# 2024–25 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

The 2024–25 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team,led by first-year head coach Hank Plona, played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky as eleventh-year members of Conference USA (C-USA).

## Previous season

The Hilltoppers finished the 2023–24 season 22–12, 8–8 in C-USA play, to finish in third place. As the No. 3 seed in the C-USA tournament, they defeated New Mexico State in the quarterfinals, Middle Tennessee in the semifinals, and UTEP in the finals to win the C-USA championship. As an automatic qualifier in the NCAA tournament, they earned the No. 15 seed, where they lost to No. 2 seed Marquette in the first round.
On April 1, 2024, Steve Lutz left the program to accept the head coaching job at Oklahoma State.
A day later, on April 2, 2024, the school named Hank Plona as the new head coach to lead the Hilltoppers.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Rodney Howard | 0 | F | 6' 11" | 250 | 5th year | Ypsilanti, MI | Graduated |
| Brandon Newman | 10 | G | 6' 5" | 195 | RS Senior | Valparaiso, IN | Graduate transferred to Oklahoma State |
| Dontaie Allen | 11 | G/F | 6' 6" | 210 | RS Senior | Falmouth, KY | Transferred to Wyoming |
| BJ Marable | 13 | F | 6' 9" | 230 | Senior | Knoxville, TN | Entered transfer portal |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Braxton Bayless | 0 | G | 6' 2" | 175 | Graduate student | Ankeny, IA | Niagara |
| Blaise Keita | 1 | F/C | 6' 11" | 250 | RS Senior | Bamako, Mali | Nebraska |
| Cade Stinnett | 10 | G | 6' 3" | 198 | Junior | Bowling Green, KY | Centre College |
| Leeroy Odiahi | 21 | F/C | 6' 11" | 218 | Senior | Tralee, Ireland | Old Dominion |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kade Unseld G/F | Bowling Green, KY | Warren Central HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 202 lb (92 kg) | Oct 23, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Julius Thedford G | Memphis, TN | Cordova HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Apr 15, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 25, 2024. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 27, 2024* 2:00 p.m. | | UAB | L 79–88 | – | 20 – Faye | 8 – Faye | 4 – Tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,724) Bowling Green, KY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Wichita State | L 84–91 | 0–1 | 28 – Faye | 8 – Faye | 4 – McHenry | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,547) Bowling Green, KY |
| November 9, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Grand Canyon | L 72–74 | 0–2 | 23 – McHenry | 8 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Global Credit Union Arena (7,332) Phoenix, AZ |
| November 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Campbellsville | W 104–76 | 1–2 | 23 – Lander | 9 – Faye | 8 – Jackson | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,312) Bowling Green, KY |
| November 17, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Lipscomb | W 66–61 | 2–2 | 21 – McHenry | 10 – Kalambay | 3 – Kalambay | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,712) Bowling Green, KY |
| November 20, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jackson State BBN Invitational | W 79–62 | 3–2 | 15 – Lander | 10 – Marshall | 5 – Jackson | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,347) Bowling Green, KY |
| November 26, 2024* 5:30 p.m., ESPNU | | at No. 8 Kentucky BBN Invitational | L 68–87 | 3–3 | 18 – Thedford | 8 – Tied | 3 – Lander | Rupp Arena (20,049) Lexington, KY |
| November 30, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Marshall | W 90–82 | 4–3 | 19 – Thedford | 6 – Faye | 5 – Jackson | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,120) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 7, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 79–65 | 5–3 | 19 – Faye | 12 – Faye | 5 – Bayless | Ford Center (5,316) Evansville, IN |
| December 10, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tennessee State | W 84–60 | 6–3 | 19 – Lander | 6 – Tied | 4 – Lander | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,312) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 14, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Murray State | W 81–76 $^{OT}$ | 7–3 | 29 – McHenry | 11 – Marshall Jr. | 2 – Kalambay | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,707) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 17, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Seattle | W 86–73 | 8–3 | 28 – McHenry | 8 – Bayless | 5 – Kalambay | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,702) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 21, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kentucky Wesleyan | W 91–77 | 9–3 | 29 – McHenry | 7 – Marshall Jr. | 5 – Jackson | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,712) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 29, 2024* 7:00 p.m., BTN | | at Michigan | L 64–112 | 9–4 | 18 – McHenry | 5 – Tied | 1 – Tied | Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Conference regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2025 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Liberty | W 71–70 | 10–4 (1–0) | 18 – Thedford | 8 – Marshall | 3 – Tied | Liberty Arena (3,115) Lynchburg, VA |
| January 4, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at FIU | L 66–85 | 10–5 (1–1) | 18 – Thedford | 4 – Tied | 4 – Jackson | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (580) Miami, FL |
| January 9, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | L 67–73 | 10–6 (1–2) | 24 – Kalambay | 8 – Marshall | 3 – Tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,823) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 11, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | W 85–69 | 11–6 (2–2) | 20 – Marshall | 8 – Kalambay | 3 – Tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (3047) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 18, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Middle Tennessee | L 57–71 | 11–7 (2–3) | 16 – McHenry | 7 – Keita | 3 – Kalambay | Murphy Center (6,512) Murfreesboro, TN |
| January 23, 2025 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Louisiana Tech | L 67–77 | 11–8 (2–4) | 21 – McHenry | 8 – Tied | 4 – McHenry | Thomas Assembly Center (1,894) Ruston, LA |
| January 25, 2025 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Sam Houston | W 75–66 | 12–8 (3–4) | 20 – McHenry | 7 – Tied | 4 – Bayless | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (847) Huntsville, TX |
| January 30, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTEP | W 78–74 | 13–8 (4–4) | 28 – Lander | 8 – Marshall | 3 – Tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,947) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 1, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | New Mexico State | W 101–69 | 14–8 (5–4) | 27 – McHenry | 7 – Marshall | 5 – Lander | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,745) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 6, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Kennesaw State | L 69–76 | 14–9 (5–5) | 30 – McHenry | 6 – Tied | 1 – Tied | KSU Convocation Center (2,242) Kennesaw, GA |
| February 8, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | L 83–85 | 14–10 (5–6) | 30 – Lander | 7 – Marshall | 4 – Bayless | Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,169) Jacksonville, AL |
| February 15, 2025 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Middle Tennessee | L 77–87 | 14–11 (5–7) | 20 – McHenry | 10 – Keita | 3 – Tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,647) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 20, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Sam Houston | L 62–78 | 14–12 (5–8) | 11 – Tied | 9 – Keita | 5 – Jackson | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,945) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana Tech | W 64–63 | 15–12 (6–8) | 27 – Bayless | 6 – Marshall | 4 – Tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,123) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 27, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at UTEP | W 80–73 | 16–12 (7–8) | 16 – Marshall | 11 – Lander | 3 – Bayless | Don Haskins Center (4,322) El Paso, TX |
| March 1, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at New Mexico State | L 47–65 | 16–13 (7–9) | 16 – Marshall | 6 – Odiahi | 3 – Tied | Pan American Center (4,864) Las Cruces, NM |
| March 6, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | FIU | W 76–67 | 17–13 (8–9) | 20 – McHenry | 9 – Marshall | 5 – McHenry | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,645) Bowling Green, KY |
| March 8, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Liberty | L 61–90 | 17–14 (8–10) | 18 – Lander | 9 – Marshall | 3 – Lander | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,247) Bowling Green, KY |
| Conference USA tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (7) | vs. (10) FIU First round | L 61–64 | 17–15 | 12 – Bayless | 8 – Marshall Jr. | 2 – Bayless | Von Braun Center (1,244) Huntsville, AL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Source: