Rick Stansbury likes to see his Western Kentucky players take defense personally.

“Most everybody wants to talk about points and all that, and that’s great, too,” the Hilltopper coach said. “When you get your guys really believing in defending, when you get your guys – excuse my words – pissed off because someone beat them, that’s when you’ve got something.”

WKU’s indeed “got something” early this season, off to a 5-2 start. The Toppers will go for a 6-2 record and a fourth straight win Saturday when they host Wright State (4-3). Tipoff from E.A. Diddle Arena is set for 4 p.m., with the game to be broadcast locally on WKU PBS.

WKU’s offense has featured a balanced attack, with six different scholarship players averaging at least 10.7 points per game. Most recently, seven Hilltoppers scored in double figures Wednesday in an 83-51 romp over Eastern Kentucky.

WKU’s defense has been stout early this season, too, across a variety of metrics.

“The one thing coach always preaches to us if you go out there and play as hard as you can, you’re going to get good results,” guard Darius Thompson said. “You’re seeing that with our steal counts. We’re going out there and playing hard, making plays.”

The Toppers excel at taking the ball away from opponents, with their turnover margin per game (4.29) ranking No. 2 among 14 Conference USA teams. They force turnovers on 23.4 percent of their defensive possessions, which ranks No. 36 of 351 Division I teams, per KenPom.com.

WKU defends the 3-point shot well, ranking third in C-USA in 3-point defense (31.8 percent). The Hilltoppers also defend well without fouling – their defensive free throw attempt/field goal attempt ratio of .209 ranks No. 8 in D-I, per KenPom.com. Most recently, WKU held Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday to just three free-throw attempts.

“That’s a huge stat, guarding without fouling, especially those teams that can really shoot the basketball,” Stansbury said.

Forward Dwight Coleby has been one of the most productive interior defenders in C-USA, ranking No. 4 in the league with 1.9 blocks per game. He’s coming off a four-block performance against the Colonels.

Guard Lamonte Bearden has been a pest defensively, leading C-USA with 2.4 steals per game. He swiped five alone in WKU’s 63-61 win Nov. 24 against Southern Methodist in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Bearden has recorded 17 steals through seven contests. For comparison, Pancake Thomas led the Toppers last season with 28 steals over 31 games.

“I’m just focused on defense right now, honestly,” the redshirt junior Bearden said. “If the scoring comes, then it comes. … The team has helped me, got me a little bit more excited to play defense in a game.”

Stansbury pointed Wednesday to forward Justin Johnson and how he performed against EKU’s Nick Mayo, holding him to seven points.

Johnson has led WKU in scoring and rebounding each of the last two seasons, but the senior is taking more pride this year in how he guards, Stansbury said.

“No one’s ever talked about Justin defensively,” Stansbury said of the Hazard native. “That’s been a foreign word. He’s never guarded. …

“Give Justin some credit. Justin limited (Mayo’s) catches there, and you’ve got to fight to do that. Make sure you guys print that, talk about that, so that doesn’t go unnoticed.”

Stansbury also praised guard Taveion Hollingsworth, a freshman who he said didn’t play much defense in high school because his team couldn’t afford to have him in foul trouble.

Hollingsworth’s defensive assignments this year have included Villanova’s Jalen Brunson, Purdue’s Carsen Edwards and SMU’s Shake Milton.

“This is the first time he’s really had to dig in and fight defensively and he’s getting better and better at it,” Stansbury said.

The coach wants to see the strong defensive efforts continue, starting Saturday with Wright State. Four Raiders average at least 10.1 points per game, led by guard Grant Benzinger (13 ppg).

“Most guys get pissed off when they miss a shot,” Stansbury said. “How many times you see a guy get mad when someone scores on them? It doesn’t happen that often.

“But when you get that kind of mentality, you have something. That’s what we’ve got to keep trying to build on.”

Notes

WKU is 14-4 (.778) at E.A. Diddle Arena under Stansbury. … The Hilltoppers have made at least one 3-pointer in 945 consecutive games, dating back to March 15, 1987. WKU’s streak is the fifth-longest in the nation behind Kentucky, UNLV, Vanderbilt and Arkansas. … The Toppers registered 24 assists with just six turnovers Wednesday against Eastern Kentucky. Both WKU’s +/- on assists vs. turnovers (+18) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4-to-1) in the game were the program’s best since it began consistently tracking those stats nearly 50 years ago. … Johnson is 31st on the Hilltoppers’ all-time scoring list with 1,196 career points. Next up on the list is No. 30 Michael Fraliex (1,205). … Six of WKU’s seven scholarship players average between 10.7 and 13.4 points.

Wright State (4-3) at Western Kentucky (5-2)

4 p.m., E.A. Diddle Arena, Bowling Green

Probable starters

Wright State

Justin Mitchell, g, 6-4, sr. (11.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg); Loudon Love, c, 6-9 r-fr. (8.7 ppg, 8.4 rpg); Grant Benzinger, g, 6-3 sr. (13 ppg, 3.1 rpg); Mark Hughes, g, 6-4 jr. (10.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg); Parker Ernsthausen, c, 6-11 r-jr. (4.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg)

Western Kentucky

Lamonte Bearden, g, 6-3, r-jr. (12.1 ppg, 3.7 apg); Dwight Coleby, f, 6-9, g-sr. (12 ppg, 7.7 rpg); Justin Johnson, f, 6-7, sr. (10.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg); Taveion Hollingsworth, g, 6-2, fr. (11.6 ppg, 4 rpg); Darius Thompson, g, 6-4, g-sr. (13.4 ppg, 4.1 apg)

Broadcast

Fox College Sports/HSSN/WKU PBS

Radio

WKLX 100.7-FM

Coaches

Scott Nagy (24-15 second year; 434-256 overall), Wright State; Rick Stansbury (20-19 second year; 313-185 overall), Western Kentucky

Series record

First meeting

Last time out

Wright State beat Fairfield 57-56 at home Sunday; Western Kentucky beat Eastern Kentucky 83-51 at home Wednesday.{&end}