SAN ANTONIO – In a rugged stretch of five of six games coming on the road, UTSA men's basketball will break from its road swing to host Western Kentucky in its first home game in 15 days, with tipoff at the Convocation Center slated for 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on CUSA TV and Ticket 760 AM, with the Voice of the Roadrunners Andy Everett and former Roadrunners coach Tim Carter calling the action.
UTSA (8-17, 1-11 Conference USA) is coming off a seven-day road trip that saw UTSA travel over 2,200 miles with games at Rice, North Texas and a makeup game at Middle Tennessee. The game in Murfreesboro, Tenn., marked a makeup from a Dec. 30 postponement due to the Blue Raiders COVID-19 concerns and took added importance to the C-USA office and in the league standings with MTSU competing for the East Division title.
The Roadrunners will be hosting their first home game since Jan. 27 and Jan. 29, when UTSA split with the Florida schools, earning a win over FIU before falling vs. East Division front-runner Florida Atlantic. UTSA owns a 7-7 record at the Convocation Center and are 63-25 under Coach Steve Henson at home over his six seasons. UTSA comes into the matchup with WKU as the nation's leader in total rebounds, while ranking third nationally in offensive rebounds per game.
UTSA averages 66.8 points, 39.8 rebounds, 10.8 assists, 5.6 steals and 2.8 blocks per game as a team, shooting 38.5 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from 3-point range. Opponents are scoring 72.1 points per game, shooting 45.4 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from distance.
UTSA has been led in scoring by 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Jordan Ivy-Curry, who averages 15.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. Junior 6-5 guard Dhieu Deing – a JUCO transfer from Dodge City [Kan.] CC – averages 14.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, owning a team-high 26 steals. Junior 6-11 center Jacob Germany sports averages of 14 points and seven rebounds per game, while senior transfer guard Darius McNeill owns 6.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore 6-6 guard Isaiah Addo-Ankrah paces the team with a 44.7 percent clip from 3-point range, averages 3.9 points per outing.
Western Kentucky (12-11, 4-6 C-USA) was picked third in the preseason coaches poll and are widely regarded as the most talented team in the conference. The Hilltoppers are under the direction of sixth-year head coach Rick Stansbury, the all-time winningest coach in Mississippi State history over his 14 years.
The Hilltoppers are the 15th winningest program in NCAA basketball history and rank eighth in all-time winning percentage, while owning 43 total league titles, the third-most in the nation, behind only Kansas and the winningest program in college basketball, Kentucky. The Toppers had to replace All-American center Charles Bassey but returned two starters from a 21-win team in 2020-21 that advanced to the NIT Quarterfinals after getting knocked out in the league tourney by North Texas.
WKU has won two straight games entering the matchup with Florida Atlantic on Thursday night in Bowling Green, Ky. The Toppers snapped a five-game losing streak with wins at Charlotte and Old Dominion last week and also own league wins over FIU and Rice, and non-conference wins over Ole Miss and Louisville. WKU concluded league play with a 95-60 rout at the hands of now No. 5 Kentucky on Dec. 22, an impromptu game that UK used at Rupp Arena to benefit tornado relief in Western Kentucky after Louisville backed out of the annual rivalry game with Kentucky due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Hilltoppers – who lead college basketball in fewest fouls committed – average 76.4 points, 35.3 rebounds, 15.1 assists, 8.6 steals and 5.9 blocks per game as a team, shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from 3-point range. Opponents are shooting 41.6 percent and 34.2 percent from distance.
Dynamic sophomore point guard Dayvion McKnight leads the Hilltoppers with 15.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Sixth-year graduate transfer Camron Justice averages 14 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Jarius Hamilton, a 6-foot-8 Maryland transfer, averages 13.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and fifth-year starter Josh Anderson averages 12.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Luke Frampton sports 9.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Jamarion Sharp, the tallest player in college basketball at 7-5, averages 8.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.4 blocks per game.
Western Kentucky leads the all-time series with UTSA, 6-3 and have won two of the three meetings in San Antonio. The Hilltoppers won the last meeting, eliminating UTSA from the C-USA Tournament last year in Frisco with an 80-67 win. It snapped a stretch of three consecutive games going into overtime in the series. The Roadrunners were held to 38.6 percent in the C-USA Tournament loss last year, while WKU shot 46.3 percent and got a 21-point, nine-rebounds outing from Charles Bassey. UTSA was led by a 30 point outing from Keaton Wallace, with Jordan Ivy-Curry chipping in eight points and Jacob Germany pouring in eight points and five rebounds.
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