Western Kentucky survives a late rally by Fordham to improve to 6-1 on the season heading into a matchup with instate rival Louisville on Friday in Nashville.
WKU finishes in 4th place at the Paradise Jam. They will travel back to Bowling Green tomorrow and prepare for #2 ranked Louisville.
Quick Stats
Charles Bassey- 24pts 12 rbs (10/10 FT)
Cam Justice- 23pts
Jared Savage- 9pts, 6 rbs, 2 ast
Senior Cam Justice with a huge first half shooting 4-4 from the 3pt line and ended the game shooting 6-8 from deep.
With this afternoons win we can now fully focus on beating Louisville Friday.
A convincing win down in Hattiesburg this afternoon, Western Kentucky handles Southern Miss. 28-10.
Let me know if you’ve heard this one before, WKU’s defense carries them to victory. Allowing just 10 points to what was considered a high powered offense for Southern Miss.
With this win Western Kentucky moves to 7-4 on the year with a chance to win 8 next weekend with MTSU coming to town. If you would have told me that after the season opening lost to UCA I would call you crazy, but here we are. Credit to Tyson Helton and staff for the turnaround.
Earlier today a source close to 4 star prospect JJ Traynor reported that Traynor’s timetable for a decision is currently set in November, but could be delayed.
We know that Traynor was in attendance Thursday night for Hilltopper Hysteria on an unofficial visit. Traynor was also in Louisville Saturday morning to attend a UofL practice in the KFC Yum Center. Since Louisville head coach Chris Mack offered JJ last week mutual interest has been established between the two. 247 Sports views Louisville’s recruitment of Traynor as “warm” according to their metrics. The advantage Louisville holds over everyone else right now is JJ’s High School Coach James Brewer played for Louisville in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Something to keep in mind.
WKU Head Coach Rick Stansbury was the first to officially offer Traynor back in April of this year and has been regularly in contact with him ever since. Making frequent visits to Bardstown to watch Traynor its safe to say he is Stansbury’s top target in the 2020 class.
UPDATE: Traynor now viewed as “unlikely’ to commit to Western Kentucky.
Zion Harmon
@Hawkedits
2021 4 star prospect Zion Harmon was on his official visit over the weekend attending Hilltopper Hysteria Thursday night and Saturdays Football game against Charlotte.
Western Kentucky is the first official visit for Harmon. With 4 more official visits to take it is likely he will visit Murray State, Louisville, Kansas, Seton Hall, LSU, and Kentucky to finish out his top 7. WKU getting the first official visit for Harmon does hold some weight as it has been rumored Harmon could reclassify to the 2020 class.
Brooks Barnhizer
Had an amazing time at Western Kentucky this weekend❗️Thanks to Coach Stansbury, Coach Cunningham, and all of Hilltopper Nation for the hospitality❗️ pic.twitter.com/Agg8RAJDhu
2021 SF Brooks Barnhizer of Lafayette, IN was on his official visit this past weekend. Western Kentucky extended an offer to Barnhizer in July. A source close to Barnhizer confirmed the visit went well, impressing Barnhizer.
Headed to Bowling Green for WKU Football Homecoming vs. Charlotte? We’ve got you covered with everything you need to know.
Perfect Weather Conditions
Topper Walk at 1:15 PM
Photo: WKU Athletics
Around 1 PM head in front of DSU to welcome the team during the traditional topper walk.
Tailgating
Tailgating will open at 8 AM. I repeat, TAILGATING WILL OPEN AT 8 AM.
Where to eat
First Option: If you want good game day food before or after the game I would highly suggest Mister B’s Pizza and Wings as your first choice.
Located at 1945 Scottsville Rd, Bowling Green, KY.
Second option: If Mister B’s is packed, (Which it probably will be) I suggest 643 Sports Bar, Overtime Sports Bar, or not feeling the sports bar atmosphere? Try 440 on main or Steamers Seafood. All great options IMO.
Where to drink
College crowd? That’s easy.
Or
Looking to get away from most of the college kids? We’ve got you covered. (Kinda)
Kickoff: 3 PM
Graham Doty, and Brandon Doughty (legend) will be on the call for ESPN+ You can stream the game on the Hilltopper IMG Network where Randy Lee, Leo Peckenpaugh, and Terry Obee will be on 100.7 FM and 1045 AM.
4 star F JJ Traynor WILL BE in attendance tonight for Hilltopper Hysteria. Stansbury has been on Traynor from the beginning official offering Traynor back in May.
Traynor has been rising up the recruiting ranks over the summer and now earning high praise from 247 Sports head recruiting analyst Evan Daniels having this to say about Traynor,
“I think he is a tremendous talent,” said Daniels. I’ve said this multiple times. I think he’s one of the biggest sleepers in the country, certainly the biggest sleeper I saw all July. I think he’s got tremendous physical tools. He was just measured in at 6-8.5, a 7-2 wingspan, has a 32-inch standing vertical. All the physical tools are there, and the game is coming. He’s just taking big strides. He just turned 17 last week, so he’s still pretty young, and his game is starting to develop.”
Traynor has since earned offers from Cincinnati, Louisville, and Xavier.
UPDATED: Hilltopper Hysteria will take place tomorrow inside Diddle arena at 6 PM. We know the roster looks like for this season, but how is it shaping out in the seasons to come?
Here is a list of those known to be attending the event Thursday night.
Zion Harmon- 5’11 G Benton, KY (2021)
Isaiah Mason- 6’4 G Bowling Green, KY (2021)
James Jewell- 6’5 F Louisville, KY (2022)
Christian Spalding- 6’5 F Louisville, KY (2022)
Jaden Rodgers- 6’4 G Louisville, KY (2022)
The big question: Will JJ Traynor be in attendance?
Next up Recruits
Though it has not been confirmed yet Traynor is not expected to be at Hysteria Thursday night. The 4 star’s interest in WKU has seemed to fade as other division 1 offers have started to roll in, most notably Louisville who is thought to be in the lead to land a commitment from Traynor.
UPDATE: Louisville head coach Chris Mack was in to visit Traynor early this morning. A scholarship offer was extended to Traynor.
