# 2022–23 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

The 2022–23 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by head coach Rick Stansbury in his seventh season and played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky as ninth-year members of Conference USA. They finished the season 17–16, 8–12 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for seventh place. As the No. 8 seed in the C-USA tournament, they defeated UTEP in the first round before losing to Florida Atlantic in the quarterfinals.
On March 11, 2023, the school announced that head coach Rick Stansbury had resigned. On March 18, the school named Texas A&M–Corpus Christi head coach Steve Lutz the team's new head coach.

## Previous season

The Hilltoppers finished the 2021–22 season 19–13, 11–7 in C-USA play to finish tied for second the West Division. They quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament to Louisiana Tech.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jaylen Butz | 1 | F | 6'9" | 230 | RS Senior | Fort Wayne, IN | Graduated |
| Josh Anderson | 4 | G | 6'6" | 190 | GS Senior | Baton Rouge, LA | Graduated |
| Sherman Brashear | 13 | G | 6'5" | 180 | Sophomore | Dallas, TX | Transferred to Texas–Rio Grande Valley |
| Bailey Conrad | 32 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Sophomore | Corydon, IN | Walk-on; transferred to The Citadel |
| Isaiah Cozart | 50 | F | 6'7" | 240 | Junior | Richmond, KY | Transferred to Eastern Kentucky |
| Camron Justice | 55 | G | 6'3" | 185 | GS Senior | Hindman, KY | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Fallou Diagne | 1 | F | 6'11" | 200 | RS Sophomore | Senegal, Africa | Northwest Florida State College |
| Jordan Rawls | 2 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Senior | Chattanooga, TN | Georgia State |
| Khristian Lander | 4 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Junior | Evansville, Indiana | Indiana |
| Dontaie Allen | 11 | G | 6'6" | 205 | RS Junior | Falmouth, KY | Kentucky |
| Emmanuel Akot | 13 | G | 6'8" | 210 | GS Senior | Winnipeg, MB | Boise State |
| Tyrone Marshall, Jr. | 24 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Junior | Nashville, TN | Colby CC |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2022 recruiting class

There were no incoming recruits for the class of 2022.

