WKU Men’s Basketball looks to open the new year with a win as they open conference play Thursday against the Liberty Flames.

The Hilltoppers ended 2024 with a blowout loss to Michigan on the road 112-64. It was the team’s only loss in December, as they came into the matchup in Ann Arbor on a six-game winning streak.

The Hilltoppers look to return to the win column as they travel to play Liberty. Coming into the game, WKU sits at 9-4 on the season but holds a 1-3 road record with their lone win being a 79-65 victory at Evansville.

The Flames, who are 12-1 overall, are 6-0 at home with nine straight wins and a 23.2 scoring margin, the highest point margin in Conference USA and fifth best in the nation. They average 81.4 points per game and give up 58.2 points per game. Liberty also leads the conference in offensive and defensive shooting percentage as well as three-pointers made per game.

Liberty played their best ball during the non-conference schedule and is red hot coming into their matchup with WKU. The Hilltoppers average 80.6 points per game but allow the second-most points in the conference at 76.2.

Senior guard Don McHenry leads the Hilltoppers and ranks fourth in CUSA for scoring with 18.5 points per game. Senior forward Babacar Faye has the team’s second-best scoring and rebounding average with 15.2 points and 7.8 boards per game: good for the conference’s fifth-best rebounding average and eighth-best scoring average.

The two teams met for the first time ever last season, splitting the two games. WKU won the first game on Jan. 6 70-68 in Diddle Arena, while Liberty won the second meeting on March 9 82-79 in Lynchburg.

Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. The game can be watched on CBS Sports Network.

Sports Reporter Michael Givner Jr. can be reached at [email protected].