Western Kentucky vs. Morehead State Preview

Cooper Jaggers | TopperTalk

Western tips off the regular season tonight against the Morehead State Eagles, with tipoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT at Diddle Arena.

Historically, the Eagles are a familiar foe for the Hilltoppers. Western holds a 73-31 advantage in the all-time series against Morehead State and is notably 43-4 against the Eagles at Diddle Arena. Morehead State finished last season with a 20-13 record (15-5 OVC) and earned a share of the regular-season OVC title. The 105th meeting between the Hilltoppers and Eagles comes nearly 41 years after their last matchup, when Western defeated the Eagles 75-68 on the road on Dec. 21, 1985.

Something that could play a role in tonight's contest is the crowd at Diddle Arena. When asked about it, head coach Hank Plona stated, “Looking forward to getting the season started here Monday at Diddle Arena versus Morehead State. I thought we had a great crowd for our exhibition game last week versus Bowling Green, and obviously hoping Hilltopper Nation shows up on Monday night. I know that would really help, and the guys would love it.”

Western enters the regular season on a high note. A 1-1 record in exhibition play, highlighted by a nail-biting defeat against the Indiana Hoosiers at a neutral site in Evansville, leaves many Hilltopper fans excited about the season ahead. After all, Western was recently voted No. 1 in the Conference USA preseason rankings.

Preseason CUSA Player of the Year Teagan Moore impressed during the preseason, recording an (unofficial) career-high 30 points against the previously mentioned Hoosiers. Sophomore Armelo Boone was also selected to the preseason All-CUSA team and looks to build on a strong freshman season, during which he became the first Hilltopper since Warriors legend Charles Bassey to record multiple double-doubles as a freshman.

Speaking of freshmen, one player I'm immensely intrigued by is Gabe Weis. The three-star recruit out of La Lumiere (Ind.) looks to continue the longstanding excellence of La Lumiere products and bring a winning pedigree to the Hilltoppers this season. If he stays, I expect Weis to be a major contributor in the frontcourt for years to come.

As for tonight, Western enters as a heavy favorite over the Eagles. I attribute this to a simple factor: Western returns players from a pretty solid team, while Morehead State lost players from a pretty solid team. The Toppers are 17.5-point favorites and have an 87.8% chance of winning, according to ESPN Analytics. I expect a comfortable win for the Hilltoppers tonight in front of a raucous crowd at Diddle.

Prediction: WKU 76, Morehead State 62