#### 2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2021) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Riley Allenspach #86 C | Cornelius, NC | Providence Day School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Aug 5, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Teagan Moore SG | Owenton, KY | Owen County High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jul 13, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 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: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 17, 2022. |||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 2, 2022* 7:00 p.m. | | Montevallo | W 93–65 | | 14 – Hamilton | 9 – Hamilton | 5 – McKnight | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,011) Bowling Green, KY |
| November 5, 2022* 3:00 p.m. | | Georgetown (KY) | W 88–68 | | 17 – Hamilton | 8 – McKnight | 8 – Rawls | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,021) Bowling Green, KY |
| Non-conference Regular season |||||||||
| November 10, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Eastern Kentucky | W 66–60 | 1–0 | 21 – Frampton | 9 – Hamilton | 6 – McKnight | Baptist Health Arena (6,303) Richmond, KY |
| November 12, 2022* 6:00 p.m. | | Kentucky State | W 127–61 | 2–0 | 20 – Frampton | 10 – Hamilton | 10 – Akot | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,810) Bowling Green, KY |
| November 15, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Indianapolis | W 68–50 | 3–0 | 16 – McKnight | 11 – Sharp | 3 – Tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,208) Bowling Green, KY |
| November 21, 2022* 12:30 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Akron Cayman Islands Classic quarterfinals | L 53–72 | 3–1 | 13 – Akot | 5 – McKnight | 4 – Frampton | John Gray Gymnasium George Town, Cayman Islands |
| November 22, 2022* 10:00 a.m., FloSports | | vs. Illinois State Cayman Islands Classic consolation second round | W 78–66 | 4–1 | 14 – Tied | 5 – Tied | 5 – McKnight | John Gray Gymnasium George Town, Cayman Islands |
| November 23, 2022* 12:30 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Tulane Cayman Islands Classic 5th place game | W 71–65 | 5–1 | 19 – Frampton | 7 – Frampton | 8 – McKnight | John Gray Gymnasium George Town, Cayman Islands |
| November 26, 2022* 3:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | South Carolina State | W 90–64 | 6–1 | 18 – Frampton | 9 – Hamilton | 10 – McKnight | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,365) Bowling Green, KY |
| November 30, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Austin Peay | W 75–74 | 7–1 | 20 – Akot | 9 – Sharp | 7 – McKnight | Dunn Center (1,833) Clarksville, TN |
| December 10, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | Wright State | W 64–60 | 8–1 | 32 – McKnight | 7 – Hamilton | 3 – McKnight | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,010) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 14, 2022* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Louisville | L 83–94 | 8–2 | 25 – McKnight | 12 – Hamilton | 4 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (12,417) Louisville, KY |
| December 22, 2022* 6:00 p.m., SECN | | at South Carolina | L 58–65 | 8–3 | 28 – McKnight | 8 – McKnight | 1 – Tied | Colonial Life Arena (9,163) Columbia, SC |
| Conference USA regular season |||||||||
| December 29, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Rice | L 78–81 | 8–4 (0–1) | 18 – Hamilton | 8 – Sharp | 5 – Akot | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,018) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 31, 2022 3:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Middle Tennessee | L 60–65 | 8–5 (0–2) | 14 – Akot | 8 – Sharp | 6 – McKnight | Murphy Center (3,124) Murfreesboro, TN |
| January 5, 2023 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | North Texas | L 66–70 | 8–6 (0–3) | 29 – McKnight | 5 – Tied | 2 – Tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,024) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 7, 2023 3:00 p.m., Stadium | | at UTSA | W 74–64 | 9–6 (1–3) | 16 – Akot | 12 – Sharp | 5 – Hamilton | Convocation Center (922) San Antonio, TX |
| January 11, 2023 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at UAB | W 80–78 | 10–6 (2–3) | 27 – McKnight | 8 – Sharp | 4 – Tied | Bartow Arena (4,353) Birmingham, AL |
| January 14, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | FIU | W 70–59 | 11–6 (3–3) | 14 – McKnight | 10 – Sharp | 4 – McKnight | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,743) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 16, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | No. 24 Florida Atlantic | L 62–76 | 11–7 (3–4) | 15 – McKnight | 9 – McKnight | 4 – Rawls | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,206) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 19, 2023 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Louisiana Tech | L 74–85 $^{OT}$ | 11–8 (3–5) | 15 – Sharp | 11 – Sharp | 8 – McKnight | Thomas Assembly Center (2,497) Ruston, LA |
| January 21, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Charlotte | L 71–75 | 11–9 (3–6) | 25 – Rawls | 7 – McKnight | 3 – McKnight | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,793) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 26, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at FIU | L 69–78 | 11–10 (3–7) | 23 – McKnight | 7 – Hamilton | 7 – Rawls | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,417) Miami, FL |
| January 28, 2023 3:00 p.m., Stadium | | at No. 21 Florida Atlantic | L 63–70 | 11–11 (3–8) | 17 – Rawls | 14 – Sharp | 3 – Rawls | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,012) Boca Raton, FL |
| February 2, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTSA | W 81–74 | 12–11 (4–8) | 22 – Allen | 7 – Tied | 5 – Akot | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,226) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 4, 2023 3:00 p.m., Stadium | | UTEP | W 74–69 | 13–11 (5–8) | 25 – Allen | 11 – Sharp | 4 – McKnight | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,169) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 9, 2023 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Middle Tennessee | W 93–89 | 14–11 (6–8) | 33 – McKnight | 6 – Hamilton | 5 – McKnight | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,019) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 16, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Charlotte | L 64–68 $^{OT}$ | 14–12 (6–9) | 24 – Allen | 10 – Sharp | 3 – McKnight | Dale F. Halton Arena (2,674) Charlotte, NC |
| February 18, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Rice | L 77–83 | 14–13 (6–10) | 21 – McKnight | 8 – McKnight | 6 – Rawls | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,141) Houston, TX |
| February 23, 2023 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Louisiana Tech | W 76–66 | 15–13 (7–10) | 19 – McKnight | 11 – Sharp | 3 – Tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,156) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 25, 2023 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | UAB | L 60–72 | 15–14 (7–11) | 20 – Hamilton | 7 – Akot | 6 – McKnight | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,623) Bowling Green, KY |
| March 2, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UTEP | W 73–68 | 16–14 (8–11) | 24 – McKnight | 9 – Sharp | 3 – McKnight | Don Haskins Center (3,725) El Paso, TX |
| March 4, 2023 2:00 p.m., Stadium | | at North Texas | L 33–67 | 16–15 (8–12) | 8 – Sharp | 11 – Sharp | 2 – Marshall | The Super Pit (5,002) Denton, TX |
| Conference USA Tournament |||||||||
| March 8, 2023 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (8) | vs. (9) UTEP First round | W 73–67 | 17–15 | 16 – Sharp | 8 – Sharp | 7 – McKnight | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| March 9, 2023 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (8) | vs. (1) Florida Atlantic Quarterfinals | L 51–75 | 17–16 | 18 – McKnight | 11 – Sharp | 2 – McKnight | Ford Center at The Star (1,773) Frisco, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Source