AND THE HILLTOPPERS WILL SQUARE OFF
WITH MISSOURI STATE ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
HILLTOPPERS PLAY HOST TO CONFERENCE USA NEWCOMER MISSOURI STATE ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT DIDDLE ARENA
Hank Plona knows all the numbers.
Plona, the second-year Western Kentucky men’s basketball head coach, knows that winning games on the road in Conference USA is an imposing task.
“I know, for a fact, that home (C-USA) teams are 23-7,” Plona said on Tuesday morning, during media availability at WKU’s historic E.A. Diddle Arena.
By the same token, one of those seven road victories belong to Plona’s Hilltoppers. On Saturday, Western’s defense shut down UTEP in the final seven minutes or so, sending WKU past the Miners, 68-56, at the Don Haskins Arena in El Paso, Texas.
That breakthrough pushed the HIlltoppers to a 10-6 record, overall, but more important, a 3-2 record in Conference USA play.
Now they’ve got an opportunity to build some serious momentum for February and beyond..
HAVE GONE 7-1 AT DIDDLE ARENA THIS SEASON.
THE HILLTOPPERS KNOCK OFF UTEP, 68-56.
FOR BETTER SHOT SELECTION FROM HIS TEAM.
Western Kentucky will play host to a three-game Conference USA homestand, starting with Wednesday night’s game against C-USA newcomer Missouri State. The Bears are also 10-6 overall, but they lead the Tops by a single game in the C-USA standings with a 4-1 league record.
On Saturday afternoon, the Tops will tangle with Kennesaw State, also 10-6 overall. The Owls are 2-3 in C-USA play, and they employ a wide-open, full-court style, averaging 89 points per game.
Then, after a four-day break, the Hilltoppers will square off with defending Conference USA champion Liberty (13-3 overall, 5-0 in C-USA play). The Flames showed up at Diddle Arena last March, a few days before the C-USA Tournament in Huntsville, Alabama, and Liberty obliterated the Tops, 90-61, before a paid E.A. Diddle crowd of 4,247.
Florida International, which went 3-15 against C-USA opponents during the regular season, would eliminate Hank Plona’s fading WKU squad, 76-67, in first-round tournament play at Huntsville’s Probst Arena.
One year removed from an NCAA Tournament appearance, the Hilltoppers would finish the 2024-25 season with a lackluster 17-15 record.
All of which illustrates the opportunity in front of the Tops over the next nine days.
“You want to try to take care of home court,” Plona said. “Missouri State won at Delaware. We need to shoot the ball better from the floor. We’re taking too many difficult two-point shots, to be honest with you …”
Truth of it is, Plona trends toward the candid side.
“Obviously, it was a mixed bag on this last road trip,” Plona said. “We had a good approach (in the UTEP game) … We made some great plays, late, in the UTEP game.”
Plona and the WKU coaching staff have tinkered with the Hilltoppers’ starting lineup, moving leading scorer Teagan Moore, a 6-foot-5 swingman from Owen County, and fellow Kentuckian Armelo Boone, a hard-charging freshman from Woodford County High School, to familiar reserve roles.
The move was made, in part, with the long-awaited return of senior WKU point guard Terrion Murdix.
Murdix arrived at WKU for the 2023-24 season, joining former Hilltoppers head coach Steve Lutz after two productive seasons with Lutz at Texas-Corpus Christi.
HAS BATTLED KNEE INJURIES.
TERRION MURDIX IS A ‘LEADER’
AS WELL AS A ‘THROWBACK.’
LOST FOR THE SEASON WITH
A TORN ACHILLES TENDON.
Murdix logged 23 minutes in last week’s victory against UTEP, finishing the game with eight points, four steals, four rebounds and three assists. The 6-foot-1 guard from Springfield, Missouri wears a protective device on his left leg, after missing two consecutive seasons with knee trouble.
Plona believes Murdix’s return has provided a burst of energy the Hilltoppers seemed to be missing as December 2025 gave way to January ’26.
“(Murdix is) a leader of the team, he’s the point guard of the team,” Plona said. “To me, (the lineup changed) was an obvious move to make … He plays to win, he’s more experienced.
“He’s kind of a throwback.”
Plona mentioned that Missouri State used a 1-3-1 zone, in the final six minutes, in last week’s road game against Kennesaw State. The Bears would lose that game, 90-80, before bouncing back with a 79-71 victory over Florida International in Springfield, Missouri.
Missouri State has a star player in senior Keith Palek III, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward from Woodbine, New Jersey. Palek leads the Bears in scoring (17.1 points per game), rebounding and assists.
“They’ve played a difficult schedule and their personnel has gotten better,” Plona said. “The three, four and five (front-court players) are their main scorers. They’re great at getting to the free-throw line.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Tip-off for Wednesday’s game is 6:30 p.m.
HIS TEAM’s STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES.
THE FULL-COURT TRANSITION GAME …
TO HAVE AROUND, TOO.