Saturday will be a big day for Western Kentucky athletics.

Shortly after the football team kicks off against Appalachian State in the Boca Raton Bowl, the men’s basketball team will face off with an in-state foe on its home court.

The Hilltoppers are scheduled to host Louisville at 2 p.m. at E.A. Diddle Arena.

“Everybody knows about Louisville. They’re a really, really good program. They’ve got a really good team,” WKU head coach Rick Stansbury said after his team’s 90-52 win over Centre College on Tuesday. “(Louisville head coach Chris) Mack does a great job with them.”

WKU (7-4) is coming off back-to-back 20-plus point wins – the first time the program had done that since the 2017-18 season – with the win over Centre, plus a 71-48 victory over Ole Miss in Atlanta at Holiday Hoopsgiving.

The Hilltoppers have won six of their last seven games and will need to turn the tide in the series with the Cardinals to continue the stretch of positive results.

Louisville leads the all-time series 42-39 and has won the last nine meetings against the Hilltoppers.

The Cardinals enter at 7-3 with key wins over Detroit Mercy, Mississippi State and Maryland to claim the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship earlier this season, as well as a win at North Carolina State earlier this month. Since then, Louisville has fallen to DePaul and beaten Southeastern Louisiana.

“They’ve gone on the road and won at North Carolina State. Very few people can do that. I watched them back early, had Mississippi State down 30 in the Bahamas. That’s not easy to do,” Stansbury said. “They’ve got really good players. (Malik) Williams, (Jae’Lyn) Withers, (Dre) Davis, (Noah) Locke from Florida, (Jarrod) West from Marshall. Got a deep bench – they’re going to play 10 guys. We’ll have to be at our best Saturday to have a chance to win this game.”

Williams leads the team with 10.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game and is the only Cardinal averaging double-figure scoring through the team’s 10 games. Locke, Davis, Matt Cross, El Ellis and West each add over six points per game for Louisville, which averages 70.7 points per game.

Jairus Hamilton has led WKU with 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds, while point guard Dayvion McKnight is averaging 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game and is coming off a triple-double against Centre – the fourth in program history and second for WKU this season. Camron Justice (11.9 points per game), Josh Anderson (10.8) and Luke Frampton (10.1) are all averaging double-figure scoring for the Hilltoppers, who average 78.3 points per game.

“I feel like if we come in Saturday and play our game, everybody brings energy, keeps talking on defense and offense, it’ll turn out the way we want it to be,” McKnight said after Tuesday’s win.

Saturday’s game is being marketed as a “Red Out” and every fan will receive a free retro Red Towel in honor of the 50th anniversary of the logo. The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.

“I know this – we need this arena packed,” Stansbury said. “I know there’s a lot going on in our town, but if you can get away for a couple hours, maybe we can give you something different to think about and cheer for and maybe put some excitement back in your life for a couple hours. We know it’s going to be a great atmosphere in here. Again, we’ve got to be at our best to have a chance to win this game.”

LOUISVILLE (7-3) AT WESTERN KENTUCKY (7-4)

1:30 p.m. Saturday/E.A. Diddle Arena

Probable starters

LOUISVILLE

Dre Davis, f, 6-6, so. (8.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg); Matt Cross, f, 6-7, so. (8.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg); Malik William, c, 6-11, sr. (10.9 ppg, 9.7 rpg); Noah Locke, g, 6-3, sr. (9.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg); Jarrod West, g, 5-11, gr. (6.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg).

WESTERN KENTUCKY

Luke Frampton, g, 6-5, r-sr. (10.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg); Dayvion McKnight, g, 6-1, so. (14.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg); Jamarion Sharp, c, 7-5, jr. (7.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg); Jairus Hamilton, f, 6-8, sr. (16.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg); Camron Justice, g, 6-3, gr. (11.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg).

Television

CBS Sports Network

Radio

Hilltopper Sports Network

Coaches

Chris Mack (59-30, fourth year; 274-127 overall), Louisville; Rick Stansbury (110-64, sixth year; 403-230 overall), WKU.

Series record

Louisville leads the all-time series 42-39 (The Cardinals won the last meeting 75-54 on Dec. 1, 2020, in Louisville).

Last time out

Louisville won 86-60 at home against Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday; WKU won 90-52 at home against Centre College on Tuesday.{&end}{&end}