# 2001–02 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

The 2001–02 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year Dennis Felton and All-American Center Chris Marcus. The team won the East Division Championship and the Sun Belt Basketball tournament, earning an automatic bid to the 2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. One of the highlights of the season was a victory over in-state rival, 4th ranked Kentucky. Marcus missed 17 games this season due to an ankle injury. David Boyden and Derek Robinson were named to the All SBC team. Marcus and Patrick Sparks made the SBC All-Tournament team and Robinson was the tournament MVP.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/15/2001* | | at No. 4 Kentucky NABC Classic | W 64–52 | 1–0 | Rupp Arena (21,104) Lexington, KY |
| 11/16/2001* | | vs. George Washington NABC Classic | W 73–48 | 2–0 | Rupp Arena (16,193) Lexington, KY |
| 11/20/2001* | No. 21 | Evansville | W 90–64 | 3–0 | E. A. Diddle Arena (7,322) Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/24/2001* | No. 21 | Murray State | W 101–77 | 4–0 | E. A. Diddle Arena (8,117) Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/27/2001* | No. 17 | at Creighton | L 91–94 $^{2OT}$ | 4–1 | Omaha Civic Auditorium (7,287) Omaha, NE |
| 12/2/2001* | No. 17 | at Vanderbilt Marcus out with injury | L 75–80 | 4–2 | Memorial Gymnasium (12,271) Nashville, TN |
| 12/3/2001* | No. 25 | at Akron | W 78–68 | 5–2 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,524) Akron, OH |
| 12/8/2001* | No. 25 | at Austin Peay | W 77–75 | 6–2 | Dunn Center (2,517) Clarksville, TN |
| 12/15/2001* | | West Alabama | W 103–40 | 7–2 | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,658) Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/19/2001* | | Creighton | W 95–61 | 8–2 | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,267) Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/22/2001* | | at Southern Mississippi | W 74–50 | 9–2 | Reed Green Coliseum (2,855) Hattiesburg, MS |
| 12/28/2001* | | at New Orleans | W 90–76 | 10–2 (1–0) | Lakefront Arena (2,270) New Orleans, LA |
| 12/30/2001 | | at South Alabama | L 58–61 | 10–3 (1–1) | Mitchell Center (1,479) Mobile, AL |
| 1/2/2002 | | at FIU | W 65–54 | 11–3 (2–1) | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (306) University Park, FL |
| 1/5/2002* | | Austin Peay | W 75–73 | 12–3 | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,764) Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/10/2002 | | Louisiana–Lafayette | W 63–62 | 13–3 (3–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,757) Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/13/2002 | | New Mexico State | W 83–67 | 14–3 (4–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (8,178) Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/16/2002 | | at Middle Tennessee | W 55–45 | 15–3 (5–1) | Murphy Center (4,116) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 1/19/2002 | | at Denver | W 86–59 | 16–3 (6–1) | Magness Arena (1,741) Denver, CO |
| 1/24/2002 | | Arkansas–Little Rock | W 95–85 | 17–3 (7–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,239) Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/27/2002 | | Arkansas State | W 45–42 | 18–3 (8–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,465) Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/31/2002 | | FIU | W 66–64 | 19–3 (9–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,410) Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/3/2002* | | Morris Brown Marcus returns | W 92–53 | 20–3 | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,319) Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/7/2002 | | at Arkansas–Little Rock | W 83–79 $^{OT}$ | 21–3 (10–1) | Alltel Arena (6,012) North Little Rock, AR |
| 2/9/2002 | | at Arkansas State | W 50–46 | 22–3 (11–1) | Convocation Center (6,437) Jonesboro, AR |
| 2/16/2002 | | North Texas | W 100–76 | 23–3 (12–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (8,192) Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/19/2002* | No. 24 | Kentucky State | W 100–63 | 24–3 | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,051) Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/23/2002 | No. 24 | Middle Tennessee | W 65–61 | 25–3 (13–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (8,325) Bowling Green, KY |
| 2002 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament ||||||
| 3/2/2002 | (1E) No. 20 | vs. (4W) North Texas Second Round | W 82–68 | 26–3 | Lakefront Arena (4,943) New Orleans, LA |
| 3/4/2002 | (1E) No. 18 | vs. (2W) New Mexico State Semifinals | W 73–72 | 27–3 | Lakefront Arena (4,052) New Orleans, LA |
| 3/5/2002 | (1E) No. 18 | vs. (1W) Louisiana–Lafayette Championship | W 76–70 | 28–3 | Lakefront Arena (4,203) New Orleans, LA |
| 2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament ||||||
| 3/14/2002* | (9 MW) No. 19 | vs. (8 MW) No. 24 Stanford First Round | L 68–84 | 28–4 | Edward Jones Dome (26,612) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll (M#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||