1947–48 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball none 1947–48 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers WKU Hilltoppers wordmark.png 150 Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference KIAC 28–2 10–0 Edgar Diddle 26th Ted Hornback Health & Physical Education Building NCAA Annual Team ChampionsKAIC champion NIT Tournament SemifinalsNational 3rd Place The 1947–48 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky State Teachers College (now known as Western Kentucky University) during the 1947-48 NCAA basketball season. The team was led by future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Edgar Diddle. Ruby Earl Red Towel Territory : A History of Athletics at Western Kentucky University American National Bank and Trust Co. 1979 The Hilltoppers won the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship, were NCAA Annual Team Champions,2011 NCAA Division I Basketball Records, retrieved 30 April 2020 and received an invitation to the 1948 National Invitation Tournament, where they advanced to the semifinals.2019-2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020 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.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. This was one of the finest teams in Western Kentucky history, they had the best winning percentage in the NCAA,E. A. Diddle CBB Records, Sports Reference, retrieved May 13, 2020 all five starters were named to the All-KIAC Team (Odie Spears, John Oldham, Don “Duck” Ray, Dee Gibson, and Oran McKinney) and three players were listed on various All-American teams, Spears, Ray, and Gibson. Harrison Lowell Western Kentucky University University Press of Kentucky 1987 978-0813116204 Schedule Western Kentucky Men's Basketball Archive, retrieved 14 May 2020 no no no no no |- !colspan=6| Regular Season 12/2/1947 no Kentucky Wesleyan Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 51–31 1–0 |- 12/5/1947 yes yes no Canterbury Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY 82–34 2–0 12/10/1947 yes yes no Evansville Evansville, IN 58–42 3–0 12/13/1947 no Morehead State Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 78–40 4–0 12/15/1947 yes yes no Fort Knox Fort Knox, KY 101–68 5–0 12/27/1947 yes yes no Utah State Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY 80–49 6–0 12/29/1947 yes yes no Bowling Green State Bowling Green, OH 64–75 6–1 1/2/1948 yes no Georgetown (DC) Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 58–37 7–1 1/5/1948 yes no Evansville Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 67–44 8–1 1/10/1948 yes no Maryville Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 77–37 9–1 1/14/1948 yes no Louisville Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY 71–44 10–1 1/17/1948 yes yes no Canisius Buffalo, NY 74–52 11–1 1/20/1948 yes yes no Long Island Madison Square Garden New York, NY 62–47 12–1 1/24/1948 yes yes no Saint Joseph's (PA) Philadelphia, PA 84–73 13–1 1/29/1948 yes no Arkansas State Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 76–37 14–1 1/31/1948 yes no Eastern Kentucky Weaver Gymnasium Richmond, KY 49–42 15–1 2/2/1948 yes no Kentucky Wesleyan Owensboro, KY 83–52 16–1 2/4/1948 yes no Bowling Green State Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 66–52 17–1 2/7/1948 yes no Murray State Lovett Auditorium Murray, KY 59–46 18–1 2/10/1948 yes no North Dakota Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 62–47 19–1 2/14/1948 no Murray State Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 76–65 20–1 2/17/1948 no Louisville Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 77–55 21–1 2/19/1948 yes no Morehead State Button Auditorium Morehead, KY 43–40 22–1 2/21/1948 no Eastern Kentucky Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 65–51 23–1 |- !colspan=6| 1948 Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament 2/26/1948 yes no Berea Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY KIAC Tournament Quarterfinal 87–51 24–1 2/27/1948 yes no Eastern Kentucky Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY KIAC Tournament Semifinal 62–52 25–1 2/28/1948 yes no Louisville Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY KIAC Tournament Final 63–62 26–1 |- !colspan=6| 1948 National Invitation Tournament 3/12/1948 yes yes no La Salle Madison Square Garden New York, NY NIT Quarterfinal 68–61 27–1 3/15/1948 yes yes no Saint Louis Madison Square Garden New York, NY NIT Semifinal 53–60 27–2 3/17/1948 yes yes no DePaul Madison Square Garden New York, NY NIT Consolation 61–59 28–2 References Category:Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball seasons Western Kentucky State Teachers Western Kentucky State Western Kentucky State Teachers Western Kentucky State Teachers Category:Long stubs with short prose