# 1979–80 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

The 1979–80 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were members of the Ohio Valley Conference and led by future National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame coach Gene Keady. WKU won the OVC regular season and tournament championships and received the conference's automatic bid to the 1980 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament. Craig McCormick and Bill Bryant made the All-OVC Team, and McCormick was selected as OVC Tournament MVP.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| 12/1/1979* | | Rollins | W 104–73 | 1–0 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/3/1979* | | at Illinois State | L 55–66 | 1–1 | Horton Field House Normal, IL |
| 12/6/1979* | | at Duquesne | L 73–84 | 1–2 | Mellon Arena Pittsburgh, PA |
| 12/8/1979* | | Florida A&M | W 87–60 | 2–2 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/13/1979* | | vs. Evansville Holiday Classic | W 75–61 | 3–2 | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| 12/14/1979* | | at No. 12 Louisville Holiday Classic | L 74–96 | 3–3 | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| 12/29/1979* | | Florida State | L 65–67 | 3–4 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/3/1980* | | Butler | W 66–62 | 4–4 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/5/1980* | | at Louisiana Tech | W 63–59 | 5–4 | Memorial Gym Ruston, LA |
| 1/7/1980* | | East Tennessee | W 71–59 | 6–4 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/10/1980* | | Akron | W 92–58 | 7–4 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/12/1980 | | Tennessee Tech | W 97–72 | 8–4 (1-0) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/17/1980 | | Murray State | W 68–48 | 9–4 (2-0) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/19/1980 | | at Austin Peay | W 95–71 | 10–4 (3-0) | Dunn Center Clarksville, TN |
| 1/21/1980* | | Dayton | W 71–65 | 11–4 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/24/1980 | | at Middle Tennessee | W 62–58 | 12–4 (4-0) | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN |
| 1/26/1980 | | at Eastern Kentucky | L 82–84 | 12–5 (4-1) | Alumni Coliseum Richmond, KY |
| 1/31/1980 | | Morehead State | W 86–79 | 13–5 (5-1) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/2/1980 | | Eastern Kentucky | W 74–62 | 14–5 (6-1) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/7/1980* | | at Akron | W 70–68 | 15–5 | James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH |
| 2/9/1980 | | at Tennessee Tech | W 75–56 | 16–5 (7-1) | Eblen Center Cookeville, TN |
| 2/11/1980 | | at Morehead State | L 73–76 | 16–6 (7-2) | Wetherby Gymnasium Morehead, KY |
| 2/14/1980 | | Austin Peay | W 70–51 | 17–6 (8-2) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/16/1980 | | at Murray State | W 56–55 | 18–6 (9-2) | Racer Arena Murray, KY |
| 2/21/1980 | | Middle Tennessee | W 81–79 $^{3OT}$ | 19–6 (10-2) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/23/1980* | | at South Carolina | L 65–73 $^{2OT}$ | 19–7 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| 1980 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament ||||||
| 2/28/1980 | (1) | (4) Eastern Kentucky Semifinals | W 84–83 $^{OT}$ | 20–7 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 3/1/1980 | (1) | (2) Murray State Championship | W 54–51 | 21–7 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1980 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament ||||||
| 3/7/1980* | (10 ME) | (7 ME) Virginia Tech First Round | L 85–89 $^{OT}$ | 21–8 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||