# 1949–50 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers basketball team

The 1949–50 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky State College (now known as Western Kentucky University) during the 1949-50 NCAA University Division Basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Edgar Diddle and All-American center Bob Lavoy. The team then won the Ohio Valley Conference season championship and appeared in the 1950 National Invitation Tournament. During this period, the NIT was considered to be on par with the NCAA tournament. Lavoy and Johnny Givens were named to the All-Conference team, Lavoy was also selected to the OVC All-Tournament team.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 12/3/1949 | | at Morehead State | W 58–47 | 1–0 (1-0) | Button Auditorium Morehead, KY |
| 12/5/1949* | | Kentucky Wesleyan | W 89–45 | 2–0 | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/8/1949* | | vs. Bowling Green State | W 78–57 | 3–0 | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY |
| 12/10/1949* | | at Xavier | W 59–57 | 4–0 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/13/1949* | | Georgetown (KY) | W 67–48 | 5–0 | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/17/1949* | | at Cincinnati | L 54–55 | 5–1 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/26/1949* | | at Canisius | W 74–61 | 6–1 | Buffalo, NY |
| 12/29/1948* | | vs. Long Island | L 66–73 | 6–2 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 1/2/1950* | | at La Salle | L 69–80 | 6–3 | Wister Hall Philadelphia, PA |
| 1/7/1950 | | Eastern Kentucky | W 86–61 | 7–3 (2-0) | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/9/1950* | | Xavier | W 63–51 | 8–3 | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/11/1950* | No. 14 | at Louisville | L 59–70 | 8–4 | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY |
| 1/14/1950 | No. 14 | at Murray State | W 58–52 | 9–4 (3-0) | Carr Health Building Murray, KY |
| 1/16/1950* | No. 14 | No. 12 Cincinnati | W 84–59 | 10–4 | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/18/1950 | No. 17 | at Evansville | W 73–69 | 11–4 (4-0) | Evansville, IN |
| 1/21/1950 | No. 17 | at Eastern Kentucky | W 69–51 | 12–4 (5-0) | Weaver Gymnasium Richmond, KY |
| 1/27/1950* | No. 17 | at Miami | W 66–61 | 13–4 | Miami, FL |
| 1/28/1950* | No. 17 | at Miami | W 78–61 | 14–4 | Miami, FL |
| 1/30/1950* | No. 17 | at Tampa | W 79–59 | 15–4 | Tampa, FL |
| 1/31/1950* | No. 14 | No. 15 Louisville | W 84–62 | 16–4 | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/7/1950 | No. 11 | Morehead State | W 77–65 | 17–4 (6-0) | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/9/1950* | No. 11 | vs. Bowling Green State | W 103–87 | 18–4 | Cleveland Arena Cleveland, OH |
| 2/11/1950 | No. 11 | Murray State | W 54–50 | 19–4 (7-0) | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/15/1950* | No. 9 | Miami | W 79–57 | 20–4 | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/16/1950* | No. 9 | Miami | W 83–47 | 21–4 | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/18/1950 | No. 9 | Evansville | W 81–56 | 22–4 (8-0) | Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY |
| 1950 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament ||||||
| 2/24/1950 | No. 9 | vs. Tennessee Tech OVC Tournament | W 79–60 | 23–4 | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY |
| 2/25/1950 | No. 9 | vs. Murray State OVC Tournament Semifinal | W 58–54 | 24–4 | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY |
| 2/26/1950 | No. 7 | vs. Eastern Kentucky OVC Tournament Final | L 50–62 | 24–5 | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY |
| 1950 National Invitation Tournament ||||||
| 3/11/1950* | No. 8 | vs. Niagara NIT | W 79–72 | 25–5 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 3/13/1950* | No. 8 | vs. No. 9 St. John's (NY) NIT Quarterfinal | L 60–69 | 25–6 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||