Western Kentucky goes to Missouri on Saturday trying to finally put together a full effort on the road.

The Hilltoppers (3-4) are 0-4 away from Diddle Arena this season. Their test against the Tigers (2 p.m., SEC Network Plus) will mark the fourth of seven straight games played away from home.

The most recent road setback was a 78-59 loss Wednesday night at Eastern Kentucky. The Toppers fell behind by as many as 24 points in the second half on their way to a 19-point loss in Richmond.

In all four of WKU’s road or neutral-site defeats – Belmont, Washington, UNLV and EKU – the Hilltoppers have been outplayed in the second half and largely folded down the stretch.

“We’ve got to find a way to put two halves together,” forward Justin Johnson said Wednesday. “We’ve got to find a way to put 40 minutes together.

“We’ll put five minutes together here, seven there, sometimes play a good first half, sometimes play a good 25 minutes of basketball. We’ve got to find a way to play 40 together.”

The road woes have been untimely for WKU considering it won’t be home until Dec. 21 for a game against Ohio. Games at Indiana State (Dec. 11), No. 12 Saint Mary’s (Dec. 14) and Detroit (Dec. 17) will follow this trip to Columbia, Mo.

The Hilltoppers started 3-1, with home wins against Alabama State, Jacksonville State and North Carolina A&T sandwiched around a road defeat at Belmont.

But now WKU is on a seven-game, 29-day road trek that coach Rick Stansbury talked about throughout the offseason as one that would test his team. Failure to put together a full effort on the road has plagued the Tops so far on this trip.

Last week at the Global Sports Classic in Las Vegas, WKU was outscored a whopping 47-16 by Washington in the second half and then 20-7 over the game’s final 7:41 by host UNLV. The Hilltoppers lost those games by scores of 86-47 and 71-61, respectively.

WKU then had a rough stretch Wednesday at EKU, letting the host Colonels go on a 28-10 second-half burst.

The Eastern Kentucky loss “was another one of those nights where we didn’t put 40 minutes together of effort,” guard Junior Lomomba said. “But you know, the season is young.

“We’ve still got a lot of practice time ahead of us and still a lot of basketball to play. We’ll learn from it, try to move on.”

WKU gets a Missouri squad Saturday that’s off to a 3-3 start. Most recently, the Tigers shot just 25 percent in a 62-52 home loss Monday to North Carolina Central.

But Missouri has also shown flashes of potential, including taking Xavier – now ranked No. 7 – to overtime last month in an 83-82 neutral-site loss.

The Tigers are led in scoring by guard Frankie Hughes (13.5 points per game). Guard Que Johnson (14.7 ppg) and Justin Johnson (12.6 ppg) are pacing the Hilltoppers in scoring through seven games.

Notes

WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 913 consecutive games dating to March 15, 1987. … Guard Que Johnson is now 62 points away from 1,000 in his career across his time at Washington State and with the Hilltoppers. … WKU coach Rick Stansbury is 1-1 in his career against Missouri. … According to KenPom.com, Missouri ranks 346th out of 351 Division I teams in terms of experience. … The Toppers’ stretch of 29 straight days without a home game is its longest since going 42 days between home contests from Dec. 11, 1999 to Jan. 22, 2000.

Western Kentucky (3-4) at Missouri (3-3)

2 p.m., Saturday, Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Mo.

Probable starters

Western Kentucky

Justin Johnson, f, 6-7 jr. (12.6 ppg, 9.3 rpg); Que Johnson, g, 6-6 g-sr. (14.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg); Ben Lawson, f, 7-1 sr. (6 ppg, 4.4 rpg); Junior Lomomba, g, 6-5 g-sr. (7.1 ppg, 3.6 apg); Pancake Thomas, g, 6-4 g-sr. (11.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg)

Missouri

Frankie Hughes, g, 6-4 fr. (13.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg); Kevin Puryear, f, 6-7 so. (11.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg); Terrence Phillips, g, 5-11 so. (8.5 ppg, 4.3 apg); Cullen VanLeer, g, 6-4 so. (6.8 ppg, 2.5 apg); Russell Woods, f, 6-8 sr. (5.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg)

Television

SEC Network Plus

Radio

WXLX 100.7-FM

Coaches

Rick Stansbury (3-4 first year; 296-170 overall), Western Kentucky; Kim Anderson (22-47 third year, 296-142 overall), Missouri

Series record

First meeting

Last time out

Western Kentucky lost 78-59 at Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday; Missouri lost 62-52 at home Monday to North Carolina Central

– Follow sports reporter Brad Stephens on Twitter @BradBGDN or visit bgdailynews.com.