, 7-0 C-USA) at LA Tech (15-5, 6-1 C-USA)
January 29, 2015 | 6:00 PM (CT)
Ruston, La. | Thomas Assembly Center (8,000)
QUICK SHOTS
– A win Thursday would be WKU’s 10th straight, its longest winning streak since winning 11-in-a-row from Jan. 10-Feb. 16, 2008, and its fifth double-digit winning streak since 1990.
– WKU’s current nine-game winning streak is tied for the seventh-longest active streak in the nation.
– WKU’s 14-5 record through 19 games is its best since the 2007-08 team also was 14-5 through 19 outings and ultimately 21-5 before losing its sixth game.
– WKU is averaging 80.8 points per game during its current nine-game winning streak, outscoring opponents by 16.3 points per game, committing just 10.9 turnovers per game while averaging 15.9 assists and outrebounding opponents by 5.1 boards per game.
– WKU is 13-2 in the last two Januarys and has won 11-straight contests in the month.
– WKU leads C-USA and ranks 44th in the nation in assists per game (15.0), and the Hilltoppers are tied for first in the league and rank 42nd in the nation in scoring offense (74.2 ppg).
– The Hilltoppers are averaging 10.6 turnovers per conference game, compared to 14.4 in its 12 non-conference outings.
– George Fant is averaging 18.0 points and 11.4 rebounds per game during his current stretch of eight-straight double-doubles, which is the longest double-double streak by a Hilltopper since his cousin, Jim McDaniels, had stretches of 14- and 12-straight games with a double-double during the 1970-71 season.
– T.J. Price’s scoring average of 17.1 points per game would be the most by a Hilltopper at the end of the season since Courtney Lee averaged 20.4 as a senior in 2007-08, and George Fant’s rebounding average of 8.7 per game would be the most since Juan Pattillo had 9.1 as a senior in 2010-11.
– T.J. Price has scored at least 20 points in seven of the last 11 games against NCAA Division I opponents.
– T.J. Price leads C-USA and ranks 16th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.449), and George Fant leads the league and is 18th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (3.6).
– Chris Harrison-Docks has made 46 of his last 56 free throw attempts (.821) going back to the end of last season, where he finished third in the nation among freshman from the charity stripe.
– T.J. Price ranks eighth among active NCAA Division I players in career three-point field goals made (258), 29th in career points scored (1,560) and 73rd in career scoring average (13.9), and George Fant ranks 17th in career rebounds (792) and 57th in career points scored (1,442).
– WKU has won 16 of its last 19 regular-season home games, and the Hilltoppers are 39-11 at E.A. Diddle Arena under head coach Ray Harper (.780).
BROADCAST
– Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network, TuneIn Radio (free) (Randy Lee, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
– Watch: CBS Sports Network (John Sadak, pxp | Chris Walker, analysis)
– Live Stats: LATechSports.com (free)
How to Follow the Hilltoppers: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Basketball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKUBasketball on Twitter and on Facebook at facebook.com/WKUBasketball.
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