Western Kentucky’s men’s basketball picked up some momentum last week at E.A. Diddle Arena, claiming a second straight win on its home court.

Hilltoppers coach Hank Plona expects Delaware to go all out to slow down the Tops – literally – when WKU (14-11 overall, 7-7 Conference USA) in Wednesday night’s matchup at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Delaware.

The Blue Hens rank among NCAA Division I’s longest time-of-possession teams on offense. That patient style in some ways is similar to league-leading Liberty, which is the second game of the Tops’ road trip coming up Saturday in Lynchburg, Virginia. Wednesday’s 6 p.m. CT game against Delaware will be live streamed on ESPN+.

Plona can use the same mantra for contending with each of the next two opponents – make them uncomfortable and try to speed them up in the half court on defense, and be efficient on offense.

Delaware (9-16, 5-9 CUSA) has had some struggles in its inaugural season in the conference, but the Blue Hens are riding a three-game conference win streak with victories against Middle Tennessee, FIU and Missouri State – the last two on the road.

“They played three guys 40 minutes last game and two guys 37 minutes,” Plona said. “So they’re playing five players, they play a 2-3 zone – they have been playing it a lot of the game, most of the game, all of the game. Obviously that’s probably a way to stay out of foul trouble and to prevent being tired. They’re second in the country in possession length, so it’s going to be a slow pace. They do a lot of things to keep those five players in the game. They have depth issues, but those five are very good, talented basketball players.”

Headlining the group is guard Christian Bliss, who leads CUSA with a staggering 39.5 minutes per game average. The Blue Hens have the top three in conference in minutes per game and four in the top 10 this season. Bliss and fellow guard Justyn Fernandez are tied for the team scoring lead at 15.8 points per game.

“Bliss is kind of the engine that makes them go,” Plona said. “Obviously he was at the University of Virginia the last couple years, didn’t play but obviously has been around good basketball and was recruited as a high-level basketball player. He’s kind of a do-it-all guard.”

Fernandez was named the CUSA Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 22 points, six rebounds, a .554 field goal percentage and 39 minutes in last week’s two wins.

The Hilltoppers got a huge boost in Saturday’s 82-80 home win against MTSU with the return of redshirt sophomore guard Teagan Moore, who tied his career high with 28 points in his first game action since Jan. 21 as he missed five straight contests recovering from a concussion.

Even before Moore made his big return, the Tops had been on an upswing after dropping a third straight game with a 73-58 road loss at Sam Houston on Jan. 24. WKU lost again but played much better in a road loss to Kennesaw State, won on the road at MTSU, dropped another tough one at home to Jax State and then won back-to-back home games against FIU and the Blue Raiders.

“I think our team the last three weeks has buckled down,” Plona said. “I guess I feel like we’ve made progress. If we can get as much better the next three weeks as we have the last three weeks, I think we have a chance. Obviously, need to keep getting healthy. But really just proud of the guys for buying into one another, to buying into the overall goal and purpose of the season and what we all came here to do in a world where it can be tricky and complicated to stay focused and to believe that team success will benefit each individual. I think the guys have done a good job and the results show on the court, and hopefully we learn from winning and that positive reinforcement helps us move forward.”

BOONE MAKING PROGRESS

WKU played Saturday without talented freshman guard Armelo Boone, who appeared at Diddle wearing a walking boot on his left foot. Plona said Boone, who ranks third on the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game and first among active players in rebounds (6.5 rpg), turned the same ankle that forced him to sit out two games last month.

“He’s walking – it doesn’t seem to be as serious as the first time,” Plona said. “So the first time was eight or nine days – I’d use the word ‘questionable’ for him Wednesday. I don’t know. He’s working his tail off trying to get back on the court. Obviously it’s just a lingering thing and he’s never really been through that before so him and (Associate Athletic Trainer) John Erwin are working very closely together. I’d say maybe for Wednesday. And from what I see, I’d be surprised if he’s not good by Saturday. So hoping to get him back.”