# Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball

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 2024. Hank Plona was announced as the team's current head coach on April 2, 2024.
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.

## Conference affiliation history

* 1914–15 to 1925–26 – Independent
* 1926–27 to 1947–48 – Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Association & Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
* 1948–49 to 1981–82 – Ohio Valley Conference
* 1982–83 to 2013–14 – Sun Belt Conference
* 2014–15 to present – Conference USA

## Postseason

WKU has appeared in 41 national postseason tournaments and in five national final fours. 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 24 times. Their combined record is 19–25. 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 |
| 2024 | No. 15 | First Round | No. 2 Marquette | L 69–87 |
* Vacated by the NCAA

### NCAA Tournament seeding history

The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.
| Years→ | '80 | '81 | '86 | '87 | '93 | '94 | '95 | '01 | '02 | '03 | '08 | '09 | '12 | '13 | '24 |
| Seeds→ | 10 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 15 |

### NIT results

The Hilltoppers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 15 times. When the NIT started, it was considered the premiere national 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 also made the NIT Final Four in 2018. Their combined record is 13–16.
| 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 |
| 2021 | First Round Quarterfinals | Saint Mary's Louisiana Tech | W 69–67 L 65–72 |

### Other tournament results

In 1936 Western Kentucky was invited to the National Olympic Playoffs representing the South. They played two games against the Southwest representative, Arkansas, in Little Rock, AK, losing both games by scores of 36–43 and 30–38.
The Hilltoppers were scheduled to appear in the 1938 National Intercollegiate Basketball tournament; however, the team was unable to make the trip and withdrew from the tournament. The NAIA lists the game as a forfeit, but Western Kentucky does not recognize the contest as part of their official record.
The Hilltoppers appeared in the 1951 National Campus Basketball Tournament where they were defeated by Bradley 71–75 in the first round.

## Milestones

| Date | Milestone | Rival | Result |
| 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

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

* Hank Plona - Head Coach

## Former Head Coaches

* L.T Smith (1922–1922)
* E. A. Diddle (1923–1964)
* John Oldham (1965–1971)
* Jim Richards (1972–1978)
* Gene Keady (1979–1980)
* Clem Haskins (1981–1986)
* Murray Arnold (1987–1990)
* Ralph Willard (1991–1994)
* Matt Kilcullen (1995–1998)
* Al Seibert (1998)
* Dennis Felton (1999–2003)
* Darrin Horn (2004–2008)
* Ken McDonald (basketball) (2009–2012)
* Ray Harper (2012–2016)
* Rick Stansbury (2017–2023)
* Steve Lutz (2023–2024)

## All-Americans

| Year | Name | Position | Ref. |
| 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***, Lindy's Basketball Annual) |
| 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***) |
| 2021 | Charles Bassey | Center | (Associated Press***, Basketball Times*, USBWA**, Lute Olsen) |
| *Second team – **Third team – ***Honorable mention ||||

## Retired jerseys

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.
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers retired jerseys :
| No. | Player | Years | Jer. ret. |
| 22 | Clem Haskins | 1964–1967 | 2017 |
| 32 | Courtney Lee | 2004–2008 | 2017 |
| 35 | Darel Carrier | 1961–1964 | 2014 |
| 41 | Tom Marshall | 1951–1954 | |
| 42 | John Oldham | 1942–1943; 1947–1949 | 2011 |
| 42 | Carlisle Towery | 1938–1941 | 2003 |
| 44 | Jim McDaniels | 1968–1971 | 2000 |
| 45 | Bobby Rascoe | 1959–1962 | |
| — | E. A. Diddle | Coach, 1922–1964 | |
| — | Wes Strader | Radio voice | |