2008–09 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball none 2008–09 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers WKU Hilltoppers wordmark.png 150 Sun Belt Conference East Division Sun Belt 25–9 15–3 Ken McDonald Ray Harper E. A. Diddle Arena Sun Belt Conference tournament ChampionSun Belt Conference East Division Champion NCAA Tournament second round thumb|right The 2008–09 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by first year head coach Ken McDonald and team captain Orlando Mendez-Valdez. They played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena and were members of the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 25–9 and 15–3 in Sun Belt Play to finish first in the East Division.SBC 2016-17 Basketball Media Guide, retrieved 28 April 2020 One of the highlights of the season was a victory over in-state rival, 3rd ranked Louisville. The Hilltoppers won the Sun Belt Basketball tournament and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.Hilltoppers win Sun Belt Championship, Toppers book repeat engagement in NCAA Tournament By ROB HERBST, the Daily News Online, Mar 11, 2009, retrieved 29 April 2020 They defeated Illinois in the first round before falling tenth ranked Gonzaga. Mendez-Valdez was SBC Player of the year and was joined by A.J. Slaughter on the All SBC team. Slaughter was SBC Tournament Most Valuable Player and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Mendaz-Valdez and Sergio Kerusch.WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020 Schedule 2008-09 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Schedule and Results, Sports Reference, retrieved 29 April 2020 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings 2008 |- !colspan=6| Regular Season 11/15/2008 yes yes Houston Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX 64–73 3,217 0–1 |- 11/18/2008 yes Campbellsville E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 62–48 3,528 1–1 11/22/2008 yes yes Murray State CFSB Center Murray, KY 61–89 7,038 1–2 11/26/2008 yes Southern Illinois E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 79–70 3,948 2–2 11/30/2008 yes yes Louisville 3 Sommet Center Nashville, TN 68–54 8,193 3–2 12/2/2008 yes Georgia E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 67–63 7,086 4–2 12/6/2008 yes yes Tulane Devlin Fieldhouse New Orleans, LA 82–67 1,455 5–2 12/13/2008 yes yes Evansville Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, IN 40–72 7,746 5–3 12/18/2008 yes South Alabama Mitchell Center Mobile, AL 69–66 4,360 6–3 (1–0) 12/21/2008 yes Alabama A&M E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 83–60 3,083 7–3 12/28/2008 yes yes Florida State BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, FL Orange Bowl Basketball Classic 69–82 9,045 7–4 1/1/2009 Troy E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 99–76 3,778 8–4 (2–0) 1/3/2009 Arkansas–Little Rock E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 79–47 4,538 9–4 (3–0) 1/5/2009 yes yes Mississippi State Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS 67–95 7,674 9–5 1/8/2009 yes FIU Ocean Bank Convocation Center University Park, FL 79–81 609 9–6 (3–1) 1/10/2009 yes Florida Atlantic FAU Arena Boca Raton, FL 78–57 1,165 10–6 (4–1) 01/15/2009 Middle Tennessee E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 63–61 5,142 11–6 (5–1) 01/17/2009 New Orleans E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 70–60 5,042 12–6 (6–1) 01/22/2009 Louisiana–Lafayette E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 73–68 4,814 13–6 (7–1) 01/24/2009 yes Denver Magness Arena Denver, CO 74–78 3,550 13–7 (7–2) 01/31/2009 North Texas E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 71–67 5,689 14–7 (8–2) 02/2/2009 yes Arkansas State Convocation Center Jonesboro, AR 68–63 5,091 15–7 (9–2) 02/5/2009 yes ULM Fant–Ewing Coliseum Monroe, LA 64–55 847 16–7 (10–2) 02/07/2009 South Alabama E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 67–59 6,613 17–7 (11–2) 02/14/2009 yes Troy Sartain Hall Troy, AL 82–87 2,204 17–8 (11–3) 2/19/2009 yes Arkansas–Little Rock Jack Stephens Center Little Rock, AR 78–69 5,012 18–8 (12–3) 02/21/2009 FIU E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 79–66 7,117 19–8 (13–3) 02/26/2009 Florida Atlantic E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 87–67 6,413 20–8 (14–3) 02/28/2009 yes Middle Tennessee Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN 68–49 5,128 21–8 (15–3) |- !colspan=6| 2009 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament 03/08/2009 yes 1 FIU 9 Summit Arena Hot Springs, AR Second Round 66–48 1,000 22–8 03/09/2009 yes 1 North Texas 4 Summit Arena Hot Springs, AR Semifinals 77–70 3,504 23–8 03/10/2009 yes 1 South Alabama 6 Summit Arena Hot Springs, AR Championship Game 64–56 3,493 24–8 |- !colspan=6| 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 03/19/2009 yes yes 12 S Illinois 5 S Rose Garden Arena Portland, OR First Round 76–72 17,169 25–8 03/21/2009 yes yes 12 S Gonzaga 10 4 S Rose Garden Arena Portland, OR Second Round 81–83 18,794 25–9 AP Poll (S) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region https://dxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net/sidearm.nextgen.sites/wkusports.com/documents/2014/4/24/2008-09.pdf 2008-2009 WKU Men's Basketball Stats WKU Sports References Category:Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball seasons WKU WKU Category:Long stubs with short prose