2009–10 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team
The 2009–10 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team was an NCAA Division I college basketball team representing Western Michigan University. The team was the two-time defending Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division champion. WMU was coached by Steve Hawkins who was in his seventh season as head coach of the school. The Broncos played their home games at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan. They finished the season 18–15, 8–8 in MAC play and lost in the semifinals of the 2010 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament. Pre-season. Western Michigan was  picked to finish fifth in the MAC's West Division by members of the MAC News Media Panel. The Broncos received four first-place votes. Senior guard David Kool was selected to the All-MAC West Division Pre-season team. This season also marked the return of assistant coach Clayton Bates who had left the team for a season in order to work in the private sector. Bates previously served as assistant coach at Western Michigan for eight seasons. Bates replaced former assistant coach Andy Hipsher. Hipsher left WMU to become director of basketball operations at USF. Diamond Head Classic . The Broncos finished fifth out of eight teams in the December 2009 Diamond Head Classic. After losing the first game to eventual champion USC, WMU defeated Northeastern and the College of Charleston to finish the tournament 2–1. Western Michigan led USC 27–18 at the half and 47–46 with 4:24 to go in the game. WMU gave champion USC their toughest game of the tournament. The tournament was the breakout performance for junior walk-on guard Alex Wolf, who scored 28 total points in the final two games of the tournament. Wolf had scored only 11 career points until the point . In the tournament, Wolf earned career highs in points (15) and rebounds (5) and made his first career three-point field goal. Wolf averaged 11 points, four rebounds and one assist per game and made six out of eight three-point field goals and four out of six free throws. For his accomplishments, Wolf was named MAC West Co-Player of the Week. Schedule. !| Exhibition !| Regular Season !| MAC Tournament