# 1978–79 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

The 1978–79 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were members of the Ohio Valley Conference and led by future National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame coach Gene Keady in his first year as head coach. WKU finished tied for second in the OVC regular season. The conference tournament was hosted by regular season champion Eastern Kentucky. Western Kentucky had defeated EKU twice during the season, but their third meeting in the conference tournament championship ended in controversy. The Hilltoppers held a one-point lead when the game clock expired, however, due to crowd noise, the referees and time keeper did not hear the buzzer. A foul was called on WKU with no time left and Eastern Kentucky made two free throws to win the game. A review of game film afterwards showed that the foul was called 3.5 seconds after the game clock had ended. Western Kentucky appealed to the OVC Commissioner, however, their appeal was denied. This perceived wrong was a factor in Western Kentucky's decision to leave the OVC in 1982. Greg Jackson and Trey Trumbo were named to the All-OVC Team, and Jackson was OVC Tournament MVP.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/25/1978* | | No. 1 Duke | L 53–78 | 0–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/27/1978* | | Jacksonville State | W 71–59 | 1–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/30/1978* | | at Florida State | L 59–70 | 1–2 | Tully Gymnasium Tallahassee, FL |
| 12/2/1978* | | Bowling Green State | W 70–48 | 2–2 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/4/1978* | | Mississippi College | W 56–53 | 3–2 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/9/1978* | | at Evansville | W 63–60 | 4–2 | Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, IN |
| 12/15/1978* | | Davidson | W 103–81 | 5–2 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/18/1978* | | Illinois State | L 74–75 $^{OT}$ | 5–3 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/30/1978* | | at Butler | W 71–65 | 6–3 | Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| 1/6/1979* | | Wisconsin-Milwaukee | W 89–66 | 7–3 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/10/1979* | | at La Salle | L 66–90 | 7–4 | Palestra Philadelphia, PA |
| 1/15/1979 | | at Tennessee Tech | L 68–75 | 7–5 (0-1) | Eblen Center Cookeville, TN |
| 1/17/1979 | | Morehead State | W 78–76 | 8–5 (1-1) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/20/1979 | | at Murray State | L 65–67 | 8–6 (1-2) | Racer Arena Murray, KY |
| 1/22/1979 | | Austin Peay | W 85–61 | 9–6 (2-2) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/24/1979* | | at Dayton | W 78–72 | 10–6 | UD Arena Dayton, OH |
| 2/21/1980 | | Middle Tennessee | W 72–70 $^{2OT}$ | 11–6 (3-2) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/29/1979 | | Eastern Kentucky | W 70–65 | 12–6 (4-2) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/1/1979* | | CCNY | W 104–50 | 13–6 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/3/1979 | | at Morehead State | L 81–83 | 13–7 (4-3) | Wetherby Gymnasium Morehead, KY |
| 2/5/1979 | | at Eastern Kentucky | W 70–65 | 14–7 (5-3) | Alumni Coliseum Richmond, KY |
| 2/10/1979* | | at East Tennessee | L 64–65 | 14–8 | Memorial Center Johnson City, TN |
| 2/12/1979 | | Tennessee Tech | W 80–66 | 15–8 (6-3) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/17/1979 | | at Austin Peay | W 78–66 | 16–8 (7-3) | Dunn Center Clarksville, TN |
| 2/19/1979 | | Murray State | L 64–66 | 16–9 (7-4) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/24/1979 | | at Middle Tennessee | L 76–81 | 16–10 (7-5) | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN |
| 1979 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament ||||||
| 3/2/1979 | (2) | vs. (3) Morehead State Semifinals | W 90–85 | 17–10 | Alumni Coliseum Richmond, KY |
| 3/3/1979 | (2) | at (1) Eastern Kentucky Championship | L 77–78 | 17–11 | Alumni Coliseum Richmond, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||