Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball

(Redirected from WKU Hilltoppers basketball) Men's basketball team This article is about men's basketball team. For women's basketball team, see Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

2024–25 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

University

Western Kentucky University

First season

1914; 110 years ago (1914)

Head coach

Hank Plona (1st season)

Conference

C-USA

Location

Bowling Green, Kentucky

Arena

E. A. Diddle Arena
(capacity: 7,500)

Nickname

Hilltoppers

Colors

Red and white

Uniforms

Home

Away

NCAA tournament Final Four

1971

NCAA tournament Elite Eight

1940, 1971

NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen

1940, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1971, 1978, 1993, 2008

NCAA tournament round of 32

1940, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1995, 2008, 2009

NCAA tournament appearances

1940, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2024

Conference tournament champions

1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1965, 1966, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2024

Conference regular season champions

1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009

Conference division season champions

Sun Belt East: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009,
C-USA East: 2021

* - vacated by NCAA

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team is the men's basketball team that represents Western Kentucky University (WKU) in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Hilltoppers currently compete in Conference USA. The team's most recent appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was in 2024. Hank Plona was announced as the team's current head coach on April 2, 2024.

The men's basketball program has the 16th most victories in the history of the NCAA and has attained the eighth best winning percentage in NCAA history. The school made an NCAA Final Four appearance in 1971, which was later vacated, and has made four NIT Final Four appearances, including three in the early days of the NIT when it was on par with the NCAA tournament. The program has won numerous Ohio Valley Conference championships and was very competitive in its previous conference, the Sun Belt Conference, regularly finishing near the top of the conference and competing for the conference championship. In 2014, the Hilltoppers joined Conference USA following conference realignment.

Street & Smith's publication "100 Greatest Programs", ranked WKU #31. WKU has had 30 All Americans and 56 Hilltoppers have played professionally following their collegiate careers.

Conference affiliation history

1914–15 to 1925–26 – Independent
1926–27 to 1947–48 – Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Association & Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
1948–49 to 1981–82 – Ohio Valley Conference
1982–83 to 2013–14 – Sun Belt Conference
2014–15 to present – Conference USA

Postseason

WKU has appeared in 41 national postseason tournaments and in five national final fours. The school currently has a policy of only accepting invitations to the NCAA or NIT tournaments, which precludes participation in other tournaments such as the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament and College Basketball Invitational.

NCAA tournament results

The Hilltoppers have appeared in the NCAA tournament 24 times. Their combined record is 19–25. Their appearance in the 1971 NCAA Tournament and third-place finish were later vacated by the NCAA due to a player, Jim McDaniels, having signed a professional contract and accepted money during the season.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1940		Elite Eight	Duquesne	L 29–30
1960		First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game	Miami (FL) Ohio State Ohio	W 107–84 L 79–98 W 97–87
1962		First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game	Detroit Ohio State Butler	W 90–81 L 73–93 L 86–87
1966		First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game	Loyola (IL) Michigan Dayton	W 105–86 L 79–80 W 82–62
1967		First Round	Dayton	L 67–69
1970		First Round	Jacksonville	L 96–109
1971*		First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National 3rd Place Game	Jacksonville Kentucky Ohio State Villanova Kansas	W 74–72 W 107–83 W 81–78 L 89–92 W 77–75
1976		First Round	Marquette	L 60–79
1978		First Round Sweet Sixteen	Syracuse Michigan State	W 87–86 L 69–90
1980	No. 10	First Round	No. 7 Virginia Tech	L 85–89
1981	No. 10	First Round	No. 7 UAB	L 68–93
1986	No. 8	First Round Second Round	No. 9 Nebraska No. 1 Kentucky	W 67–59 L 64–71
1987	No. 10	First Round Second Round	No. 7 West Virginia No. 2 Syracuse	W 64–62 L 86–104
1993	No. 7	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	No. 10 Memphis No. 2 Seton Hall No. 3 Florida State	W 55–52 W 72–68 L 78–81
1994	No. 11	First Round	No. 6 Texas	L 77–91
1995	No. 8	First Round Second Round	No. 9 Michigan No. 1 Kansas	W 82–76 L 70–75
2001	No. 14	First Round	No. 3 Florida	L 56–69
2002	No. 9	First Round	No. 8 Stanford	L 68–84
2003	No. 13	First Round	No. 4 Illinois	L 60–65
2008	No. 12	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	No. 5 Drake No. 13 San Diego No. 1 UCLA	W 101–99 W 72–63 L 78–88
2009	No. 12	First Round Second Round	No. 5 Illinois No. 4 Gonzaga	W 76–72 L 81–83
2012	No. 16	First Four First Round	No. 16 Mississippi Valley State No. 1 Kentucky	W 59–58 L 66–81
2013	No. 16	First Round	No. 1 Kansas	L 57–64
2024	No. 15	First Round	No. 2 Marquette	L 69–87

