Tagged: WKU

The Hilltopper men's basketball team begins Sun Belt Conference play Thursday night, as WKU and FIU meet at E.A. Diddle Arena to begin the stretch of the final 18 games in the conference schedule.

WKU enters the game on a three-game slide, with all of the losses coming away from home, but the Hilltoppers have won 10-straight games at E.A. Diddle Arena and four conference games in a row.

The Hilltoppers have won eight of the last nine games against the Panthers, and WKU’s best all-time winning percentage against any conference opponent comes against FIU (28-5, .848). A win on Thursday would make WKU 3-0 in Sun Belt Conference play for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign.

Thursday’s game brings with it a special ceremony, as the court at E.A. Diddle Arena will be named in honor of legendary Hilltopper John Oldham.

The WKU football team takes on Central Michigan Wednesday night in the Little Caesar's Bowl--the first ever major college bowl game for the Hilltoppers. WKU will look for another big game from their do-everything running back, receiver, and kickoff/punt returner Antonio Andrews, who is looking to set the NCAA record for total yards in a season.

The Little Caesar's Bowl is being televised nationally on ESPN, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30pm central time Wednesday evening.

Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry is coaching the Hilltoppers following the departure of former coach Willie Taggart, who left WKU to become the new head coach at South Florida. WKU made national news when they hired former Louisville and Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino just three days after Taggart's depature.

WKU shot 50% in the second half and had just seven second-half turnovers Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., but the 5th-ranked Louisville Cardinals earned a 78-55 win to wrap up WKU's non-conference slate for 2012-13.

A crowd of 10,728 was on-hand to see WKU and Louisville begin a new four-year series of games. The loss is WKU's third-straight, all coming against teams that went a combined 90-19 and won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament a season ago, and drops the Hilltoppers' record to 8-5. Louisville improves to 11-1.