Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (18-12, 11-8 CUSA) at Florida International Panthers (14-16, 7-12 CUSA)
Miami; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Western Kentucky plays Florida International after Teagan Moore scored 23 points in Western Kentucky’s 87-74 loss to the Missouri State Bears.
The Panthers are 11-6 on their home court. Florida International ranks third in the CUSA with 14.5 assists per game led by Zawdie Jackson averaging 3.0.
The Hilltoppers have gone 11-8 against CUSA opponents. Western Kentucky ranks second in the CUSA with 24.7 defensive rebounds per game led by Armelo Boone averaging 4.4.
Florida International makes 45.4% of its shots from the field this season, which is 2.7 percentage points higher than Western Kentucky has allowed to its opponents (42.7%). Western Kentucky’s 41.3% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.2 percentage points lower than Florida International has given up to its opponents (43.5%).
The teams play for the second time this season in CUSA play. Western Kentucky won the last meeting 80-70 on Feb. 7. Grant Newell scored 23 points to help lead the Hilltoppers to the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Corey Stephenson is scoring 17.8 points per game with 6.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists for the Panthers. Jackson is averaging 14.6 points over the past 10 games.
Moore is shooting 53.3% and averaging 18.9 points for the Hilltoppers. Newell is averaging 16.1 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 4-6, averaging 75.2 points, 32.3 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.0 points per game.
Hilltoppers: 7-3, averaging 80.8 points, 33.0 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 7.3 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 42.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.5 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
