BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The Sunshine State awaits WKU this week, as the Hilltoppers are back on the road for two games beginning Thursday at 6:00 PM (CT) at Florida Atlantic.

WKU snapped a five-game losing streak with a 65-53, come-from-behind win over UALR Saturday afternoon and are now two games out of second place in the Sun Belt Conference East Division.

The Owls, the defending east division champions, were picked to win the side once again in the preseason coaches poll after returning four starters and nine letterwinners from last year’s team that played in the NIT. Florida Atlantic features two junior guards on the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference First Team, Greg Gantt and Raymond Taylor, and the Owls commanded 11 of 12 first-place votes in the coaches poll.

WKU has won all five games played in Boca Raton, including ending Florida Atlantic’s eight-game Sun Belt Conference winning streak with a 57-53 win a year ago.

Thursday's game is produced by the Hilltopper Sports Satellite Network and will be televised nationally on Fox College Sports and DirecTV channel 617 and locally in Bowling Green on WKYU-PBS. Randy Lee will be doing the play-by-play with Hal Schmitt providing the expert analysis.

The game will be broadcast on the radio on the Hilltopper IMG Sports Network with Lee and Schmitt on the call. WKUSports.com offers audio streaming and live stats for the game.

Complete game notes are available at WKUSports.com.

GAME 21

WKU (6-14, 2-5 SBC) at Florida Atlantic (8-12, 4-3 SBC)

January 26, 2012 // 6:00 PM (CT)

FAU Arena (5,000) // Boca Raton, Fla.

QUICK SHOTS

• UALR and Florida Atlantic were a combined 9-4 in league play entering games against WKU.

• The Hilltoppers will log approximately 4,667 miles traveling to and from the current stretch of road games at North Texas, Denver, Florida Atlantic and FIU.

• WKU has lost 10 of its last 12 games away from home.

• The Hilltoppers are averaging 12.3 assists per game in the last seven, which is up from 10.5 over the previous four.

• Since the start of the 2010-11 season, WKU is 13-5 when Jamal Crook has at least four assists and 7-1 when he and Kahlil McDonald combine to dish out at least eight assists.

• Kahlil McDonald has scored in double figures in four of his last six contests and has 14 assists and just five turnovers in the last five games.

• Derrick Gordon ranks seventh in the Sun Belt Conference in rebounds per game this season (6.3), and George Fant is ninth (5.8).

• Derrick Gordon is one of two Sun Belt Conference freshmen to be averaging at least 12.0 points per game so far this season.

• WKU is one of just two teams in the nation with five different freshmen averaging at least 5.0 points per game this season, along with Texas.

• Through 20 games, WKU has seen just one double-digit rebound game from a player, compared to 17 through 20 games last season.

• WKU is 1-5 in its last six regular-season games versus the Sun Belt Conference East Division.

THE LAST TIME OUT

Trailing by five with 6:13 left in the game, the WKU Hilltoppers pulled together and played their finest stretch of basketball of the season and earned a 65-53 win over Sun Belt Conference West Division-leading UALR Saturday afternoon at E.A. Diddle Arena. A crowd of 4,254 witnessed interim head coach Ray Harper’s first win at WKU and an offensive explosion and a defensive shutdown in the final six minutes, as the Hilltoppers went on scoring runs of 13-0 and 8-2 to earn the victory. Derrick Gordon and Jamal Crook led WKU with 13 points apiece, with Crook’s coming on 6-of-7 shooting in addition to five rebounds, four assists and two steals. George Fant had eight points, five rebounds two blocks and two steals in the second half alone.

HILLTOPPER INDIVIDUAL TRENDS

• Derrick Gordon’s 33.0 minutes per game rank him 16th nationally among rookies, and his rebounding average of 6.3 has him 22nd.

• Jamal Crook is averaging 10.8 points per game in the last 13 games.

• Jamal Crook has had eight 10-plus point scoring games in his last 11 after entering this season with just one in two previous years.

• A freshman has led WKU in scoring in 12-straight contests.

• Nigel Snipes has converted on 10-straight free throws.

• Derrick Gordon has played at least 30 minutes in 17 of the last 19 games.

• George Fant has had 10 games of at least six points and six rebounds this season.

• Fifty-five percent of T.J. Price’s makes this season have been three-pointers (21 of 38).

• In WKU’s 14 losses in 2011-12, Derrick Gordon, T.J. Price and Jamal Crook have combined for 6.4 turnovers per game.

HILLTOPPER TEAM TRENDS

• The Hilltoppers are first in the Sun Belt Conference in free throw percentage, third in turnover margin and fourth in scoring in conference games.

• In the last three first halves of games, WKU is allowing an average of 37.3 points, and opponents are shooting 55.8 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from three-point range.

• After double-digit turnovers in the first 15 games of the season, WKU has had just nine in three of the last five games.

• WKU has started four freshmen eight times this season (2-6 record when doing so).

• Derrick Gordon is the only Hilltopper to have started each of the first 20 games of the year.

• The Hilltoppers have used nine different starting lineups in 20 games played.

• Four different Hilltoppers have missed at least one of the first 20 games of the season due to injury, and three others have been unavailable for games at various points.

• The Hilltoppers have had 16 or fewer turnovers in 10 of the last 13 games.

• Eight different players have led WKU in assists in a game this season and six different players have pulled down the most rebounds in a game for the Hilltoppers.

• WKU has scored 60 or fewer points seven times in 20 games played this season, bettering its total from the entire 2010-11 campaign (6).

• Seven different players have led WKU in scoring this season after four did so in 2010-11.

• WKU’s 14 losses in 2011-12 have come by an average of 12.0 points, and its six wins have been by an average of 6.5 per.

• WKU has faced a double-digit deficit at one point in 26 of its last 30 losses dating back to the start of the 2010-11 season.

• In 52 games since the start of the 2010-11 season, WKU has trailed at halftime 32 times (5-27 in those games).

• The Hilltoppers have advanced to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament seven-straight times and in 20 instances in 29 years as a member of conference dating back to 1983.