Western Kentucky head basketball coach Rick Stansbury will miss Thursday and Saturday’s games as he has back surgery Friday. Assistant coach Mark Hsu, who served as interim coach in Stansbury’s place last week, will continue in that role. He led the Hilltoppers to road wins at Rice and North Texas. With Stansbury out, director of basketball operations Talvis Franklin has also served in a fourth coaching role.

Stansbury released the following statement:

“After consulting with my doctors, I will not be present in Diddle Arena on Thursday or Saturday as I have back surgery Friday morning. I anticipate a quick recovery and returning to the sidelines soon. I know tickets are limited for Thursday and sold out for Saturday, but I ask for all of Hilltopper Nation and our great student section to please arrive early, bring great energy that our players can feed off of, and support this coaching staff. You can make the difference. Go Tops!”