1947–48 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers basketball team

1947–48 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
1947–48 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
NCAA Annual Team Champions; KAIC champion
NIT Tournament, Semifinals; National 3rd Place
Conference	Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Record	28–2 (10–0 KIAC)
Head coach	Edgar Diddle (26th season);
Assistant coach	Ted Hornback
Home arena	Health & Physical Education Building
	Seasons ← 1946–47 1948–49 →

The 1947–48 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky State College during the 1947-48 NCAA basketball season. The team was led by future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Edgar Diddle.^[1] The Hilltoppers won the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship, were NCAA Annual Team Champions,^[2] and received an invitation to the 1948 National Invitation Tournament, where they advanced to the semifinals.^[3] During this period, the NIT was considered by many to be the premiere college basketball tournament, with the winner being recognized as the national champion.^[4]^[5] This was one of the finest teams in Western Kentucky history, they had the best winning percentage in the NCAA,^[6] all five starters were named to the All-KIAC Team (Odie Spears, John Oldham, Don “Duck” Ray, Dee Gibson, and Oran McKinney) and three players were listed on various All-American teams, Spears, Ray, and Gibson.^[7]

Schedule

^[8]

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
12/2/1947	Kentucky Wesleyan	W 51–31	1–0	Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY
12/5/1947*	vs. Canterbury	W 82–34	2–0	Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY
12/10/1947*	at Evansville	W 58–42	3–0	Evansville, IN
12/13/1947	Morehead State	W 78–40	4–0	Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY
12/15/1947*	at Fort Knox	W 101–68	5–0	Fort Knox, KY
12/27/1947*	vs. Utah State	W 80–49	6–0	Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY
12/29/1947*	at Bowling Green State	L 64–75	6–1	Bowling Green, OH
1/2/1948*	Georgetown (DC)	W 58–37	7–1	Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY
1/5/1948*	Evansville	W 67–44	8–1	Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY
1/10/1948*	Maryville	W 77–37	9–1	Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY
1/14/1948	at Louisville	W 71–44	10–1	Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY
1/17/1948*	at Canisius	W 74–52	11–1	Buffalo, NY
1/20/1948*	vs. Long Island	W 62–47	12–1	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
1/24/1948*	at Saint Joseph's (PA)	W 84–73	13–1	Philadelphia, PA
1/29/1948*	Arkansas State	W 76–37	14–1	Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY
1/31/1948	at Eastern Kentucky	W 49–42	15–1	Weaver Gymnasium Richmond, KY
2/2/1948	at Kentucky Wesleyan	W 83–52	16–1	Owensboro, KY
2/4/1948*	Bowling Green State	W 66–52	17–1	Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY
2/7/1948	at Murray State	W 59–46	18–1	Lovett Auditorium Murray, KY
2/10/1948*	North Dakota	W 62–47	19–1	Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY
2/14/1948	Murray State	W 76–65	20–1	Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY
2/17/1948	Louisville	W 77–55	21–1	Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY
2/19/1948	at Morehead State	W 43–40	22–1	Button Auditorium Morehead, KY
2/21/1948	Eastern Kentucky	W 65–51	23–1	Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY
1948 Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament
2/26/1948	vs. Berea KIAC Tournament Quarterfinal	W 87–51	24–1	Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY
2/27/1948	vs. Eastern Kentucky KIAC Tournament Semifinal	W 62–52	25–1	Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY
2/28/1948	at Louisville KIAC Tournament Final	W 63–62	26–1	Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY
1948 National Invitation Tournament
3/12/1948*	vs. La Salle NIT Quarterfinal	W 68–61	27–1	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
3/15/1948*	vs. Saint Louis NIT Semifinal	L 53–60	27–2	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
3/17/1948*	vs. DePaul NIT Consolation	W 61–59	28–2	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

^ Ruby, Earl (1979). Red Towel Territory : A History of Athletics at Western Kentucky University. American National Bank and Trust Co.
^ 2011 NCAA Division I Basketball Records, retrieved 30 April 2020
^ 2019-2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020
^ "NCAA Tournament History". Retrieved 2013-02-12. The tournament now determines the national champion, but that wasn't always the case. Until the 1950s, the NIT was just as big a tournament as the NCAA, and teams often chose to enter the NIT and bypass the NCAA tourney
^ Davies, Richard O. (2007). "Sports in American Life: A History." Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated. p. 155. ISBN 9781405106474.
^ E. A. Diddle CBB Records, Sports Reference, retrieved May 13, 2020
^ Harrison, Lowell (1987). Western Kentucky University. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813116204.
^ Western Kentucky Men's Basketball Archive, retrieved 14 May 2020

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[Ruby-1] Ruby, Earl (1979). Red Towel Territory : A History of Athletics at Western Kentucky University. American National Bank and Trust Co.

[2] 2011 NCAA Division I Basketball Records, retrieved 30 April 2020

[3] 2019-2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020

[4] "NCAA Tournament History". Retrieved 2013-02-12. The tournament now determines the national champion, but that wasn't always the case. Until the 1950s, the NIT was just as big a tournament as the NCAA, and teams often chose to enter the NIT and bypass the NCAA tourney

[5] Davies, Richard O. (2007). "Sports in American Life: A History." Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated. p. 155. ISBN 9781405106474.

[6] E. A. Diddle CBB Records, Sports Reference, retrieved May 13, 2020

[Harrison-7] Harrison, Lowell (1987). Western Kentucky University. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813116204.

[8] Western Kentucky Men's Basketball Archive, retrieved 14 May 2020

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v t e Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
Venues	Red Barn (1920–1931) Health & Physical Education Building (1931–1963) E. A. Diddle Arena (1963–present)
Culture & lore	Big Red
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1914–15 1915–16 1916–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics