1948β49 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers basketball | |
---|---|
OVC Tournament Champion Ohio Valley Conference Champion | |
NIT Tournament, Quarterfinals | |
Conference | Ohio Valley Conference |
Ranking | |
AP | No. 5 |
Record | 25β4 (8β2 OVC) |
Head coach |
|
Assistant coach | Ted Hornback |
Home arena | Health & Physical Education Building |
The 1948β49 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky State College (now known as Western Kentucky University) during the 1948-49 NCAA University Division Basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Edgar Diddle and All-American guard John Oldham. [1] This was the inaugural season for the newly established Ohio Valley Conference and Western Kentucky won the conference championships, and appeared in the 1949 National Invitation Tournament. [2] During this period, the NIT was considered by many to be the premiere college basketball tournament, with the winner being recognized as the national champion. [3] [4] Oldham and Center Bob Lavoy were named to the All-Conference team as well as the OVC All-Tournament team. [5] This was the first year that a widely distributed, national poll was published by the Associated Press, and Western Kentucky was ranked 3rd in the initial poll [6] and finished the season ranked 5th. [7]
Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site city, state | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular Season | |||||||||||
12/6/1948* |
Kentucky Wesleyan | W 62β51 | 1β0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
12/9/1948* |
Emporia State | W 61β34 | 2β0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
12/11/1948* |
Bowling Green State | W 60β51 | 3β0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
12/13/1948 |
at Morehead State | W 66β51 | 4β0 (1-0) |
Button Auditorium Morehead, KY | |||||||
12/15/1948 |
at Eastern Kentucky | W 56β53 | 5β0 (2-0) |
Weaver Gymnasium Richmond, KY | |||||||
12/18/1948* |
vs. Washington and Lee | W 89β43 | 6β0 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | |||||||
12/27/1948* |
at Canisius | W 65β55 | 7β0 |
Buffalo, NY | |||||||
12/30/1948* |
vs. Long Island | W 83β58 | 8β0 |
Madison Square Garden New York, NY | |||||||
1/1/1949* |
at Saint Joseph's (PA) | W 86β69 | 9β0 |
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, PA | |||||||
1/8/1949* |
Berea | W 77β36 | 10β0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
1/10/1949 |
Louisville | W 56β44 | 11β0 (3-0) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
1/13/1949 |
at Evansville | W 72β66 | 12β0 (4-0) |
Evansville, IN | |||||||
1/18/1949* |
No. 3 | at Memphis State | W 78β51 | 13β0 |
Memorial Fieldhouse Memphis, TN | ||||||
1/21/1949* |
No. 3 | at Miami | W 78β45 | 14β0 |
Miami, FL | ||||||
1/22/1949* |
No. 3 | at Miami | W 63β47 | 15β0 |
Miami, FL | ||||||
1/29/1949 |
No. 4 | Eastern Kentucky | L 40β42 | 15β1 (4-1) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
1/31/1949* |
No. 4 | Kentucky Wesleyan | W 80β74 | 16β1 |
Owensboro Sportscenter Owensboro, KY | ||||||
2/2/1949 |
No. 6 | at Louisville | L 64β70 | 16β2 (4-2) |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | ||||||
2/5/1949 |
No. 6 | Murray State | W 61β47 | 17β2 (5-2) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
2/8/1949 |
No. 6 | Evansville | W 71β47 | 18β2 (6-2) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
2/11/1949* |
No. 6 | vs. Baldwin Wallace | W 67β58 | 19β2 |
Cleveland Arena Cleveland, OH | ||||||
2/12/1949* |
No. 6 | No. 14 Bowling Green State | L 58β72 | 19β3 |
Bowling Green, OH | ||||||
2/14/1949 |
No. 6 | at Murray State | W 73β54 | 20β3 (7-2) |
Carr Health Building Murray, KY | ||||||
2/17/1949 |
No. 7 | Morehead State | W 69β48 | 21β3 (8-2) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
2/19/1949* |
No. 7 | East Tennessee | W 90β53 | 22β3 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
1949 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament | |||||||||||
2/24/1949 |
No. 7 | vs. Tennessee Tech OVC Tournament |
W 73β42 | 23β3 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | ||||||
2/26/1949 |
No. 7 | vs. Eastern Kentucky OVC Tournament Semifinal |
W 70β54 | 24β3 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | ||||||
2/26/1949 |
No. 7 | at Louisville OVC Tournament Final |
W 74β68 | 25β3 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | ||||||
1949 National Invitation Tournament | |||||||||||
3/14/1949* |
No. 5 | vs. No. 7
Bradley NIT Quarterfinal |
L 86β95 | 25β4 |
Madison Square Garden New York, NY | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from
AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
|
The tournament now determines the national champion, but that wasn't always the case. Until the 1950s, the NIT was just as big a tournament as the NCAA, and teams often chose to enter the NIT and bypass the NCAA tourney
