LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Rick Stansbury has navigated the Western Kentucky basketball team from the No. 79 to No. 68 in Ken Pomeroy's power formula over the first week of the college basketball season.
The Hilltoppers exited an event in Nebraska to accept a last-minute invitation to play at the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic in South Dakota.
After defeating Northern Iowa and Memphis, the Hilltoppers lost to No. 11 West Virginia by six last Friday. WKU remains the consensus favorite to win Conference USA this season.
On Saturday, WKU came directly to Louisville, where the Hilltoppers will play Louisville at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the KFC Yum! Center.
WKU earned two wins that will be solid credentials for NCAA Tournament seeding in March -- and the Hilltoppers are listed as a 4-point underdog against the Cards.
I talked to Stansbury about his team, Louisville and other topics. Here are his answers to six questions, with minor edits for length considerations.
1. What have you learned about your team over the last week to 10 days?
STANSBURY: "One thing we learned was that we had to adjust early. When I mean early, adjust to three different kind of (playing) styles …
"… I'm not sure there are three different styles that are more different than the three teams we played -- Northern Iowa, their ability to shoot it and the cerebralness of that team; Memphis, their athleticism and quickness and then West Virginia, again, for sure, there is no stronger, bigger, more powerful frontcourt in the country than West Virginia.
"So we had to adjust to three different kind of teams early … when I say early, it was the time of the adjustments, too. We played at 1 p.m., 11 a.m. and 12 (noon), three days in a row. So what I learned about my team is that we found ways to adjust."
2. You weren't supposed to be in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. You were supposed to play in Nebraska before you came to Louisville. How did you create that opportunity?
STANSBURY: "Listen, Rick, we had been set to go to Nebraska for 10 weeks. Will Wade (of LSU) and I were the first two teams to agree to go up there because we agreed to play each other. No one wanted to play LSU and no one wanted to play us.
"But we both agreed to play each other. We were set to do that.
"Then we were set to play, I don't know, one time there was maybe a Kansas State, maybe an Oklahoma State. It seemed like they fell by the way side. But in the end we were set to play Nevada and then LSU on a Friday.
"We're going to leave Monday morning (Nov. 23). Right before practice on Friday, we see there is a (press release) that LSU is playing Saint Louis in St. Louis.
"None of us knew about it. Even the organizers in Nebraska. So here we are … I saw Texas A&M dropped out of the South Dakota bubble on Tuesday. But I didn't call Lea (Miller-Tooley, the tournament director) because I didn't want to mess over Nebraska.
"But when that happened, the first phone call we made was to Lea. At that point, getting ready to walk to practice, Lea said they had extended an offer already to Minnesota, but she felt like they didn't want to play Northern Iowa.
"I said, 'We'll play just to get in it. I gave my phone to our associate AD Zach Greenwell and said, 'Just call me during practice.
"So I go to practice on Friday and I don't know what I'm doing, where I'm going or who we're playing. It wasn't probably five minutes into practice that Lea calls Zach back and says, 'Hey, you're in.'
"So we go from having a practice plan to play LSU. When we walked on that floor, it's kind of what I thought was happening. Didn't have time to change it. Happened so quick …
"We thought this: Creighton had gotten out. Creighton was supposed to have played South Dakota. We were supposed to be in that other bracket. But we knew West Virginia would get out of that bracket and get over in that other bracket and get away from Northern Iowa. That's kind of what happened.
"So we got to get in the tournament and had to play Northern Iowa. So that's how that happened. We planned for 10 or 12 weeks to play LSU and in about 48 hours we are playing Northern Iowa in an entirely different state.
"So that's kind of basketball in 2020-2021, whatever it is, Rick."
3. Describe life in the Bubble -- in South Dakota and Louisville.
STANSBURY: "Let me tell you about the bubble in South Dakota, first. First off, knock on wood -- (Stansbury knocked on wood) you heard the knock on wood -- hey, we've had zero problems yet.
"It's kind of amazing. We go to South Dakota, into the bubble. We get there on Monday (Nov. 23). We have a meal Monday night and … we find out on Wednesday before our first game at 1 o'clock, that our bus driver tested positive.
"Well coach (Martin) Cross and Zach, they've done a great job on the busses, on the planes, at the dinner tables, wherever we sit, no contact tracing is going to get two or three of our players.
"So it just so happened that the bus driver was with two of our coaches. Well, we had to send two of our coaches home Wednesday morning before our first game.
"So we've been without two coaches and they didn't have the virus. But because of contact tracing they weren't allowed to stay in the bubble and we had to send them home.
"Up here (in Louisville) it's been fine. It's really easy here. You walk from the Galt House to the practice gym or the arena. It's really a great set up. We all know the Galt House is a great beautiful place.
"Wish we all could enjoy it more, but there ain't no enjoyment in it. It's a nice room but outside that, that's it man. We don't even look out the windows."
4. Louisville is 3-0 with a win over Seton Hall. What kind of opportunity is this for your team?
STANSBURY: "Any time you get an opportunity to play against one of the better programs and teams in the country, it's a great opportunity for us.
"There's no question Louisville is one of the better teams. I'm surprised they didn't come out ranked in the Top 25. I like their team … they're in our state. It's a great opportunity for us.
"We all understand it counts as one win or one loss. You don't get two wins or two losses. It's all the same. But it is special because it's an in-state game."
5. Charles Bassey and Taveion Hollingsworth have both started the season strong for WKU but both are dealing with injuries, especially Hollingsworth, who sprained his left thumb and hyper-extended his right elbow against West Virginia.
What's their impact on your team?
STANSBURY: "Taveion has been a four-year player for us … he has a chance of becoming one of the all-time leading scorers in the history of Western Kentucky … that's enough said right there. He's a guy who just finds ways to score the ball, multiple ways. He's got a great mid-range game about him. He's relentless going to the hole. He's a great person, great young man.
"Charles we all know what he's coming from. Didn't know exactly where he would be. Felt like once we got him back and started practicing I felt like that after awhile he was better now that he was before he got hurt. And he should be as long as that knee was right. He hasn't missed a beat. Think he's gotten better.
"Both of them got beat up the last game. Taveion will be kind of a game-time decision. Charles, he'll go. Somebody asked if he'll be 100 percent. He won't be 100 percent if he goes because he came out of there with a nod and a bruise on his knee.
6. Games are being canceled and rescheduled every day. Wouldn't a game with Kentucky be a wonderful late addition to your schedule?
STANSBURY: "That's a good question. As you well know, we tried hard to schedule a game back in the fall. We'd love to play Kentucky again. I think it would be great for the state of Kentucky.
"Louisville plays Kentucky and we're playing Louisville. The only part of that triangle that needs to be matched up is us playing Kentucky.
"So I think it's great for both programs, for the state of Kentucky, for basketball -- in particular in this kind of year, where travel is an issue, both of us can bus.
"We know which way one bus would go -- we would go North, which would be fine. I know they have had a game or two that got canceled already.
"So if they need a game, Rick, you can talk about that. We'll have a game in our schedule somewhere, you can talk about both programs needing a game and trying to get us to play. I'll let you talk about it. See if you can make it happen."
Copyright 2020 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.