The 1948–49 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]
| 1948–49 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers basketball | |
|---|---|
 | |
OVC Tournament Champion Ohio Valley Conference Champion | |
NIT Tournament, Quarterfinals | |
| Conference | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 5 |
| Record | 25–4 (8–2 OVC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Assistant coach | Ted Hornback |
| Home arena | Health & Physical Education Building |
Schedule
edit| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site city, state | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | |||||||||||
| 12/6/1948* |
Kentucky Wesleyan | W 62–51 | 1–0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 12/9/1948* |
Emporia State | W 61–34 | 2–0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 12/11/1948* |
Bowling Green State | W 60–51 | 3–0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 12/13/1948 |
at Morehead State | W 66–51 | 4–0 (1-0) |
Button Auditorium Morehead, KY | |||||||
| 12/15/1948 |
at Eastern Kentucky | W 56–53 | 5–0 (2-0) |
Weaver Gymnasium Richmond, KY | |||||||
| 12/18/1948* |
vs. Washington and Lee | W 89–43 | 6–0 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | |||||||
| 12/27/1948* |
at Canisius | W 65–55 | 7–0 |
Buffalo, NY | |||||||
| 12/30/1948* |
vs. Long Island | W 83–58 | 8–0 |
Madison Square Garden New York, NY | |||||||
| 1/1/1949* |
at Saint Joseph's (PA) | W 86–69 | 9–0 |
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, PA | |||||||
| 1/8/1949* |
Berea | W 77–36 | 10–0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 1/10/1949 |
Louisville | W 56–44 | 11–0 (3-0) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 1/13/1949 |
at Evansville | W 72–66 | 12–0 (4-0) |
Evansville, IN | |||||||
| 1/18/1949* |
No. 3 | at Memphis State | W 78–51 | 13–0 |
Memorial Fieldhouse Memphis, TN | ||||||
| 1/21/1949* |
No. 3 | at Miami | W 78–45 | 14–0 |
Miami, FL | ||||||
| 1/22/1949* |
No. 3 | at Miami | W 63–47 | 15–0 |
Miami, FL | ||||||
| 1/29/1949 |
No. 4 | Eastern Kentucky | L 40–42 | 15–1 (4-1) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
| 1/31/1949* |
No. 4 | Kentucky Wesleyan | W 80–74 | 16–1 |
Owensboro Sportscenter Owensboro, KY | ||||||
| 2/2/1949 |
No. 6 | at Louisville | L 64–70 | 16–2 (4-2) |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | ||||||
| 2/5/1949 |
No. 6 | Murray State | W 61–47 | 17–2 (5-2) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
| 2/8/1949 |
No. 6 | Evansville | W 71–47 | 18–2 (6-2) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
| 2/11/1949* |
No. 6 | vs. Baldwin Wallace | W 67–58 | 19–2 |
Cleveland Arena Cleveland, OH | ||||||
| 2/12/1949* |
No. 6 | No. 14 Bowling Green State | L 58–72 | 19–3 |
Bowling Green, OH | ||||||
| 2/14/1949 |
No. 6 | at Murray State | W 73–54 | 20–3 (7-2) |
Carr Health Building Murray, KY | ||||||
| 2/17/1949 |
No. 7 | Morehead State | W 69–48 | 21–3 (8-2) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
| 2/19/1949* |
No. 7 | East Tennessee | W 90–53 | 22–3 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
| 1949 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament | |||||||||||
| 2/24/1949 |
No. 7 | vs. Tennessee Tech OVC Tournament |
W 73–42 | 23–3 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | ||||||
| 2/26/1949 |
No. 7 | vs. Eastern Kentucky OVC Tournament Semifinal |
W 70–54 | 24–3 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | ||||||
| 2/26/1949 |
No. 7 | at Louisville OVC Tournament Final |
W 74–68 | 25–3 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | ||||||
| 1949 National Invitation Tournament | |||||||||||
| 3/14/1949* |
No. 5 | vs. No. 7 Bradley NIT Quarterfinal |
L 86–95 | 25–4 |
Madison Square Garden New York, NY | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
| |||||||||||
References
edit- ^ Ruby, Earl (1979). Red Towel Territory : A History of Athletics at Western Kentucky University. American National Bank and Trust Co.
- ^ 2019-2020 OVC Basketball Media Guide, retrieved 4 May 2020
- ^ "NCAA Tournament History". Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
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
- ^ Davies, Richard O. (2007). "Sports in American Life: A History." Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated. p. 155. ISBN 9781405106474.
- ^ 2019-2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020
- ^ January 17, 1949 AP Men's Basketball Poll, College Poll Archive, retrieved 17 May 2020
- ^ 1949 Final AP Men's Basketball Poll, College Poll Archive, retrieved 17 May 2020
- ^ Western Kentucky Men's Basketball Archive, retrieved 14 May 2020
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