1948β49 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers basketball | |
---|---|
OVC Tournament Champion Ohio Valley Conference Champion | |
NIT Tournament, Quarterfinals | |
Conference | Ohio Valley Conference |
Ranking | |
AP | No. 5 |
Record | 25β4 (8β2 OVC) |
Head coach |
|
Assistant coach | Ted Hornback |
Home arena | Health & Physical Education Building |
The 1948β49 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky State College (now known as Western Kentucky University) during the 1948-49 NCAA University Division Basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Edgar Diddle and All-American guard John Oldham. [1] This was the inaugural season for the newly established Ohio Valley Conference and Western Kentucky won the conference championships, and appeared in the 1949 National Invitation Tournament. [2] During this period, the NIT was considered by many to be the premiere college basketball tournament, with the winner being recognized as the national champion. [3] [4] Oldham and Center Bob Lavoy were named to the All-Conference team as well as the OVC All-Tournament team. [5] This was the first year that a widely distributed, national poll was published by the Associated Press, and Western Kentucky was ranked 3rd in the initial poll [6] and finished the season ranked 5th. [7]
Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site city, state | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular Season | |||||||||||
12/6/1948* |
Kentucky Wesleyan | W 62β51 | 1β0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
12/9/1948* |
Emporia State | W 61β34 | 2β0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
12/11/1948* |
Bowling Green State | W 60β51 | 3β0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
12/13/1948 |
at Morehead State | W 66β51 | 4β0 (1-0) |
Button Auditorium Morehead, KY | |||||||
12/15/1948 |
at Eastern Kentucky | W 56β53 | 5β0 (2-0) |
Weaver Gymnasium Richmond, KY | |||||||
12/18/1948* |
vs. Washington and Lee | W 89β43 | 6β0 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | |||||||
12/27/1948* |
at Canisius | W 65β55 | 7β0 |
Buffalo, NY | |||||||
12/30/1948* |
vs. Long Island | W 83β58 | 8β0 |
Madison Square Garden New York, NY | |||||||
1/1/1949* |
at Saint Joseph's (PA) | W 86β69 | 9β0 |
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, PA | |||||||
1/8/1949* |
Berea | W 77β36 | 10β0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
1/10/1949 |
Louisville | W 56β44 | 11β0 (3-0) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
1/13/1949 |
at Evansville | W 72β66 | 12β0 (4-0) |
Evansville, IN | |||||||
1/18/1949* |
No. 3 | at Memphis State | W 78β51 | 13β0 |
Memorial Fieldhouse Memphis, TN | ||||||
1/21/1949* |
No. 3 | at Miami | W 78β45 | 14β0 |
Miami, FL | ||||||
1/22/1949* |
No. 3 | at Miami | W 63β47 | 15β0 |
Miami, FL | ||||||
1/29/1949 |
No. 4 | Eastern Kentucky | L 40β42 | 15β1 (4-1) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
1/31/1949* |
No. 4 | Kentucky Wesleyan | W 80β74 | 16β1 |
Owensboro Sportscenter Owensboro, KY | ||||||
2/2/1949 |
No. 6 | at Louisville | L 64β70 | 16β2 (4-2) |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | ||||||
2/5/1949 |
No. 6 | Murray State | W 61β47 | 17β2 (5-2) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
2/8/1949 |
No. 6 | Evansville | W 71β47 | 18β2 (6-2) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
2/11/1949* |
No. 6 | vs. Baldwin Wallace | W 67β58 | 19β2 |
Cleveland Arena Cleveland, OH | ||||||
2/12/1949* |
No. 6 | No. 14 Bowling Green State | L 58β72 | 19β3 |
Bowling Green, OH | ||||||
2/14/1949 |
No. 6 | at Murray State | W 73β54 | 20β3 (7-2) |
Carr Health Building Murray, KY | ||||||
2/17/1949 |
No. 7 | Morehead State | W 69β48 | 21β3 (8-2) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
2/19/1949* |
No. 7 | East Tennessee | W 90β53 | 22β3 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
1949 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament | |||||||||||
2/24/1949 |
No. 7 | vs. Tennessee Tech OVC Tournament |
W 73β42 | 23β3 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | ||||||
2/26/1949 |
No. 7 | vs. Eastern Kentucky OVC Tournament Semifinal |
W 70β54 | 24β3 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | ||||||
2/26/1949 |
No. 7 | at Louisville OVC Tournament Final |
W 74β68 | 25β3 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | ||||||
1949 National Invitation Tournament | |||||||||||
3/14/1949* |
No. 5 | vs. No. 7
Bradley NIT Quarterfinal |
L 86β95 | 25β4 |
Madison Square Garden New York, NY | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from
AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
|
The tournament now determines the national champion, but that wasn't always the case. Until the 1950s, the NIT was just as big a tournament as the NCAA, and teams often chose to enter the NIT and bypass the NCAA tourney