WKU looks to knock off No. 20 Kentucky

Western Kentucky (8-4) vs. No. 20 Kentucky (8-2)

Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, Lexington, Kentucky; Wednesday, 6 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 20 Kentucky looks to give Western Kentucky its fifth straight loss against ranked opponents. Western Kentucky’s last win vs a ranked opponent came against the then-No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers 83-76 on Dec. 29, 2018. Kentucky has moved up to No. 20 in the latest AP rankings following a win over North Carolina last week.

TEAM LEADERS: Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe has averaged 16.3 points and 14.2 rebounds while Sahvir Wheeler has put up 11.5 points and 7.7 assists. For the Hilltoppers, Dayvion McKnight has averaged 14.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists while Jairus Hamilton has put up 15.1 points and 5.9 rebounds.

CREATING OFFENSE: McKnight has either made or assisted on 46 percent of all Western Kentucky field goals over the last three games. The sophomore guard has 12 field goals and 30 assists in those games.

THREAT FROM DISTANCE: Western Kentucky’s Luke Frampton has attempted 73 3-pointers and connected on 34.2 percent of them, and is 10 for 26 over his past five games.

STREAK SCORING: Kentucky has won its last seven home games, scoring an average of 84.3 points while giving up 58.3.

SECOND CHANCES: Kentucky has posted an excellent offensive rebound percentage of 45.1 percent this year. That rate is ranked first in the country. The offensive rebound percentage for Western Kentucky stands at just 26 percent (ranked 265th).

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For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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