* Vacated by the NCAA

NCAA Tournament seeding history

The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.

Years→	'80	'81	'86	'87	'93	'94	'95	'01	'02	'03	'08	'09	'12	'13	'24
Seeds→	10	10	8	10	7	11	8	14	9	13	12	12	16	16	15

NIT results

The Hilltoppers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 15 times. When the NIT started, it was considered the premiere national college basketball tournament and remained on par with the NCAA Tournament through the mid-1950s, until the NCAA began giving automatic bids to conference champions in 1956. Western Kentucky's first eight appearances occurred during this early period, including their 2nd-place finish in 1942, 3rd place in 1948, and 4th place in 1954. WKU also made the NIT Final Four in 2018. Their combined record is 13–16.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1942	Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals	CCNY Creighton West Virginia	W 49–46 W 49–36 L 45–47
1943	Quarterfinals	Fordham	L 58–60
1948	Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd Place Game	La Salle Saint Louis DePaul	W 68–61 L 53–60 W 61–59
1949	Quarterfinals	Bradley	L 86–95
1950	First Round Quarterfinals	Niagara St. John's	W 79–72 L 46–65
1952	First Round Quarterfinals	Louisville St. Bonaventure	W 62–59 L 69–70
1953	Quarterfinals	Duquesne	L 61–69
1954	Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd Place Game	Bowling Green Holy Cross Niagara	W 95–81 L 69–75 L 65–71
1965	First Round Quarterfinals	Fordham Army	W 57–53 L 54–58
1982	First Round	Purdue	L 65–72
1992	First Round	Kansas State	L 74–85
2005	Opening Round First Round	Kent State Wichita State	W 88–80 L 81–84
2006	First Round	South Carolina	L 55–74
2018	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Boston College USC Oklahoma State Utah	W 79–62 W 79–75 W 92–84 L 64–69
2021	First Round Quarterfinals	Saint Mary's Louisiana Tech	W 69–67 L 65–72

Other tournament results

In 1936 Western Kentucky was invited to the National Olympic Playoffs representing the South. They played two games against the Southwest representative, Arkansas, in Little Rock, AK, losing both games by scores of 36–43 and 30–38.

The Hilltoppers were scheduled to appear in the 1938 National Intercollegiate Basketball tournament; however, the team was unable to make the trip and withdrew from the tournament. The NAIA lists the game as a forfeit, but Western Kentucky does not recognize the contest as part of their official record.

The Hilltoppers appeared in the 1951 National Campus Basketball Tournament where they were defeated by Bradley 71–75 in the first round.

Milestones

Date	Milestone	Rival	Result
1914–1915	First win	Bethel (Ky.)	38–21 (W)
1/28/1932	100th win	Birmingham Southern	37–25 (W)
12/5/1949	500th win	Kentucky Wesleyan	89–45 (W)
2/19/1977	1,000th win	Murray State	82–81 (W)
2/5/2005	1,500th win	Arkansas State	76–72 (W)
2/6/1943	500th game	LaSalle	52–44 (W)
12/6/1960	1,000th game	Lamar	74–71 (W)
1/25/1997	2,000th game	New Orleans	70–66 (L)

E.A. Diddle Arena

The E.A. Diddle Arena is a 7,326-seat multi-purpose arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. The arena, built in 1963 is named after legendary WKU men's coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Edgar "E.A." Diddle.

