BOCA RATON, Fla. — After knocking off No. 25 Old Dominion on Saturday to wrap up a seven-game homestand with a 6-1 record, WKU (10-5, 3-0 C-USA) hits the road for two Conference USA games in the Sunshine State beginning Thursday night at 6:00 (CT) against Florida Atlantic.
The Hilltoppers picked up their first win against a ranked opponent in the last nine tries with the win over the Monarchs, which extended WKU’s current winning stretch to five-straight games and nine of the last 11 outings after starting the season with a 1-3 mark.
WKU and Florida Atlantic were Sun Belt Conference rivals from 2006-07 to 2012-13, and WKU holds a 10-5 advantage in the all-time series but has lost the last two meetings in Boca Raton since a 57-53 win over the Owls on Jan. 29, 2011.
One game after setting WKU’s career three-point record, T.J. Price has a chance to become just the 15th player in Hilltopper history to score 1,500 points in his career with one more point in a game.
From Boca Raton, WKU heads to Miami on Saturday night at 5:00 (CT) to face FIU.
GAME 16
WKU (10-5, 3-0 C-USA) at Florida Atlantic (7-7, 0-3 C-USA)
January 15, 2015 | 6:00 PM (CT)
Boca Raton, Fla. | FAU Arena (2,980)
QUICK SHOTS
– A win against Florida Atlantic would make WKU 4-0 to start conference play for the second time in three seasons (2012-13), but the last time it happened before that was 2005-06.
– A win Thursday would be WKU’s sixth-straight, which it had at one point in each of the last three seasons.
– WKU has had at least a 10-point lead at one point in every game on its current five-game winning streak.
– WKU’s current scoring average of 73.5 points per game would be its highest at the end of the season since averaging 77.4 per outing in 2007-08.
– WKU leads Conference USA and ranks 45th in the nation in assists per game (15.2).
– George Fant is averaging 17.8 points and 11.5 rebounds per game during his current stretch of four-straight double-doubles while shooting 55.6 percent from the floor and 70.0 percent on free throws.
– T.J. Price has scored at least 20 points in six of the last seven games against NCAA Division I opponents.
– T.J. Price is averaging 17.0 points per game during WKU’s five-game winning streak and is shooting 51.5 percent from three-point range (17-for-33).
– T.J. Price ranks 11th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.468), and George Fant ranks 19th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (3.5).
– T.J. Price ranks eighth among active NCAA Division I players in career three-point field goals made (249), 31st in career points scored (1,499) and 65th in career scoring average (13.9), and George Fant ranks 19th in career rebounds (747) and 58th in career points scored (1,369).
– Chris Harrison-Docks has had 21 assists and just seven turnovers in the last four games.
– Chris Harrison-Docks has made 33 of his last 39 free throw attempts (.846) going back to the end of last season, where he finished third in the nation among freshman from the charity stripe.
– Chris Harrison-Docks has hit multiple three-pointers in 27 of his 39 career games for WKU.
– WKU has won 14 of its last 17 regular-season home games, and the Hilltoppers are 37-11 at E.A. Diddle Arena under head coach Ray Harper (.771).
BROADCAST
– Listen: Hilltopper IMG Sports Network, TuneIn Radio (free) (Randy Lee, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
– Watch: C-USA Digital Network ($)
– Live Stats: FAUSports.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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