Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball

This article is about men's basketball team. For women's basketball team, see WKU Lady Toppers basketball.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
2018–19 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team
University	Western Kentucky University
Head coach	Rick Stansbury (2nd season)
Conference	C-USA
Location	Bowling Green, Kentucky
Arena	E. A. Diddle Arena (Capacity: 7,500)
Nickname	Hilltoppers
Colors	Red and white
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament Final Four
1971*
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1940, 1971*
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1960, 1962, 1966, 1971*, 1978, 1993, 2008
NCAA tournament round of 32
1976, 1978, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1995, 2008, 2009
NCAA tournament appearances
1940, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971*,1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 *vacated by NCAA
Conference tournament champions
1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1965, 1966, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013
Conference regular season champions
1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982 ,1987, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009
Conference division season champions
Sun Belt East: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team is the men's basketball team that represents Western Kentucky University (WKU) in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Hilltoppers currently compete in Conference USA. The team's most recent appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was in 2013. Rick Stansbury was announced as the team's current head coach on March 28, 2016.

The men's basketball program has the 16th most victories in the history of the NCAA and has attained the eighth best winning percentage in NCAA history. The school made an NCAA Final Four appearance in 1971, which was later vacated, and has made four NIT Final Four appearances, including three in the early days of the NIT when it was on par with the NCAA tournament. The program has won numerous Ohio Valley Conference championships and was very competitive in its previous conference, the Sun Belt Conference, regularly finishing near the top of the conference and competing for the conference championship. In 2014, the Hilltoppers joined Conference USA following conference realignment.

Street & Smith's publication "100 Greatest Programs", ranked WKU #31. WKU has had 30 All Americans and 56 Hilltoppers have played professionally following their collegiate careers.

Season-by-season results

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
J.L. Arthur (Independent) (1914–1916)
1914–15	Western Kentucky State Normal School	5–1
1915–16	WKS	2–1
J.L.Arthur:		7–2 (.875)
No Team (World War I) (1916–1921)
L.T. Smith (Independent) (1921–1922)
1921–22	Western Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College	3–1
L.T.Smith:		3–1 (.750)
E. A. Diddle (Independent) (1922–1926)
1922–23	WKS	12–2
1923–24	WKS	9–9
1924–25	WKS	8–6
1925–26	WKS	10–4
E. A. Diddle (Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1926–1948)
1926–27	WKS	12–7
1927–28	WKS	10–7
1928–29	WKS	8–10
1929–30	WKS	4–12
1930–31	WKS	11–3
1931–32	WKS	15–8		1st KIAC
1932–33	WKS	16–6		1st KIAC
1933–34	WKS	28–8		1st KIAC 1st SIAA
1934–35	WKS	24–3		1st KIAC
1935–36	WKS	26–4		1st KIAC	National Olympic Trials
1936–37	WKS	21–2		1st KIAC 1st SIAA
1937–38	WKS	30–3		1st KIAC 1st SIAA	NAIA * (declined / forfeit)
1938–39	WKS	22–3		1st KIAC 1st SIAA
1939–40	WKS	24–6		1st KIAC 1st SIAA	NCAA Elite 8
1940–41	WKS	22–4		1st SIAA
1941–42	WKS	29–5		1st KIAC 1st SIAA	NIT Runner Up
1942–43	WKS	24–3		1st KIAC	NIT Quarterfinals
1943–44	WKS	13–9
1944–45	WKS	17–10
1945–46	WKS	15–19
1946–47	WKS	25–4		1st KIAC 1st SIAA
1947–48	Western Kentucky State College	28–2		1st KIAC NCAA Annual Team Champions	NIT 3rd place
E. A. Diddle (Ohio Valley Conference) (1948–1964)
1948–49	WKSC	25–4	8–2	1st	NIT Quarterfinals
1949–50	WKSC	25–6	8–0	1st	NIT Quarterfinals
1950–51	WKSC	19–10	4–4	4th	NCT 1st Round
1951–52	WKSC	26–5	11–1	1st	NIT Quarterfinals
1952–53	WKSC	25–6	8–2	2nd	NIT Quarterfinals
1953–54	WKSC	29–3	9–1	1st	NIT 4th Place
1954–55	WKSC	18–10	8–2	1st
1955–56	WKSC	16–12	7–3	T-1st
1956–57	WKSC	17–9	9–1	T-1st
1957–58	WKSC	14–11	5–5	3rd
1958–59	WKSC	16–10	8–4	2nd
1959–60	WKSC	21–7	10–2	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1960–61	WKSC	18–8	9–3	T-1st
1961–62	WKSC	17–10	11–1	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1962–63	WKSC	5–16	3–9	7th
1963–64	WKSC	5–16	3–11	8th
E. A. Diddle:		759–302 (.715)	121–51
John Oldham (Ohio Valley Conference) (1964–1971)
1964–65	WKSC	18–9	10–4	2nd	NIT Quarterfinals
1965–66	Western Kentucky University	25–3	14–0	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1966–67	WKU	23–3	13–1	1st	NCAA Round of 23
1967–68	WKU	18–7	9–5	3rd
1968–69	WKU	16–10	9–5	3rd
1969–70	WKU	22–3	14–0	1st	NCAA Round of 25
1970–71	WKU	24–6	12–2	1st	NCAA Final Four * (3rd place Vacated)
John Oldham:		142–40 (.780)	81–17
Jim Richards (Ohio Valley Conference) (1971–1978)
1971–72	WKU	15–11	9–5	T-1st
1972–73	WKU	10–16	6–8	6th	(NCAA Probation)
1973–74	WKU	15–10	8–6	4th	(NCAA Probation)
1974–75	WKU	16–8	11–3	2nd	(NCAA Probation)
1975–76	WKU	20–9	11–3	1st	NCAA Round of 32
1976–77	WKU	10–16	6–8	T-5th
1977–78	WKU	16–14	9–5	t-3rd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Jim Richards:		102–84 (.548)	60–38