Current coaching staff

Hank Plona - Head Coach

Former Head Coaches

L.T Smith (1922–1922)
E. A. Diddle (1923–1964)
John Oldham (1965–1971)
Jim Richards (1972–1978)
Gene Keady (1979–1980)
Clem Haskins (1981–1986)
Murray Arnold (1987–1990)
Ralph Willard (1991–1994)
Matt Kilcullen (1995–1998)
Al Seibert (1998)
Dennis Felton (1999–2003)
Darrin Horn (2004–2008)
Ken McDonald (basketball) (2009–2012)
Ray Harper (2012–2016)
Rick Stansbury (2017–2023)
Steve Lutz (2023–2024)

All-Americans

Year	Name	Position	Ref.
1938	Red McCrocklin	Center	(Chuck Taylor)
1940	Carlisle Towery	Center	(Chuck Taylor)
1941	Carlisle Towery	Center	(Chuck Taylor)
1943	Oran McKinney	Center	(Helms Foundation)
1948	Dee Gibson	Guard	(Associated Press***)
1948	Don Ray	Forward	(Helms Foundation*)
1948	Odie Spears	Forward	(Associated Press***)
1949	Bob Lavoy	Center	(Associated Press***)
1949	John Oldham	Guard	(United Press, Associated Press*)
1950	Buddy Cate	Forward	(Associated Press***)
1950	Bob Lavoy	Center	(Chuck Taylor, Associated Press**)
1953	Tom Marshall	Forward	(Look Magazine, Associated Press*)
1953	Art Spoelstra	Center	(Associated Press***)
1954	Tom Marshall	Forward	(Associated Press, United Press, Look Magazine*)
1958	Ralph Crosthwaite	Center
1962	Bobby Rascoe	Guard
1964	Darel Carrier	Guard	(Helms Foundation)
1965	Clem Haskins	Forward	(Associated Press*, United Press*)
1966	Clem Haskins	Forward	(Associated Press, United Press, Converse*)
1967	Clem Haskins	Forward	(USBWA, Associated Press,United Press,Helms Foundation, NABC*)
1969	Jim McDaniels	Center	(Helms Foundation, Associated Press*, United Press, Converse**)
1970	Jim McDaniels	Center	(Helms Foundation, Associated Press*, United Press, Converse)
1971	Jim McDaniels	Center	(NABC, USBWA, Associated Press, Sporting News, United Press, NBA)
1976	Johnny Britt	Guard	(Associated Press***)
1984	Kannard Johnson	Forward	(Sporting News All-Freshman)
1987	Tellis Frank	Forward	(Associated Press*, Sporting News*)
1989	Brett McNeal	Guard	(Associated Press*, Basketball Times*)
1993	Darnell Mee	Guard	(Associated Press***)
1996	Chris Robinson	Forward-Guard	(Basketball Weekly***)
2001	Chris Marcus	Center	(Associated Press***, Lindy's Basketball Annual)
2002	Chris Marcus	Center	(Associated Press*, Basketball America*)
2004	Mike Wells	Guard	(Associated Press***)
2006	Anthony Winchester	Guard	(Associated Press***)
2008	Courtney Lee	Guard	(Associated Press*,The NBA Draft Report, Basketball Times**)
2009	Orlando Mendez-Valdez	Guard	(Associated Press***)
2021	Charles Bassey	Center	(Associated Press**, Basketball Times, USBWA**, Lute Olsen)
Second team – Third team – **Honorable mention

Retired jerseys

The first jerseys retired in honor of Hilltopper basketball greats were hung in E.A. Diddle Arena during the 1999–2000 season. Also even though the jerseys are retired current and future players can and do use the numbers of the players whose jerseys are retired.

