WKU Men’s Basketball will tip-off their 2024 conference season Saturday, hosting the Liberty Flames in Diddle Arena at 5:00p.m. CST. 

The Hilltoppers, who are riding a seven-game winning streak, look to sustain their perfect home record. WKU extended their home record to 6-0 with a win against Abilene Christian to end non-conference play.  

The Flames come into the game 6-4 in their last ten, picking up losses to Alabama, No. 13 Florida Atlantic, Charleston, and Grand Canyon. This will be Liberty’s third road game of the season as their loss to Florida Atlantic, as well as a 16-point victory over Utah Valley sum up their road contests. 

The Hilltoppers come into the weekend averaging 80.4 points per game, sitting at number six in all of Division I college basketball for Possessions per 40 Minutes. However, the Flames defense has allowed an impressive 61 points per game. WKU’s offense is led by junior guard Don McHerny, who is averaging 14.9 points per game on 46% shooting. 

Unlike the Hilltoppers, Liberty brings a slower, yet more efficient game of basketball to the court. The Flames average 11 less possessions per 40 minutes, yet they score around five more points per possession. Their efficient offense is led by Senior Forward Kyle Rode. Rode is averaging 12.9 points per game on 40.8% shooting. Rode averages 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

WKU finished last season 8-12 in Conference play, defeating UTEP in last season’s C-USA tournament First Round before falling to FAU in the Quarterfinals.

This will be Liberty’s first year in C-USA. They concluded their time in the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 15-3 record and a trip to the ASUN title game where they lost to future C-USA addition Kennesaw State. 

You can tune in on CBS Sports Network