Gene Keady (Ohio Valley Conference) (1978–1980)
1978–79	WKU	17–11	7–5	T-2nd
1979–80	WKU	21–8	10–2	T-1st	NCAA Round of 48
Gene Keady:		38–19 (.667)	17–7
Clem Haskins (Ohio Valley Conference) (1980–1982)
1980–81	WKU	21–8	12–2	1st	NCAA Round of 48
1981–82	WKU	19–10	13–3	T-1st	NIT 1st Round
Clem Haskins (Sun Belt Conference) (1982–1986)
1982–83	WKU	12–16	4–10	7th
1983–84	WKU	12–17	5–9	6th
1984–85	WKU	14–14	5–9	7th
1985–86	WKU	23–8	10–4	2nd	NCAA Round of 32
Clem Haskins:		101–73 (.580)	49–37
Murray Arnold (Sun Belt Conference) (1986–1990)
1986–87	WKU	29–9	12–2	1st	NCAA Round of 32
1987–88	WKU	15–13	6–8	6th
1988–89	WKU	14–15	4–10	7th
1989–90	WKU	13–17	7–7	T-3rd
Murray Arnold:		71–54 (.568)	29–27
Ralph Willard (Sun Belt Conference) (1990–1994)
1990–91	WKU	14–14	8–6	T-3rd
1991–92	WKU	21–11	10–6	4th	NIT 1st Round
1992–93	WKU	26–6	14–4	2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1993–94	WKU	20–11	14–4	1st	NCAA Round of 64
Ralph Willard:		81–42 (.667)	46–20
Matt Kilcullen (Sun Belt Conference) (1994–1998)
1994–95	WKU	27–4	17–1	1st	NCAA Round of 32
1995–96	WKU	13–14	10–8	T-3rd
1996–97	WKU	12–15	9–9	T-6th
1997–98	WKU	10–19	6–12	T8th	(Ron Brown and Al Seibert named Co-head Coach after 23 games)
Ron Brown and Al Seibert (Co. head coaches last 6 games in 1997–98 season) (3–3)
Matt Kilcullen:		59–49 (.546)	42–30
Ron Brown and Al Seibert:		3–3 (.500)
Dennis Felton (Sun Belt Conference) (1998–2003)
1998–99	WKU	13–16	7–7	T-3rd
1999–00	WKU	11–18	8–8	5th
2000–01	WKU	24–7	14–2	1st (East)	NCAA Round of 64
2001–02	WKU	28–4	13–1	1st (East)	NCAA Round of 64
2002–03	WKU	24–9	12–2	1st (East)	NCAA Round of 64
Dennis Felton:		100–54 (.649)	54–20
Darrin Horn (Sun Belt Conference) (2003–2008)
2003–04	WKU	15–13	8–6	5th
2004–05	WKU	22–9	9–5	2nd (East)	NIT 2nd Round
2005–06	WKU	23–8	12–2	1st (East)	NIT 1st Round
2006–07	WKU	22–11	12–6	2nd (East)
2007–08	WKU	29–7	16–2	T–1st (East)	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Darrin Horn:		111–48 (.698)	57–21
Ken McDonald (Sun Belt Conference) (2008–2012)
2008–09	WKU	25–8	15–3	1st (East)	NCAA Round of 32
2009–10	WKU	21–13	12–6	3rd (East)
2010–11	WKU	16–16	8–8	3rd (East)
2011–12	WKU	5–11	1–2	–	(Ray Harper promoted to Head Coach after 16 games)
Ken McDonald:		67–48 (.583)	36–19
Ray Harper (Sun Belt Conference) (2012–2014)
2011–12	WKU	11–8	10–7	T-3rd (East)	NCAA Round of 64
2012–13	WKU	20–16	10–10	4th (East)	NCAA Round of 64
2013–14	WKU	21–11	12–6	2nd
Ray Harper (Conference USA) (2014–2016)
2014–15	WKU	20–12	12–6	4th
2015–16	WKU	18–16	8–10	8th
Ray Harper:		90–63 (.588)	42–34
Rick Stansbury (Conference USA) (2016–present)
2016–17	WKU	15–17	9–9	8th
2017–18	WKU	27–11	14-4	3rd	NIT Final Four
Rick Stansbury:		42–28 (.600)	23–13
Total:		1778–910 (.661)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

