# 2011–12 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

The 2011–12 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by fourth year head coach Ken McDonald for the first 16 games of the season before he was fired and were then led by former assistant and new head coach Ray Harper for the remainder of the year. They played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena and are members of the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 16–19, 7–9 in Sun Belt Play to finish in a tie for third place in the East Division. The Hilltoppers were champions of the Sun Belt Basketball tournament to earn the conference's automatic bid into the 2012 NCAA tournament. It was their 22nd tournament appearance and first since 2009. WKU was also the first sub-.500 team to make the NCAA Tournament since Coppin State in 2008. They defeated Mississippi Valley State in the First Four round before falling in the second round to eventual national champion Kentucky. Derrick Gordon made the All-Conference Team; Gordon and Kahil McDonald were selected to the SBC Tournament Team, and George Fant was tournament MVP.

## Roster

| Number | Name | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown |
| 0 | Kene Anyigbo | Forward | 6–5 | 250 | Sophomore | Bellaire, Texas |
| 1 | Kevin Kaspar | Guard | 6–0 | 172 | Freshman | Istanbul, Turkey |
| 3 | Kahlil McDonald | Guard | 6–3 | 200 | Senior | Brooklyn, New York |
| 5 | Derrick Gordon | Guard | 6–3 | 185 | Freshman | Plainfield, New Jersey |
| 10 | Caden Dickerson | Forward | 6–4 | 200 | Junior | Argyle, Texas |
| 11 | Spence Sheldon | Guard | 5–11 | 165 | Freshman | Bowling Green, Kentucky |
| 14 | Jamal Crook | Guard | 6–3 | 175 | Junior | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 15 | O'Karo Akamune | Forward | 6–6 | 205 | Sophomore | Miami, Florida |
| 21 | Nigel Snipes | Forward | 6–5 | 205 | Freshman | Marietta, Georgia |
| 22 | Teeng Akol | Forward | 6–11 | 217 | Junior | Wian, Sudan |
| 24 | Stephon Drane | Forward | 6–7 | 228 | Sophomore | Raleigh, North Carolina |
| 25 | Jay Starks | Guard | 6–3 | 187 | Junior | Scottsville, Kentucky |
| 41 | Vinny Zollo | Forward | 6–8 | 240 | Freshman | Winchester, Kentucky |
| 44 | George Fant | Forward | 6–5 | 245 | Freshman | Bowling Green, Kentucky |
| 52 | T. J. Price | Guard | 6–3 | 220 | Freshman | Slidell, Louisiana |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/05/2011* 7:30 pm | | Xavier (LA) | W 73–61 | | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 11/11/2011* 7:00 pm, FCS | | Saint Joseph's | L 61–72 | 0–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,813) Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/14/2011* 7:00 pm | | Tennessee State | W 52–49 | 1–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,372) Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/17/2011* 11:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Tulsa Charleston Classic First Round | L 49–65 | 1–2 | TD Arena (2,532) Charleston, SC |
| 11/18/2011* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. LSU Charleston Classic Consolation round | L 57–76 | 1–3 | TD Arena (1,711) Charleston, SC |
| 11/20/2011* 11:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. VCU Charleston Classic 7th place Game | L 64–69 | 1–4 | TD Arena (2,455) Charleston, SC |
| 11/23/2011* 7:00 pm, FCS | | VCU | L 45–68 | 1–5 | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,285) Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/26/2011* 7:00 pm | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 72–67 | 2–5 | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,714) Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/01/2011* 7:00 pm, FCS | | Murray State | L 59–70 | 2–6 | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,845) Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/04/2011* 2:00 pm, FCS | | Bowling Green | W 60–53 | 3–6 | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,119) Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/07/2011* 7:00 pm, FCS | | at Southern Illinois | W 62–55 | 4–6 | SIU Arena (3,012) Carbondale, IL |
| 12/10/2011* 6:00 pm, FCS | | at IUPUI | L 76–84 | 4–7 | The Jungle (1,135) Indianapolis, IN |
| 12/17/2011* 7:00 pm, FCS | | Furman BB&T Classic | L 63–76 | 4–8 | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,192) Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/23/2011* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 4 Louisville | L 60–70 $^{Vacated}$ | 4–9 | KFC Yum! Center (22,150) Louisville, KY |
| 12/29/2011 7:30 pm, FCS | | at Louisiana–Monroe | W 76–71 $^{OT}$ | 5–9 (1–0) | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,319) Monroe, LA |
| 12/31/2011 1:00 pm, FCS | | FIU | L 63–81 | 5–10 (1–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,375) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/05/2012 7:00 pm, FCS | | Louisiana–Lafayette | L 70–72 $^{OT}$ | 5–11 (1–2) | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,137) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/07/2012 4:00 pm, FCS | | Troy Ray Harper Head Coach | L 65–67 | 5–12 (1–3) | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,172) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/12/2012 7:00 pm, WKYU | | at North Texas | L 67–84 | 5–13 (1–4) | The Super Pit (3,941) Denton, TX |
| 01/15/2012 2:00 pm | | at Denver | L 65–78 | 5–14 (1–5) | Magness Arena (6,232) Denver, CO |
| 01/21/2012 1:00 pm, FCS | | Arkansas–Little Rock | W 65–53 | 6–14 (2–5) | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,254) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/26/2012 6:00 pm, FCS | | at Florida Atlantic | L 66–67 | 6–15 (2–6) | FAU Arena (1,554) Boca Raton, FL |
| 01/28/2012 6:30 pm, FCS | | at FIU | W 61–51 | 7–15 (3–6) | U.S. Century Bank Arena (1,171) Miami, FL |
| 02/04/2012 7:00 pm, FCS | | South Alabama | W 75–66 | 8–15 (4–6) | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,407) Bowling Green, KY |
| 02/09/2012 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Middle Tennessee | L 64–72 | 8–16 (4–7) | Murphy Center (7,080) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 02/11/2012 1:00 pm, FCS | | at Troy | L 77–83 | 8–17 (4–8) | Trojan Arena (1,472) Troy, AL |
| 02/16/2012 7:00 pm, FCS | | Florida Atlantic | W 64–57 | 9–17 (5–8) | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,588) Bowling Green, KY |
| 02/18/2012 7:00 pm, FCS | | at South Alabama | L 61–66 | 9–18 (5–9) | Mitchell Center (4,126) Mobile, AL |
| 02/23/2012 7:00 pm, FCS | | Arkansas State | W 79–76 | 10–18 (6–9) | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,298) Bowling Green, KY |
| 02/25/2012 5:00 pm, Sun Belt Network | | Middle Tennessee | W 73–67 | 11–18 (7–9) | E. A. Diddle Arena (7,326) Bowling Green, KY |
| 2012 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament ||||||
| 03/03/2012 8:30 pm | (7) | vs. (10) FIU First Round | W 67–63 | 12–18 | Summit Arena (3,820) Hot Springs, AR |
| 03/04/2012 8:30 pm | (7) | vs. (2) Arkansas–Little Rock Quarterfinals | W 68–63 | 13–18 | Summit Arena (4,365) Hot Springs, AR |
| 03/05/2012 8:30 pm, Sun Belt Network | (7) | vs. (3) Denver Semifinals | W 67–63 | 14–18 | Summit Arena (3,708) Hot Springs, AR |
| 03/06/2012 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | (7) | vs. (5) North Texas Championship Game | W 74–70 | 15–18 | Summit Arena (4,216) Hot Springs, AR |
| 2012 NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/13/2012* 5:40 pm, truTV | (16 S) | vs. (16 S) Mississippi Valley State First Four | W 59–58 | 16–18 | UD Arena (8,510) Dayton, OH |
| 03/15/2012* 5:50 pm, TBS | (16 S) | vs. (1 S) No. 1 Kentucky Second Round | L 66–81 | 16–19 | KFC Yum! Center (22,131) Louisville, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region Louisville’s win was later vacated by the NCAA due to recruiting violations by the Louisville basketball program.. ||||||