After suffering their first home loss of the season Thursday, WKU mens basketball has just one goal in mind for Saturday: keeping tradition alive.
The Hilltoppers will face the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders in the 145th edition of the ‘100 Miles of Hate’ rivalry game, but as the years go on, the two teams have ‘100 Miles of History’ between them as well.
WKU has history on its side for this game, as the Hilltoppers lead the all-time series 98-46, while being an impressive 55-17 at home against the team in Blue.
Western Kentucky comes into the game boasting a 14-7 record, while currently sitting tied for fourth place in Conference-USA, with a 3-4 C-USA record.
The Blue Raiders have found themselves in quite the hole early on in conference play. After starting their season 6-9, MTSU has picked up only two wins against their conference foes. They currently sit in eighth place, with a 2-4 conference record.
However, the Hilltoppers have a major factor in their favor. The Blue Raiders have yet to win a road game all season and the Hilltoppers thrive at home.
This season, the Hilltopper offense has been nothing short of electrifying. The team is averaging 80.4 points, almost 15 points more per game than MTSU, while shooting 46.7% from the field and 33.7% from behind the arc.
The Blue Raiders come into the game with some less prestigious statistics. MTSU’s offense averages 63.8 points per game this season, while shooting 40.9% from the field and 28.6% from three.
The Blue Raiders are led by a guard pairing of Elias King and Jestin Porter. The pair average 13 points each. King is the man under the glass, bringing in 4.6 rebounds per game, and shooting 34.8% from three. Porter, on the other hand, is the rock swinger of the pair, averaging 1.6 assists and 71.1% from the free throw line.
The Hilltoppers are led by Don McHenry. The guard is averaging 15.1 points per game this season to pair with his 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
Coming off of the recent home loss to Sam Houston State, the Hilltoppers enter the game 6-4 in their last 10 games, while the Blue Raiders come in with only three wins in their previous 10 games.
This game will be available to watch on ESPN+ as well as ESPNU and will tip off at 7:00pm CST.