BOLD indicates lead the NCAA in victories.

KIAC – Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
SIAA – Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
OVC – Ohio Valley Conference (T) Tournament
SBC – Sun Belt Conference (E) Eastern Division (T) Tournament
NCT – National Campus Tournament
NAIA – National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
NIT – National Invitation Tournament
NCAA – National Collegiate Athletic Association

Postseason

WKU has appeared in 39 national postseason tournaments and in four national final fours. Additionally, the Hilltoppers were scheduled to appear in the 1938 NAIA Tournament, but the team declined to participate after winning the SIAA tournament. The school currently has a policy of only accepting invitations to the NCAA or NIT tournaments, which precludes participation in other tournaments such as the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament and College Basketball Invitational.

NCAA tournament results

The Hilltoppers have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 23 times. Their combined record is 19–24. Their appearance in the 1971 NCAA Tournament and third place finish were later vacated by the NCAA due to a player, Jim McDaniels, having signed a professional contract and accepted money during the season.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1940		Elite Eight	Duquesne	L 29–30
1960		First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game	Miami (FL) Ohio State Ohio	W 107–84 L 79–98 W 97–87
1962		First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game	Detroit Ohio State Butler	W 90–81 L 73–93 L 86–87
1966		First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game	Loyola (IL) Michigan Dayton	W 105–86 L 79–80 W 82–62
1967		First Round	Dayton	L 67–69 OT
1970		First Round	Jacksonville	L 96–109
1971*		First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National 3rd Place Game	Jacksonville Kentucky Ohio State Villanova Kansas	W 74–72 W 107–83 W 81–78 OT L 89–92 2OT W 77–75
1976		First Round	Marquette	L 60–79
1978		First Round Sweet Sixteen	Syracuse Michigan State	W 87–86 OT L 69–90
1980	No. 10	First Round	No. 7 Virginia Tech	L 85–89 OT
1981	No. 10	First Round	No. 7 UAB	L 68–93
1986	No. 8	First Round Second Round	No. 9 Nebraska No. 1 Kentucky	W 67–59 L 64–71
1987	No. 10	First Round Second Round	No. 7 West Virginia No. 2 Syracuse	W 64–62 L 86–104
1993	No. 7	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	No. 10 Memphis No. 2 Seton Hall No. 3 Florida State	W 55–52 W 72–68 L 78–81 OT
1994	No. 11	First Round	No. 6 Texas	L 77–91
1995	No. 8	First Round Second Round	No. 9 Michigan No. 1 Kansas	W 82–76 OT L 70–75
2001	No. 14	First Round	No. 3 Florida	L 56–69
2002	No. 9	First Round	No. 8 Stanford	L 68–84
2003	No. 13	First Round	No. 4 Illinois	L 60–65
2008	No. 12	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	No. 5 Drake No. 13 San Diego No. 1 UCLA	W 101–99 OT W 72–63 L 78–88
2009	No. 12	First Round Second Round	No. 5 Illinois No. 4 Gonzaga	W 76–72 L 81–83
2012	No. 16	First Four First Round	No. 16 Mississippi Valley State No. 1 Kentucky	W 59–58 L 66–81
2013	No. 16	First Round	No. 1 Kansas	L 57–64

* Vacated by the NCAA

NIT results

The Hilltoppers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 14 times. When the NIT first started, it was considered the premiere college basketball tournament and remained on par with the NCAA Tournament through the mid 1950s, until the NCAA began giving automatic bids to conference champions in 1956. Western Kentucky's first eight appearances occurred during this early period, including their 2nd place finish in 1942, 3rd place in 1948, and 4th place in 1954. WKU made the NIT Final Four in 2018. Their combined record is 12–15.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1942	Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals	CCNY Creighton West Virginia	W 49–46 W 49–36 L 45–47
1943	Quarterfinals	Fordham	L 58–60
1948	Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd Place Game	La Salle Saint Louis DePaul	W 68–61 L 53–60 W 61–59
1949	Quarterfinals	Bradley	L 86–95
1950	First Round Quarterfinals	Niagara St. John's	W 79–72 L 46–65
1952	First Round Quarterfinals	Louisville St. Bonaventure	W 62–59 L 69–70
1953	Quarterfinals	Duquesne	L 61–69
1954	Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd Place Game	Bowling Green Holy Cross Niagara	W 95–81 L 69–75 L 65-71
1965	First Round Quarterfinals	Fordham Army	W 57–53 L 54–58
1982	First Round	Purdue	L 65–72
1992	First Round	Kansas State	L 74–85
2005	Opening Round First Round	Kent State Wichita State	W 88–80 L 81–84
2006	First Round	South Carolina	L 55–74
2018	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Boston College USC Oklahoma State Utah	W 79–62 W 79–75 W 92–84 L 64–69

National Campus Basketball Tournament results

The Hilltoppers appeared in the only National Campus Basketball Tournament. Their record is 0–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1951	Quarterfinals	Bradley	L 71–75

Milestones

Date	Milestone	Opponent	Result (Won/Loss)
1914–1915	First win	Bethel (Ky.)	38–21 (W)
1/28/1932	100th win	Birmingham Southern	37–25 (W)
12/5/1949	500th win	Kentucky Wesleyan	89–45 (W)
2/19/1977	1,000th win	Murray State	82–81 (W)
2/5/2005	1,500th win	Arkansas State	76–72 (W)
2/6/1943	500th game	LaSalle	52–44 (W)
12/6/1960	1,000th game	Lamar	74–71 (W)
1/25/1997	2,000th game	New Orleans	70–66 (L)

E.A. Diddle Arena

E.A. Diddle Arena

The E.A. Diddle Arena is a 7,326-seat multi-purpose arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. The arena, built in 1963 is named after legendary WKU men's coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Edgar "E.A." Diddle.

Current coaching staff

• Rick Stansbury - Head Coach
• Mark Hsu - Assistant Coach
• Nakita Johnson - Assistant Coach
• Talvis Franklin - Director of Basketball Operations
• Bob Hubbard - Academic Coordinator
• Martin Cross - Associate Director of Basketball Operations
• Erien Watson - Program Manager

All-Americans

Year	Name	Position	Notes
1938	Red McCrocklin	Center	(Chuck Taylor)
1940	Carlisle Towery	Center	(Chuck Taylor)
1941	Carlisle Towery	Center	(Chuck Taylor)
1943	Oran McKinney	Center	(Helms Foundation)
1948	Dee Gibson	Guard	(Associated Press***)
1948	Don Ray	Forward	(Helms Foundation*)
1948	Odie Spears	Forward	(Associated Press***)
1949	Bob Lavoy	Center	(Associated Press***)
1949	John Oldham	Guard	(United Press**, Associated Press***)
1950	Buddy Cate	Forward	(Associated Press***)
1950	Bob Lavoy	Center	(Chuck Taylor*, Associated Press***)
1953	Tom Marshall	Forward	(Look Magazine**, Associated Press***)
1953	Art Spoelstra	Center	(Associated Press***)
1954	Tom Marshall	Forward	(Associated Press*, United Press*, Look Magazine*)
1958	Ralph Crosthwaite	Center
1962	Bobby Rascoe	Guard
1964	Darel Carrier	Guard	(Helms Foundation)
1965	Clem Haskins	Forward	(Associated Press***, United Press***)
1966	Clem Haskins	Forward	(Associated Press, United Press, Converse*)
1967	Clem Haskins	Forward	(USBWA, Associated Press,United Press,Helms Foundation, NABC*)
1969	Jim McDaniels	Center	(Helms Foundation, Associated Press***, United Press***, Converse***)
1970	Jim McDaniels	Center	(Helms Foundation, Associated Press***, United Press***, Converse*)
1971	Jim McDaniels	Center	(NABC, USBWA, Associated Press, Sporting News, United Press, NBA)
1976	Johnny Britt	Guard	(Associated Press***)
1984	Kannard Johnson	Forward	(Sporting News All-Freshman)
1987	Tellis Frank	Forward	(Associated Press***, Sporting News***)
1989	Brett McNeal	Guard	(Associated Press***, Basketball Times***)
1993	Darnell Mee	Guard	(Associated Press***)
1996	Chris Robinson	Forward-Guard	(Basketball Weekly***)
2001	Chris Marcus	Center	(Associated Press***)
2002	Chris Marcus	Center	(Associated Press***, Basketball America***)
2004	Mike Wells	Guard	(Associated Press***)
2006	Anthony Winchester	Guard	(Associated Press***)
2008	Courtney Lee	Guard	(Associated Press***,The NBA Draft Report**, Basketball Times**)
2009	Orlando Mendez-Valdez	Guard	(Associated Press***)
*Second team – **Third team – ***Honorable mention

Retired jerseys

• E.A. Diddle. 1923–64. Coach.
• Carlisle Towery. 1939–41. Center.
• John Oldham. 1943; 1947–49. Guard.
• Tom Marshall. 1951–54. Forward.
• Clem Haskins. 1965–67. Forward.
• Jim McDaniels. 1969–71. Center.
• Courtney Lee. 2004–08. Guard.

Note: The first jerseys retired in honor of Hilltopper basketball greats were hung in E.A. Diddle Arena during the 1999–2000 season. Also even though the jerseys are retired current and future players can and do use the numbers of the players whose jerseys are retired.

See also

• List of teams with the most victories in NCAA Division I men's college basketball

References

• 2011–12 WKU Hilltoppers Media Guide

External links

• Official website