By Uncle Tom George
WESTERN KENTUCKY GAME NOTES
https://wkusports.com/documents/2024/3/20/MBB_Game_Notes_2024_NCAA_First_Round_vs_Marquette.pdf
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – For the first time since 2013, WKU Men’s Basketball (22-11, 11-8) is back in the NCAA Tournament and will take on 2-seed Marquette Friday in Indianapolis. Tipoff at Gainbridge Fieldhouse is set for 1 p.m. CT on TBS.
Game Info
No. 15 WKU (22-11) vs. No. 2 Marquette (25-9)
Friday, March 22 | 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET)
Indianapolis, ind. | Gainbridge Fieldhouse
National TV: TBS (Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, Andy Katz)
Hilltopper Sports Radio Network: 100.7-FM (WKLX)/Varsity Network (Randy Lee, Hal Schmitt)
National Radio: Westwood One (Ted Emrich, Austin Croshere)
Game Notes: WKU | Marquette
The Hilltoppers advanced to the 2024 NCAA Tournament after claiming the program’s first-ever Conference USA Tournament title and its first conference tournament championship since 2013 with a 78-71 victory over UTEP on Saturday, March 16, at VBC Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama. WKU cruised to an 85-54 win over rival Middle Tennessee in a CUSA semifinal matchup after opening CUSA tournament play with an 89-69 win over New Mexico State in the quarterfinals. The wins earned WKU its 20th, 21st, and 22nd victories on the season and marked the 48th time in the program’s history the Hilltoppers have recorded 20+ wins – a mark only six other programs in the nation have achieved. Don McHenry was named the CUSA Tournament MVP, while Brandon Newman and Rodney Howard were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
WKU In The NCAA Tournament
Friday will mark WKU’s 24th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the first since 2013, when the Hilltoppers fell 64-57 to top-seeded Kansas in Kansas City, Missouri. The Hilltoppers hold a 15-23 record in NCAA Tournament games. WKU has won at least won game in three of the last four NCAA Tournaments in which it has played.
WKU last advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2008, defeating 5-seed Drake and 13-seed San Diego in Tampa, Fla. In that First Round win over Drake, Hilltopper Ty Rogers famously made a game-winning three as time expired in overtime for the 101-99 victory. WKU has advanced to the Sweet 16 seven times and the Final Four once.
WKU and Marquette have met once before – a 79-60 loss during the Hilltoppers’ opening game of the 1976 NCAA Tournament in Dayton, Ohio.
22 Wins And Counting
WKU enters the NCAA Tournament with a 22-11 record. The Hilltoppers earned their 20th win of the season with a CUSA Quarterfinal victory over New Mexico State. The 2023-24 season is the 48th time in program history the Hilltoppers have reached the 20-win plateau, seventh-most in the nation (Kentucky, 66; North Carolina, 64; Duke, 58; UCLA, 53; Kansas, 52; Louisville, 49).
First Year Bench Bosses
WKU is one of six teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament under a head coach in their first season with that team (including Texas’ Rodney Terry, who served as interim coach for the Longhorns last year). The others include: Grant McCasland, Texas Tech; Danny Sprinkle, Utah State; Will Wade, McNeese; and Matt Logie, Montana State.
Champions Climb Here
WKU is one of only nine programs in the country to both win an FBS bowl game in football and earn a bid to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament during the 2023-24 seasons. The others include Arizona, Clemson, Duke, Kansas, Northwestern, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas Tech.
Next Up
With a win on Friday, WKU would advance to the Second Round where it would face the winner of Friday’s matchup between 7-seed Florida and the winner of Wednesday’s First Four game between 10-seeds Boise State and Colorado.
Follow the team on social media (@wkubasketball) for the latest news and updates on all things Hilltopper Basketball, and visit wkusports.com for more information.
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MARQUETTE GAME NOTES
https://gomarquette.com/documents/2024/3/18/Game_35_-_Marquette_vs._WKU_Game_Notes.pdf
The No. 8/8 Marquette University men’s basketball team (25-9, 14-6 BIG EAST) opens play at the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on Friday, March 22 when the squad faces Western Kentucky (22-11, 8-8 C-USA) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. TBS features the national television broadcast, with Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Dan Bonner (analyst), Stan Van Gundy (analyst) and Andy Katz (reporter) calling the action. The Golden Eagles earned a No. 2 seed for the second-straight year, the team’s highest seed in program history.
Marquette Making 36th NCAA Appearance
Marquette is making its 36th appearance in the NCAA tournament and is participating in in third-straight event for first time since 2012-13 (last of eight-straight trips).
The program, which claimed the national title in 1977 under legendary head coach Al McGuire, also owns 16 trips to the Sweet Sixteen and has participated in the Final Four on three occasions (1974, 1977, 2003).
Marquette has played in Indianapolis in the NCAA tournament on three occasions, most recently in the opening two rounds (vs. Holy Cross and Missouri) of the 2003 championship en route to a Final Four appearance in New Orleans.
The Golden Eagles earned the No. 2 seed for the first time in school history in 2022-23 and defeated Vermont, 78-61, before falling to 10th-seeded Michigan State, 69-60, in Columbus, Ohio.
- 1977 NCAA Champions (defeated North Carolina 67-59 in Atlanta in head coach Al McGuire’s last game)
- Program is making 36th NCAA appearance, tied for 10th highest total all-time (42-36 all-time record)
- 53rd postseason appearance (36 NCAA, 16 NIT, 1 National Catholic Championship; top-10 among all Division I programs)
- Three trips to the Final Four (1974, 1977, 2003)
- 16 trips to the Sweet 16 (most recently 2012-13 – Elite Eight)
- One of just 20 schools to have won both an NCAA and NIT title (1970)
Lone Matchup With WKU In NCAA Tournament
Marquette and Western Kentucky have met on just one occasion all-time, but it did come in a similar circumstance.
MU claimed a 79-60 win over the Hilltoppers in the opening round of the 1976 NCAA tournament on March, 13 in Dayton, Ohio. Marquette concluded the season with a 27-2 record, falling only in the fifth game of the campaign to Minnesota and to No. 1 Indiana, 65-56, in the regional final.
Indiana went on to capture the national title that season, finishing with a perfect 32-0 overall record.
Marquette assistant coach Neill Berry worked at WKU for three seasons (2005-08) under former MU assistant coach Darrin Horn, helping the Hilltoppers to the conference tournament title and a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2007-08.
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