1948–49 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball none 1948–49 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers WKU Hilltoppers wordmark.png 150 Ohio Valley Conference 5 OVC 25–4 8–2 Edgar Diddle 27th Ted Hornback Health & Physical Education Building OVC Tournament ChampionOhio Valley Conference Champion NIT Tournament Quarterfinals 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. Ruby Earl Red Towel Territory : A History of Athletics at Western Kentucky University American National Bank and Trust Co. 1979 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.2019-2020 OVC Basketball Media Guide, retrieved 4 May 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. Oldham and Center Bob Lavoy were named to the All-Conference team as well as the OVC All-Tournament team.2019-2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020 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.November 2025 Schedule Western Kentucky Men's Basketball Archive, retrieved 14 May 2020 1948-49 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings 1949 |- !colspan=6| Regular Season 12/6/1948 yes Kentucky Wesleyan Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 62–51 1–0 |- 12/9/1948 yes Emporia State Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 61–34 2–0 12/11/1948 yes Bowling Green State Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 60–51 3–0 12/13/1948 yes Morehead State Button Auditorium Morehead, KY 66–51 4–0 (1-0) 12/15/1948 yes Eastern Kentucky Weaver Gymnasium Richmond, KY 56–53 5–0 (2-0) 12/18/1948 yes yes Washington and Lee Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY 89–43 6–0 12/27/1948 yes yes Canisius Buffalo, NY 65–55 7–0 12/30/1948 yes yes Long Island Madison Square Garden New York, NY 83–58 8–0 1/1/1949 yes yes Saint Joseph's (PA) Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, PA 86–69 9–0 1/8/1949 yes Berea Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 77–36 10–0 1/10/1949 Louisville Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 56–44 11–0 (3-0) 1/13/1949 yes Evansville Evansville, IN 72–66 12–0 (4-0) 1/18/1949 yes yes 3 Memphis State Memorial Fieldhouse Memphis, TN 78–51 13–0 1/21/1949 yes yes 3 Miami Miami, FL 78–45 14–0 1/22/1949 yes yes 3 Miami Miami, FL 63–47 15–0 1/29/1949 4 Eastern Kentucky Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 40–42 15–1 (4-1) 1/31/1949 yes 4 Kentucky Wesleyan Owensboro Sportscenter Owensboro, KY 80–74 16–1 2/2/1949 yes 6 Louisville Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY 64–70 16–2 (4-2) 2/5/1949 6 Murray State Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 61–47 17–2 (5-2) 2/8/1949 6 Evansville Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 71–47 18–2 (6-2) 2/11/1949 yes yes 6 Baldwin Wallace Cleveland Arena Cleveland, OH 67–58 19–2 2/12/1949 yes 6 Bowling Green State 14 Bowling Green, OH 58–72 19–3 2/14/1949 yes 6 Murray State Carr Health Building Murray, KY 73–54 20–3 (7-2) 2/17/1949 7 Morehead State Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 69–48 21–3 (8-2) 2/19/1949 yes 7 East Tennessee Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY 90–53 22–3 |- !colspan=6| 1949 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament 2/24/1949 yes 7 Tennessee Tech Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY OVC Tournament 73–42 23–3 2/26/1949 yes 7 Eastern Kentucky Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY OVC Tournament Semifinal 70–54 24–3 2/26/1949 yes 7 Louisville Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY OVC Tournament Final 74–68 25–3 |- !colspan=6| 1949 National Invitation Tournament 3/14/1949 yes yes 5 Bradley 7 Madison Square Garden New York, NY NIT Quarterfinal 86–95 25–4 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