1951–52 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball none 1951–52 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers WKU Hilltoppers wordmark.png 150 Ohio Valley Conference 16 OVC 26–5 11–1 Edgar Diddle 30th Ted Hornback Health & Physical Education Building OVC Tournament ChampionOhio Valley Conference Champion NIT Tournament Quarterfinals The 1951–52 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky State College (now known as Western Kentucky University) during the 1951-52 NCAA University Division Basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Edgar Diddle and leading scorer, forward Tom Marshall. Ruby Earl Red Towel Territory : A History of Athletics at Western Kentucky University American National Bank and Trust Co. 1979 The Hilltoppers won the Ohio Valley Conference season and tournament championships, and were invited to the 1952 National Invitation Tournament.2019-2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020 During this period, the NIT was considered on par with the NCAA tournament.http://www.tourneytravel.com/history/index.htm NCAA Tournament History 2013-02-12 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 2013-05-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20130514220356/http://www.tourneytravel.com/history/index.htm usurped Davies, Richard O. (2007). "Sports in American Life: A History." Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated. p. 155. 9781405106474. Marshall, Art Spoelstra, Gene Rhodes, and Richard White were named to the All-Conference and OVC Tournament teams.2019-2020 OVC Basketball Media Guide, retrieved 4 May 2020 Schedule 1953-54 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Schedule and Results, Sports Reference, retrieved 12 May 2020 1951-52 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings 1952 |- !colspan=6| Regular Season 11/30/1951 yes Southeastern Louisiana Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 77–57 1–0 |- 12/1/1951 Tennessee Tech Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 89–62 2–0 (1-0) 12/6/1951 yes Evansville Evansville, IN 69–56 3–0 (2-0) 12/8/1951 yes Bowling Green State Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 89–57 4–0 12/10/1951 yes Morehead State Button Auditorium Morehead, KY 65–54 5–0 (3-0) 12/15/1951 yes yes Cincinnati Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH 76–71 6–0 12/17/1951 yes Central Missouri Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 76–56 7–0 12/19/1951 yes yes 16 Xavier Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY 92–82 8–0 12/29/1951 yes yes 11 St. Bonaventure Memorial Auditorium Buffalo, NY 60–73 8–1 1/1/1952 yes yes 11 La Salle 13 Wister Hall Philadelphia, PA 58–67 8–2 1/3/1952 yes yes Seton Hall 11 Madison Square Garden New York, NY 65–77 8–3 1/12/1952 yes Murray State Carr Health Building Murray, KY 77–64 9–3 (4-0) 1/16/1952 yes Tennessee Tech Memorial Gymnasium Cookeville, TN 64–55 10–3 (5-0) 1/19/1952 Eastern Kentucky Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 69–63 11–3 (6-0) 1/25/1952 yes yes Miami Miami, FL 102–74 12–3 1/28/1952 yes yes Tampa Tampa, FL 82–77 13–3 1/30/1952 yes Cincinnati Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 79–63 14–3 2/2/1952 Marshall Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 76–65 15–3 (7-0) 2/5/1952 yes 20 Morehead State Button Auditorium Morehead, KY 80–72 16–3 (8-0) 2/7/1952 yes 20 Tampa Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 79–70 17–3 2/9/1952 yes 20 Eastern Kentucky Weaver Gymnasium Richmond, KY 62–73 17–4 (8-1) 2/12/1952 yes Marshall Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV 86–82 18–4 (9-1) 2/16/1952 Murray State Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 97–63 19–4 (10-1) 2/18/1952 Evansville Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 92–58 20–4 (11-1) |- !colspan=6| 1952 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament 2/21/1952 yes Evansville Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY OVC Tournament 83–63 21–4 2/22/1952 yes Marshall Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY OVC Tournament Semifinal 89–74 22–4 2/23/1952 yes Murray State Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY OVC Tournament Final 47–45 23–4 |- !colspan=6| Regular Season 2/27/1952 yes yes 18 Kentucky Wesleyan Owensboro Sportscenter Owensboro, KY 94–68 24–4 3/3/1952 yes yes 18 Bowling Green State Bowling Green, OH 82–75 25–4 |- !colspan=6| 1952 National Invitation Tournament 3/8/1952 yes yes 18 Louisville 17 Madison Square Garden New York, NY NIT First Round 62–59 26–4 3/10/1952 yes yes 18 St. Bonaventure 15 Madison Square Garden New York, NY NIT Quarterfinal 69–70 26–5 AP Poll References Category:Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball seasons Western Kentucky State Western Kentucky State Western Kentucky State Basketball, Men's Western Kentucky State Basketball, Men's Category:Long stubs with short prose