Fltr: Clem Haskins, Courtney Lee, and Jim McDaniels, whose jerseys were retired by Western Kentucky

No.	Player	Years	Jer. ret.
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers retired jerseys
22	Clem Haskins	1964–1967	2017
32	Courtney Lee	2004–2008	2017
35	Darel Carrier	1961–1964	2014
41	Tom Marshall	1951–1954
42	John Oldham	1942–1943; 1947–1949	2011
42	Carlisle Towery	1938–1941	2003
44	Jim McDaniels	1968–1971	2000
45	Bobby Rascoe	1959–1962
—	E. A. Diddle	Coach, 1922–1964
—	Wes Strader	Radio voice

Season-by-season results

Main article: List of Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball seasons

References

"WKU Colors". WKU Communication & Branding Manual (PDF). August 21, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
"Hank Plona Named Western Kentucky Head Men's Basketball Coach". Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. April 2, 2024.
^ "NCAA All Time Winningest Teams at ncaa.org" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-08-12.
100 Greatest College Basketball Programs of All Time. Smith & Street. January 25, 2005.
"HILLTOPPER FOCUS: WKU would not accept bid to CBI, CIT". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
Pratt, Elliott. "Standing Alone: WKU's 1971 Final Four team remains in a league of its own". College Heights Herald. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
Miller, Ralph (1990). "Ralph Miller: Spanning the Game." Sagamore Publishing LLC. p. 56. ISBN 0915611384. "Had the Aggies lost one, we would have been forced to have a playoff, and that was the problem. We had already accepted a bid to play in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The tournament picture was much different then. There was no announcement of NIT teams following the selection of the NCAA field as exists today. The reason was that the NIT was still considered a premier tournament."
"Bracket, times, scores for 2018 National Invitation Tournament". NCAA.com. 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
"2019-20 Hilltopper Basketball Media Guide" (PDF).
NAIA Through the Decades, NAIA.org retrieved May 20, 2020
The Historical NAIA Tournament VSN (admin) Published Wednesday, July 04, 2018, retrieved May 20, 2020
Ruby, Earl (1979). Red Towel Territory : A History of Athletics at Western Kentucky University. American National Bank and Trust Co.
"National Campus Tournament 1951".
Marcus honored by publication, WKU center lands on All-America team, By Justin Willis, Bowling Green Daily News, Aug 3, 2001 retrieved 27 April 2020
2011–12 WKU media guide
#21 RETIRED UNIFORM
Courtney Lee Jersey Retirement, 8 Jun 2017
Former Hilltopper sharpshooter Carrier to have jersey number retired at halftime, 22 Feb 2014 at bgdailynews.com
Darel Carrier’s No. 35 jersey retired at College Heights Herald by Tyler Lashbrook - February 25, 2014
MJ to honor legendary Tom Marshall, 9 Feb 2011 at Wilson Post
John Oldham, coach of WKU's 1971 Final Four basketball team, dies at age 97 by Jason Frakes at Louisville Courier Journal, 23 Nov 2020
All-American Towery dies at bgdailynews.com, 27 Nov 2012
Jim McDaniels, 69, Dies; Led Western Kentucky to Final Four at The New York Times, 8 Sep 2017
E. A. Diddle coach's jersey retired at bgdailynews.com

External links

Official website

v t e Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
Venues	Red Barn (1920–1931) Health & Physical Education Building (1931–1963) E. A. Diddle Arena (1963–present)
Culture & lore	Big Red
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1914–15 1915–16 1916–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

Western Kentucky University

Located in: Bowling Green, Kentucky

Academics

Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky

Athletics

Teams	Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Football
Venues	Houchens E. A. Diddle Arena
Related	Marching band Sports Network Sports Satellite Network Swim team hazing scandal

Campus

Life

People

List of Western Kentucky University people

Founded: 1906
Students: 21,048
Endowment: 109.9 million
Category

v t e Conference USA men's basketball
Current teams	FIU Panthers Jacksonville State Gamecocks Kennesaw State Owls Liberty Flames Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders New Mexico State Aggies Sam Houston Bearkats UTEP Miners (leaving in 2026) Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Future teams	Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (joining in 2025) Missouri State Bears (joining in 2025)
Championships & awards	Conference USA men's basketball tournament Player of the Year
Seasons	1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

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