Kansas center Jeff Withey (right) blocks a shot by Kansas State guard Shane Southwell on Saturday during the Big 12 Conference championship in Kansas City, Mo. Orlin Wagner/AP

One of the key matchups for Western Kentucky when it faces Kansas on Friday will be play in the post.  

The Hilltoppers (20-15) will have to find some way to neutralize the top-seeded Jayhawks’ size down low when they meet at 8:50 p.m. inside the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Jeff Withey, a 7-foot, 235-pound center, is considered one of the premier big men in college basketball. The Tops will also have to figure a way to slow Withey down on the offensive end and circumnavigate him when going to the basket.  

“Our post guys, as a unit, have continuously gotten better,” WKU assistant coach David Boyden said before Tuesday’s practice. “You remember the run in Hot Springs, all five guys had their moments. It’s going to take all five of them to be able to stop them defensively and also offensively. (Aleksejs) Rostov is a guy that’s able to stretch defenses, pull Withey away from the basket. The key for him is to be able to make shots from the top of the key.”

Rostov, sophomores George Fant and Stephon Drane and juniors Kene Anyigbo and O’Karo Akamune will all be responsible for giving KU’s center different looks.

Withey, a San Diego native, is second on his team in scoring at 13.6 per game, leads the Jayhawks in rebounding at 8.4 per game and has blocked 129 shots this season. The Hilltoppers have blocked 115.

If Withey wasn’t enough, senior Kevin Young (6-8, 190) complements him by scoring 7.6 per game while grabbing 6.6 rebounds per night.

“This Kansas team is good,” Rostov said. “I’ve watched them a couple times on TV this year. It’s going to be a tough challenge and we just need to take care of our business, which is play with a lot of energy, execute and everything will go smooth.”

The Hilltoppers have done relatively well against big men this season. Nine times out of 35 games, WKU’s opponent’s leading scorer has been a forward or a center. Still, at 6-10, Rostov is Western Kentucky’s lone man that stands taller than 6-7.

“They’ve got a great inside presence in (George) Fant,” KU assistant and former WKU guard Kurtis Townsend said. “They got some guys that can come off the bench and really – big, strong kids – that can match up. You usually don’t see guys that big on a team like that. I’m pretty impressed with them.”

“But I think if we can get the ball inside, we will have a little bit of a size advantage.”

Boyden tries to block out Self memory   

On March 20, 2003, Western Kentucky traveled to Indianapolis to play Illinois in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Forty minutes later, WKU was on the short end of a 65-60 score, thus ending the playing career of Boyden, then a forward for the Hilltoppers.

“The only thing I remember is that we lost,” said Boyden, now an assistant under coach Ray Harper.  

That Fighting Illini squad was coached by none other than Bill Self – the current coach at KU.   

“I know they had a bunch of NBA players – Brian Cook, my guy that plays for the Brooklyn Nets now, Deron Williams, Luther Head, Dee Brown,” Boyden said. “It was a back-and-forth game, we had a chance to win it. It still stings a little bit, but it was a long time ago.”

Boyden had eight points and six rebounds in that game.

Toppers head out today

Western Kentucky will fly out of Bowling Green this afternoon and spend the night in Kansas City.

The team is scheduled to have dinner together tonight before beginning tournament activity Thursday. The Hilltoppers will meet with the media at 6 p.m., then perform their open practice from 6:40 p.m. to 7:20 p.m. at the Sprint Center.