# 2018–19 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

The 2018–19 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers, led by third-year head coach Rick Stansbury, played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky as fifth-year members of Conference USA (C-USA). The team finished the season tied for second place in the conference and were defeated in the championship game of the conference tournament.

## Previous season

The Hilltoppers finished the 2017–18 season with 27–11, 14–4 in C-USA play, to finish in third place. They defeated UAB and Old Dominion to advance to the championship game of the C-USA tournament where they lost to Marshall. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Boston College, USC and Oklahoma State to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Utah.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Tyler Miller | 0 | G | 6' 4" | 190 | Senior | Louisville, KY | Graduated |
| Darius Thompson | 15 | G | 6' 4" | 190 | RS Senior | Murfreesboro, TN | Graduated |
| Dwight Coleby | 22 | F | 6' 9" | 245 | RS Senior | Nassau, Bahamas | Graduated |
| Justin Johnson | 23 | F | 6' 7" | 245 | Senior | Hazard, KY | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Matthew Horton | 5 | F | 6' 11" | | Junior | Tuscaloosa, AL | Junior college transferred from Shelton State CC |
| Desean Murray | 13 | F | 6' 3" | 225 | Graduate student | Stanley, NC | Transferred from Auburn. Will be eligible to play immediately since Murray graduated from Auburn. |
| Patrick Murphy | | F | 6' 6" | 170 | Junior | Franklin, TN | Junior college transferred from Martin Methodist College |
| Carson Williams | | F | 6' 5" | 230 | Junior | Owenton, KY | Transferred from Northern Kentucky. Under NCAA transfer rules, Williams will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Charles Bassey #3 C | San Antonio, TX | ASPIRE Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jun 13, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 92 ||||||
| Galen Smith PF | Bay St. Louis, MS | Bay High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Nov 9, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Dalano Banton SG | Toronto, ON | Redemption Christian Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 14, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Jeremiah Gambrell Jr. SG | Houston, TX | Madison High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Nov 14, 2017 |
| Recruiting 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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 30, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | Campbellsville | W 91–66 | | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| November 3, 2018* 2:00 p.m. | | Kentucky Wesleyan | W 96–71 | | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2018* 9:30 p.m., ESPNU | | at No. 25 Washington | L 55–73 | 0–1 | Alaska Airlines Arena (5,721) Seattle, WA |
| November 10, 2018* 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | UT Martin Myrtle Beach Invitational campus-site game | W 86–71 | 1–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,815) Bowling Green, KY |
| November 15, 2018* 4:00 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. Valparaiso Myrtle Beach Invitational quarterfinals | W 81–73 | 2–1 | HTC Center (3,620) Conway, SC |
| November 16, 2018* 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. West Virginia Myrtle Beach Invitational semifinals | W 63–57 | 3–1 | HTC Center (3,370) Conway, SC |
| November 18, 2018* 6:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. UCF Myrtle Beach Invitational championship | L 62–78 | 3–2 | HTC Center (3,018) Conway, SC |
| November 24, 2018* 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Indiana State | L 54–63 | 3–3 | Hulman Center (3,032) Terre Haute, IN |
| December 1, 2018* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tennessee State | W 88–74 | 4–3 | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,071) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 5, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Missouri State | L 78–84 | 4–4 | JQH Arena (4,893) Springfield, MO |
| December 8, 2018* 2:30 p.m., SECN | | at Arkansas | W 78–77 | 5–4 | Bud Walton Arena (14,488) Fayetteville, AR |
| December 16, 2018* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Troy | L 81–87 | 5–5 | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,285) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 19, 2018* 6:30 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Belmont | L 74–80 | 5–6 | Curb Event Center (4,124) Nashville, TN |
| December 22, 2018* 2:00 p.m., Facebook | | Saint Mary's | W 71–68 | 6–6 | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,026) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 29, 2018* 4:30 p.m., CBSSN | | No. 15 Wisconsin | W 83–76 | 7–6 | E. A. Diddle Arena (7,614) Bowling Green, KY |
| Conference USA regular season ||||||
| January 3, 2019 6:30 p.m., beIN | | at Charlotte | W 68–50 | 8–6 (1–0) | Dale F. Halton Arena (3,019) Charlotte, NC |
| January 5, 2019 6:00 p.m., Facebook | | at Old Dominion | L 66–69 | 8–7 (1–1) | Ted Constant Convocation Center (6,928) Norfolk, VA |
| January 12, 2019 6:00 p.m., Facebook | | at Marshall | L 69–70 | 8–8 (1–2) | Cam Henderson Center (7,687) Huntington, WV |
| January 17, 2019 7:00 p.m., beIN | | FIU | L 76–77 | 8–9 (1–3) | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,102) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 19, 2019 2:00 p.m., Facebook | | Florida Atlantic | W 72–66 | 9–9 (2–3) | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,963) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 21, 2019 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Marshall | W 68–59 | 10–9 (3–3) | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,369) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 24, 2019 7:00 p.m., Stadium | | at Southern Miss | W 66–63 | 11–9 (4–3) | Reed Green Coliseum (2,568) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 26, 2019 4:00 p.m., Facebook | | at Louisiana Tech | L 50–62 | 11–10 (4–4) | Thomas Assembly Center (3,917) Ruston, LA |
| January 31, 2019 7:00 p.m., Facebook | | UTSA | W 96–88 $^{1OT}$ | 12–10 (5–4) | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,983) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 2, 2019 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTEP | W 76–59 | 13–10 (6–4) | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,397) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 7, 2019 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Rice | W 92–85 $^{2OT}$ | 14–10 (7–4) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,757) Houston, TX |
| February 9, 2019 5:00 p.m., Facebook | | at North Texas | W 62–59 | 15–10 (8–4) | UNT Coliseum (8,195) Denton, TX |
| February 14, 2019 7:00 p.m., Facebook | | Middle Tennessee 100 Miles of Hate | W 71–63 | 16–10 (9–4) | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,044) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 16, 2019 2:00 p.m., Facebook | | UAB | L 60–68 | 16–11 (9–5) | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,839) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 23, 2019 12:00 p.m., Stadium | | at Old Dominion | L 63–67 | 16–12 (9–6) | Ted Constant Convocation Center (7,324) Norfolk, VA |
| February 28, 2019 6:30 p.m., beIn | | at UAB | W 73–67 | 17–12 (10–6) | Bartow Arena (3,021) Birmingham, AL |
| March 3, 2019 2:00 p.m., Facebook | | Southern Miss | W 76–71 | 18–12 (11–6) | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,408) Bowling Green, KY |
| March 6, 2019 6:30 p.m., beIn | | UTSA | L 76–81 $^{OT}$ | 18–13 (11–7) | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,411) Bowling Green, KY |
| Conference USA tournament ||||||
| March 14, 2019 8:30 p.m., Stadium | (2) | vs. (10) North Texas Quarterfinals | W 67–51 | 19–13 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| March 15, 2019 3:00 p.m., CBSSN | (2) | vs. (3) Southern Miss Semifinals | W 70–59 | 20–13 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| March 16, 2019 7:30 p.m., CBSSN | (2) | vs. (1) Old Dominion Championship | L 56–62 | 20–14 | Ford Center at The Star (3,017) Frisco, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
Source: