2007–08 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team


The 2007–08 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2007–08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by head coach Darrin Horn and by future NBA player Courtney Lee. They were members of the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference and finished the season 29–7 with a 16–2 record in Sun Belt play to finish tied for first in the East Division.[1] The team won the Sun Belt Basketball tournament and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.[2] Western Kentucky finished ranked 22nd in the postseason ESPN/USA Today Poll. Lee was SBC Player of the year and was joined by Tyrone Brazelton on the All SBC team. Jeremy Evans was SBC Tournament Most Valuable Player, Lee and Brazelton also made the All-Tournament team. Brazelton was named to the NCAA Tournament All-Region Team.[3]

2007–08 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
Sun Belt Conference tournament Champion
Sun Belt Conference East Division Co-Champion
NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceSun Belt Conference
DivisionEast Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 22
Record29–7 (16–2 Sun Belt)
Head coach
Home arenaE. A. Diddle Arena
Seasons
2007–08 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
South Alabama 16 2   .889 26 7   .788
Western Kentucky 16 2   .889 29 7   .806
Middle Tennessee 11 7   .611 17 15   .531
Florida Atlantic 8 10   .444 15 18   .455
Florida International 6 12   .333 9 20   .310
Troy 4 14   .222 12 19   .387
West
Arkansas-Little Rock 11 7   .611 20 11   .645
Louisiana–Lafayette 11 7   .611 15 15   .500
North Texas 10 8   .556 20 11   .645
New Orleans 8 10   .444 19 13   .594
Denver 7 11   .389 11 19   .367
Arkansas State 5 13   .278 10 20   .333
Louisiana–Monroe 4 14   .222 10 21   .323
2008 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

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[4]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
11/09/2007*
Kennesaw State W 96–61  1–0
E. A. Diddle Arena (6,271)
Bowling Green, KY
11/13/2007*
Kentucky Wesleyan W 88–67  2–0
E. A. Diddle Arena (4,848)
Bowling Green, KY
11/17/2007*
Murray State W 87–63  3–0
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,566)
Bowling Green, KY
11/22/2007*
vs. No. 14 Gonzaga
Great Alaska Shootout
L 71–74  3–1
Sullivan Arena (8,383)
Anchorage, AK
11/23/2007*
at Alaska Anchorage
Great Alaska Shootout
W 71–67  4–1
Sullivan Arena (6,904)
Anchorage, AK
11/23/2007*
vs. Michigan
Great Alaska Shootout
W 73–69  5–1
Sullivan Arena (7,043)
Anchorage, AK
12/01/2007*
at Northern Arizona L 61–64  5–2
Walkup Skydome (1,269)
Flagstaff, AZ
12/5/2007*
Nebraska W 69–62 OT 6–2
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,809)
Bowling Green, KY
12/8/2007*
at Eastern Kentucky W 77–60  7–2
Alumni Coliseum (4,900)
Richmond, VA
12/15/2007*
vs. No. 11 Tennessee
Sun Belt Classic
L 82–88  7–3
Sommet Center (18,071)
Nashville, TN
12/18/2007*
North Carolina Central W 84–53  8–3
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,879)
Bowling Green, KY
12/22/2007*
at Southern Illinois L 78–88  8–4
Banterra Center (6,010)
Carbondale, IL
12/29/2007
at Troy W 94–90  9–4 (1–0)
Sartain Hall (1,932)
Troy, AL
01/2/2008
Middle Tennessee W 62–51  10–4 (2–0)
E. A. Diddle Arena (4,186)
Bowling Green, KY
1/5/2008
at South Alabama L 61–65  10–5 (2–1)
Mitchell Center (6,783)
Mobile, AL
01/10/2008
at ULM W 71–44  11–5 (3–1)
Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,610)
Monroe, LA
01/12/2008
FIU W 76–60  12–5 (4–1)
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,071)
Bowling Green, KY
01/16/2008
Florida Atlantic W 80–62  13–5 (5–1)
E. A. Diddle Arena (4,291)
Bowling Green, KY
01/19/2008
at Louisiana–Lafayette W 69–66  14–5 (6–1)
Cajundome (6,190)
Lafayette, LA
01/23/2008
at New Orleans W 73–55  15–5 (7–1)
Lakefront Arena (1,099)
New Orleans, LA
01/27/2008
Arkansas State W 77–68  16–5 (8–1)
E. A. Diddle Arena (6,109)
Bowling Green, KY
1/31/2008
Arkansas–Little Rock W 71–47  17–5 (9–1)
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,022)
Bowling Green, KY
02/2/2008
Denver W 78–64  18–5 (10–1)
E. A. Diddle Arena (6,567)
Bowling Green, KY
02/7/2008
7:00 pm
at North Texas W 94–84  19–5 (11–1)
The Super Pit (3,246)
Denton, TX
2/13/2008
Troy W 92–57  20–5 (12–1)
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,803)
Bowling Green, KY
02/16/2008
at Middle Tennessee W 71–66  21–5 (13–1)
Murphy Center (5,307)
Murfreesboro, TN
02/21/2008
South Alabama L 64–69  21–6 (13–2)
E. A. Diddle Arena (7,718)
Bowling Green, KY
02/23/2008
ULM W 86–75  22–6 (14–2)
E. A. Diddle Arena (6,750)
Bowling Green, KY
2/27/2008
at FIU W 69–54  23–6 (15–2)
Ocean Bank Convocation Center (709)
University Park, FL
3/1/2008
at Florida Atlantic W 88–78  24–6 (16–2)
FAU Arena (802)
Boca Raton, FL
2008 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament
03/09/2008
9:15 pm
(3) vs. (6) North Texas
Second Round
W 84–70  25–6
Mitchell Center (4,734)
Mobile, AL
03/10/2008
(3) vs. (2) Arkansas–Little Rock
Semifinals
W 70–55  26–6
Mitchell Center (6,397)
Mobile, AL
03/11/2008
(3) vs. (4) Middle Tennessee
Championship
W 67–57  27–6
Mitchell Center (5,234)
Mobile, AL
2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
03/21/2008*
(12 W) vs. (5 W) No. 14 Drake
First Round
W 101–99 OT 28–6
St. Pete Times Forum (15,920)
Tampa, FL
03/23/2008*
(12 W) vs. (13 W) San Diego
Second Round
W 72–63  29–6
St. Pete Times Forum (14,504)
Tampa, FL
03/27/2008*
(12 W) vs. (1 W) No. 3 UCLA
Sweet Sixteen
L 78–88  29–7
US Airways Center (18,103)
Phoenix, AZ
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll (W) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

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References

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  1. ^ SBC 2016-17 Basketball Media Guide, retrieved 28 April 2020
  2. ^ Western wins spot in NCAA Sweet Sixteen, By ROB HERBST, the Daily News Online, Mar 23, 2008, retrieved 29 April 2020
  3. ^ WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020
  4. ^ 2007-08 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Schedule and Results, Sports Reference, retrieved 29 April 2020
  5. ^ "2007-2008 WKU Men's Basketball Stats" (PDF). WKU Sports.