Western Kentucky’s men’s basketball team welcomes one its oldest rivals back to E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday.

In-state foe Murray State was a fellow founding member of the Ohio Valley Conference with WKU back in 1948 and the two schools remained it that league together until the Hilltoppers left for the Sun Belt Conference in 1982.

Saturday’s 1 p.m. matchup at Diddle will mark the 154th all-time meeting between the two schools, with WKU holding a 99-54 lead in the series that dates back to 1932.

The Racers haven’t been in Diddle since the 2013-14 season, when WKU claimed a 71-64 win on Dec. 21, 2013. The Hilltoppers went on the road to beat the Racers 86-81 last season in Murray.

“It’s an important game – every game’s important – but I do know outside the court there’s some history and and a rivalry here between the two schools,” WKU first-year head coach Hank Plona said.

Plona saw that rivalry first-hand last season as former WKU head coach Steve Lutz’s top assistant. Murray State (6-2) returns some key players off last year’s squad, including senior guard JaCobi Wood and senior forward Nick Ellington, who combined for 23 points in last year’s matchup. Both were preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference picks this season.

Wood, the Racers’ leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, scored a combined 44 points combined in wins against Evansville on Dec. 3 and Southeast Missouri on Dec. 8. Murray State, which last played in that 73-53 home win against Southeast Missouri, has won three straight games.

“If we’re not who we are, and this is probably for the majority of all teams, you’re average,” Murray State coach Steve Prohm said. “If we are who we are or who we’re trying to be, then we can be really good. We have to start on the defensive end so we can play in transition, so we can play with great pace, and we can share the ball.”

Senior guard Terence Harcum is Murray’s top deep threat, shooting 41.2% (21-of-51) from 3-point range while averaging 12.8 points. Senior guard AJ Ferguson (12.3 points per game) and senior guard Kylen Milton (10.6 ppg) are also averaging double-digit scoring, with Ellington (9.8 ppg) not far off.

“They’re talented on offense,” Plona said. “They have some older guys like we do. I know the big front-court kid, (KyeRon) Lindsey, is a Texas Tech transfer who’s had some great games for them. Ferguson, from Southern Illinois, has had some great games for them. They return JaCobi Wood, who was their leading scorer last year. Then the kid inside, Ellington .. I mean, I’m a little bit familiar with their team obviously.”

WKU (6-3) is riding a three-game winning streak heading into Saturday’s game, the second of four straight home games for the Hilltoppers with Seattle (Tuesday) and Kentucky Wesleyan scheduled for next week.

Senior guard, Don McHenry, who scored a game-high 22 points against the Racers in last season’s win, leads the Tops with 15.1 points per game and ranks in the top 10 in Conference USA in field-goal percentage (42.3%). Senior forward Babcar Faye is next with 15 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Freshman Julius Thedford had his first real off night with zero points in Tuesday’s 84-60 win against visiting Tennessee State, but still ranks third for WKU with 12.2 points per game.

Graduate senior guard Khristian Lander, who led the Tops with 19 points including a 5-of-7 shooting performance from 3-point range in the win against Tennessee State, is also scoring in double digits with 11 points per game. Graduate senior forward Tyrone Marshall Jr. is close as well at 9.0 points per outing.