Tops open at home against Morehead
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Western Kentucky’s Teagan Moore (30) puts up a shot over Middle Tennessee’s Sean Smith (55) during Western Kentucky’s 82-80 win over Middle Tennessee on Saturday, February 14, 2026 at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky.
(Caleb Lowndes)
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Western Kentucky sophomore guard Armelo Boone drives to the goal against Indiana during the Hilltoppers’ 79-74 exhibition loss Sunday in Evansville, Indiana.
(WKU ATHLETICS)
Western Kentucky is ready to get started on a season the Hilltoppers hope won’t end until at least sometime in late March.
The first test comes Monday and the Tops will be on their home floor at E.A. Diddle Arena to face Morehead State in the season opener. Game time is 6:30 p.m., with ESPN+ carrying the broadcast.
WKU, coming off an 18-14 season under head coach Hank Plona, faces heightened expectations this year. The Tops return the most scoring in Conference USA headlined by the guard trio of Teagan Moore, Armelo Boone and LJ Hackman. Add in returnees Kade Unseld and Lawson Rice, solid continuity on the coaching staff and a deep group of potential impact newcomers and the Hilltoppers are the favorites to win CUSA this season.
Plona, now in his third year as head coach, doesn’t mind the recognition for his program but knows the team will have to prove it and keep proving it on the court this season.
“We just want to keep getting better through it all,” Plona said. “There’s no shoulds with this team – aw, there’s a game you should win, or we should play good today. I mean, the word should is such a devastating word in today’s world. I think if we work every single day, then the only thing I’d say is we should get better for four and a half or five months. So just want to keep chipping away.”
The Tops picked up some game experience with a closed scrimmage against Arkansas State, then a home exhibition against Bowling Green (a 65-62 win) followed by a hard-fought neutral-floor loss to Indiana (79-74) on Sunday in Evansville, Indiana.
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Moore, the CUSA Preseason Player of the Year after ranking second in the league in scoring last year (18.7 points) and third in field-goal percentage (52.9%), poured in a game-high 30 points against the Hoosiers in this past weekend’s final tuneup. Boone added 13 points and seven rebounds, and point guard Sharron Young – an Akron transfer – added 10 points.
Morehead State lost its exhibition opener at Eastern Kentucky before dropping an 88-56 road decision at Dayton in its final preseason action on Oct. 24. Junior guard Chase Dawson scored 32 points in the Eagles’ loss to EKU.
“I do know that guard Chase Dawson has been very, very high volume in scoring a lot of points in their scrimmages,” Plona said. “It looks to me that his role from last year to this year as certainly expanded and he’s scoring in every which direction. It seems not surprising to me that a guy who has been part of a championship team and returns is making a huge jump.”
Morehead State shared the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship and reached the OVC Tournament championship game last season, ultimately finishing with a 20-13 overall record and a 15-5 mark in league play.
Eagles coach Jonathan Mattox also returns his second-leading scorer from last year’s team in guard Davion Cunningham (11.4 points per game).
“When you play a team the first game of the year, you don’t exactly know what they’re going to do,” Plona said. “Nothing would surprise you, but obviously they do return some guys. They do have some guys that have transferred up from Division 2 and some different levels who I’m sure will be very eager to play here on Monday night.”
Monday’s opener is the start of a busy stretch in early November for the Hilltoppers, who stay home to host Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday, take a quick road trip to Cookeville, Tennessee, to take on Tennessee Tech (Nov. 8) and are back at Diddle to face Campbellsville (No. 11).
About Jeff Nations
Sports Editor, Bowling Green Daily News
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