WKU Men’s Basketball will return to Diddle Arena to play the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders Saturday after an unsuccessful two-game road trip.
The Hilltoppers lost to Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State during their trip, dropping them to 5-6 in Conference USA play.
The Blue Raiders come to Bowling Green 7-4 in conference play, tied for second in CUSA. Senior guard Jestin Porter leads the Blue Raiders in scoring, averaging 16 a game. MTSU is coming off a one-point win over Kennesaw State.
Senior forward Essam Mostafa is second in CUSA in rebounds, averaging 8.8 a game. Mostafa is also second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.
“They’re a very talented team, they’ve had a great year,” Head Coach Hank Plona said. “If they come in here and win they’d probably be in great shape moving forward so they have a lot to play for.”
The Hilltoppers haven’t struggled to score, but they’ve struggled to stay consistent in games, allowing Jax State to come back from a 19-point deficit and falling into an early 16-point deficit against the KSU. Khristian Lander’s career-high 30-point performance wasn’t enough to beat Jax State and Don McHenry’s 30-point outing fell just short of victory in Kennesaw.
Some of their consistency struggles could come from their inability to sub out tired players which was exacerbated by Jack Edelen and Enoch Kalambay’s absence this past weekend.
“When you get down to eight players, whether it’s foul trouble or endurance I thought in the first half our not being able to substitute and stay fresh probably was a factor,” Plona said. “When you want to keep fresh bodies on the floor, especially at the speed we play, it can hurt you a bit.”
Sports Reporter Nathan Mueller can be reached at nathan.mueller103@topper.wku.edu.
