>>College Basketball Roundup
(Undated) — College basketball returns tonight. Kentucky welcomes Georgia to Lexington. Pre-Game at 6:30 on 98.7 Lite FM. The Wildcats recently beat ninth-ranked Tennessee and improved to 11-and-6. The Vols dropped to 14-and-3 and will tip off against Mississippi State on the road tonight. Vanderbilt upset 25th-ranked Arkansas in its last game. The Commodores improved to 9-and-8 and will host fourth-ranked Alabama tonight. Louisville is on a seven-game losing streak following a recent defeat to North Carolina. The Cardinals are 2-and-16 and will host Pitt tomorrow. Memphis is coming off a close win against Temple. The Tigers improved to 13-and-5 and will host Wichita State on Thursday.
Van Lith Named ACC Player of the Week
University of Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith was named ACC Player of the Week after her performances in road games against No. 13 Virginia Tech and Florida State. In the two games, Van Lith averaged 24.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.0 steals and hit a shot with under a minute left to seal the road win over Florida State. She is the second Cardinal to earn Player of the Week honors after Chrislyn Carr earned the honor on Dec. 27.
Lady Toppers Continue Win Streak at FAU
Winners of four straight, WKU women’s basketball (8-8, 5-2 C-USA) defeated Florida Atlantic (10-6. 3-4 C-USA), 76-66, on Monday night in Boca Raton. Teresa Faustino led WKU in scoring with a career high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc along with a season high five steals. Alexis Mead added 16 points, five steals and rebounds. Jaylin Foster had 12 points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists and Acacia Hayes finished with 11 points and a team high four assists. The Lady Toppers shot 54.7 percent (29-53) from the field and 47.4 percent (9.19) from 3-point range. Both marks were season highs for the Lady Toppers. It was the second consecutive game WKU had four players in double digits and the sixth time total this season.
Tops Fall to #24 Florida Atlantic in Front of Packed Diddle Arena
With its best crowd of the season thus far, WKU Hilltopper Basketball faced a freshly #24 ranked Florida Atlantic team on Monday night. After staying with the Owls for the first 25 minutes of the game, the final 15 minutes got out of hand and the Hilltoppers were defeated 76-62 in front of 5,206 fans, including a massive student crowd.
McKnight Averages 20-Plus to Earn C-USA Player of the Week
n a tough two-game turnaround, WKU Hilltopper Basketball junior guard Dayvion McKnight averaged 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists for the Hilltoppers with a road victory at UAB and a home win over FIU, earning him Conference USA Player of the Week honors, the league announced Monday afternoon. In those two games, he shot 45.7% from the field, including a whopping 83.3% (5-6) from long range. This is McKnight’s fourth Player of the Week honor of his career and second of the season. It’s the third time a WKU player has been named C-USA Player of the Week this season.
Hayes Named C-USA Freshman of the Week
WKU women’s basketball freshman guard Acacia Hayes has been named Conference USA Freshman of the Week. It is her first weekly award of her collegiate career. Hayes poured in 14 points in a 75-71 win against UAB on Wednesday, Jan. 11 and followed up with an 11-point performance in another 75-71 win at FIU on Saturday, Jan. 14. The freshman was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line against the Panthers.
Hale Named ASUN Newcomer of the Week
For the first time in program history an Austin Peay State University women’s basketball student-athlete earned an ASUN Conference weekly honor, as Shamarre Hale was named the league’s Newcomer of the Week, Monday. Hale averaged 15.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and shot 77.7 percent from the field as Austin Peay earned wins against Jacksonville State and Kennesaw State, improving to 4-1 in ASUN Conference play and climbing to second in the conference standings.
Old Rivals Meet Again – This Time In The Valley
The Murray State Racers (10-8, 5-3 MVC) hit the road to renew one of the top rivalries in the nation when they take on the Belmont Bruins (13-6, 6-2 MVC) at the Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee in an 8 p.m. tip. From 2013 to 2022, the Racers met the Bruins 18 times in the Ohio Valley Conference in regular season and post-season games combined and won seven. The Racer won both games a year ago, including their first win at the Curb Center. The last year has seen the two schools leave the OVC and join the MVC and both teams have shown that they can compete well in their new league home.