# 2014–15 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

The 2014–15 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by head coach Ray Harper in his third season. They played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena and were first year members of Conference USA. They finished the season 20–12, 12–6 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament where they lost to UAB. Despite having 20 wins they didn't play in a postseason tournament.

## Previous season

The Hilltoppers finished the season 20–12, 12–6 in Sun Belt play to finish in second place. They lost in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament where they lost to Louisiana–Lafayette. Despite having 20 wins, they did not play in a postseason tournament.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Payton Hulsey | 0 | G | 6'5" | 206 | Freshman | Memphis, TN | Transferred to Eastern Florida State |
| Caden Dickerson | 10 | F | 6'5" | 205 | RS Senior | Argyle, TX | Graduated |
| Aaron Adeoye | 11 | F | 6'7" | 237 | Junior | Marion, IL | Transferred to Southeast Missouri State |
| Brandon Harris | 12 | G | 6'1" | 173 | Senior | Oklahoma City, OK | Graduated |
| O'Karo Akamune | 15 | F | 6'7" | 210 | Senior | Miami, FL | Graduated |
| Daouda Soumaoro | 33 | F | 6'9" | 236 | RS Sophomore | Bamako, Mali | Transferred to Mobile |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Ayinde Sprewell | 0 | G | 6'3" | 195 | Junior | Orlando, FL | Junior college transfer from Daytona State College. |

## Class of 2014 recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jordan Green SF | Lexington, KY | Henry Clay High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Apr 14, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 70 ||||||
| Justin Johnson PF | Hazard, KY | Perry County Central High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Oct 14, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 68 ||||||
| Avery Patterson PG | Marietta, GA | Joseph Wheeler High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Nov 11, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Derrick Clayton PF | Castro Valley, CA | Elev8 Basketball Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 11, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: 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: "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 10, 2014. ||||||

## Class of 2015 recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Chris McNeal PG | Memphis, TN | South Side High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Jul 7, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: 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: "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 16, 2014. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/10/2014 7:00 pm | | Pikeville | W 105–84 | – | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,487) Bowling Green, KY |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/15/2014* 4:00 pm | | Austin Peay | W 77–70 | 1–0 | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,572) Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/18/2014* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Minnesota NIT Season Tip-Off | L 54–76 | 1–1 | Williams Arena (10,763) Minneapolis, MN |
| 11/22/2014* 7:00 pm | | Belmont | L 63–64 | 1–2 | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,194) Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/25/2014* 6:00 pm | | at Stony Brook NIT Season Tip-Off | L 61–71 | 1–3 | Island Federal Credit Union Arena (2,252) Stony Brook, NY |
| 11/27/2014* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Saint Joseph's NIT Season Tip-Off | W 62–59 | 2–3 | Madison Square Garden (1,266) New York City, NY |
| 12/03/2014* 7:00 pm, ASN | | Bowling Green | W 62–52 | 3–3 | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,852) Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/06/2014* 5:30 pm, ASN | | at Murray State | L 81–93 | 3–4 | CFSB Center (5,312) Murray, KY |
| 12/13/2014* 3:30 pm | | at Ole Miss | W 81–74 | 4–4 | Tad Smith Coliseum (6,692) Oxford, MS |
| 12/17/2014* 7:00 pm | | Chicago State | W 75–60 | 5–4 | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,876) Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/20/2014* 11:00 am, FS1 | | No. 4 Louisville | L 67–76 $^{Vacated}$ | 5–5 | E. A. Diddle Arena (7,598) Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/27/2014* 7:00 pm | | Brescia | W 89–42 | 6–5 | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,903) Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/29/2014* 7:00 pm | | Alice Lloyd | W 104–62 | 7–5 | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,722) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/04/2015 2:00 pm | | Marshall | W 81–62 | 8–5 (1–0) | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,597) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/08/2015 7:00 pm | | Charlotte | W 74–66 | 9–5 (2–0) | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,606) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/10/2015 4:30 pm, ASN | | No. 25 Old Dominion | W 72–65 | 10–5 (3–0) | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,123) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/15/2015 6:00 pm | | at Florida Atlantic | W 88–85 $^{OT}$ | 11–5 (4–0) | FAU Arena (1,491) Boca Raton, FL |
| 01/17/2015 5:00 pm | | at FIU | W 65–58 | 12–5 (5–0) | FIU Arena (1,370) Miami, FL |
| 01/22/2015 8:00 pm, FSN | | UTEP | W 71–66 $^{OT}$ | 13–5 (6–0) | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,414) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/24/2015 2:00 pm | | UTSA | W 83–74 | 14–5 (7–0) | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,839) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/29/2015 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Louisiana Tech | L 56–69 | 14–6 (7–1) | Thomas Assembly Center (4,029) Ruston, LA |
| 01/31/2015 7:00 pm | | at Southern Miss | W 73–62 | 15–6 (8–1) | Reed Green Coliseum (3,608) Hattiesburg, MS |
| 02/05/2015 7:00 pm | | North Texas | W 65–59 | 16–6 (9–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,862) Bowling Green, KY |
| 02/07/2015 7:00 pm | | Rice | L 68–72 | 16–7 (9–2) | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,071) Bowling Green, KY |
| 02/14/2015 4:30 pm, ASN | | at Marshall | L 82–87 | 16–8 (9–3) | Cam Henderson Center (6,135) Huntington, WV |
| 02/19/2015 7:00 pm | | at UAB | L 66–71 | 16–9 (9–4) | Bartow Arena (3,892) Birmingham, AL |
| 02/22/2015 12:00 pm, FSN | | at Middle Tennessee | L 66–68 | 16–10 (9–5) | Murphy Center (5,227) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 02/26/2015 7:00 pm | | Florida Atlantic | W 71–68 | 17–10 (10–5) | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,645) Bowling Green, KY |
| 02/28/2015 7:00 pm | | FIU | W 77–61 | 18–10 (11–5) | E. A. Diddle Arena (7,119) Bowling Green, KY |
| 03/05/2015 6:00 pm | | at Charlotte | W 88–84 $^{OT}$ | 19–10 (12–5) | Dale F. Halton Arena (3,526) Charlotte, NC |
| 03/07/2015 4:30 pm, ASN | | at Old Dominion | L 52–75 | 19–11 (12–6) | Ted Constant Convocation Center (8,472) Norfolk, VA |
| Conference USA Tournament ||||||
| 03/11/2015 6:00 pm, ASN | (5) | vs. (12) Marshall First round | W 59–45 | 20–11 | Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex Birmingham, AL |
| 03/12/2015 6:00 pm, ASN | (5) | vs. (4) UAB Quarterfinal | L 52–53 | 20–12 | Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex Birmingham, AL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Louisville’s win was later vacated by the NCAA due to recruiting violations by the Louisville basketball program.. ||||||