1951β52 Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers basketball | |
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OVC Tournament Champion Ohio Valley Conference Champion | |
NIT Tournament, Quarterfinals | |
Conference | Ohio Valley Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 16 |
Record | 26β5 (11β1 OVC) |
Head coach |
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Assistant coach | Ted Hornback |
Home arena | Health & Physical Education Building |
The 1951β52 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. [1] The Hilltoppers won the Ohio Valley Conference season and tournament championships, and were invited to the 1952 National Invitation Tournament. [2] During this period, the NIT was considered on par with the NCAA tournament. [3] [4] Marshall, Art Spoelstra, Gene Rhodes, and Richard White were named to the All-Conference and OVC Tournament teams. [5]
Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site city, state | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular Season | |||||||||||
11/30/1951* |
Southeastern Louisiana | W 77β57 | 1β0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
12/1/1951 |
Tennessee Tech | W 89β62 | 2β0 (1-0) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
12/6/1951 |
at Evansville | W 69β56 | 3β0 (2-0) |
Evansville, IN | |||||||
12/8/1951* |
Bowling Green State | W 89β57 | 4β0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
12/10/1951 |
at Morehead State | W 65β54 | 5β0 (3-0) |
Button Auditorium Morehead, KY | |||||||
12/15/1951* |
at Cincinnati | W 76β71 | 6β0 |
Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH | |||||||
12/17/1951* |
Central Missouri | W 76β56 | 7β0 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
12/19/1951* |
No. 16 | vs. Xavier | W 92β82 | 8β0 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | ||||||
12/29/1951* |
No. 11 | vs. St. Bonaventure | L 60β73 | 8β1 |
Memorial Auditorium Buffalo, NY | ||||||
1/1/1952* |
No. 11 | at No. 13 La Salle | L 58β67 | 8β2 |
Wister Hall Philadelphia, PA | ||||||
1/3/1952* |
vs. No. 11 Seton Hall | L 65β77 | 8β3 |
Madison Square Garden New York, NY | |||||||
1/12/1952 |
at Murray State | W 77β64 | 9β3 (4-0) |
Carr Health Building Murray, KY | |||||||
1/16/1952 |
at Tennessee Tech | W 64β55 | 10β3 (5-0) |
Memorial Gymnasium Cookeville, TN | |||||||
1/19/1952 |
Eastern Kentucky | W 69β63 | 11β3 (6-0) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
1/25/1952* |
at Miami | W 102β74 | 12β3 |
Miami, FL | |||||||
1/28/1952* |
at Tampa | W 82β77 | 13β3 |
Tampa, FL | |||||||
1/30/1952* |
Cincinnati | W 79β63 | 14β3 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
2/2/1952 |
Marshall | W 76β65 | 15β3 (7-0) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
2/5/1952 |
No. 20 | at Morehead State | W 80β72 | 16β3 (8-0) |
Button Auditorium Morehead, KY | ||||||
2/7/1952* |
No. 20 | Tampa | W 79β70 | 17β3 |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | ||||||
2/9/1952 |
No. 20 | at Eastern Kentucky | L 62β73 | 17β4 (8-1) |
Weaver Gymnasium Richmond, KY | ||||||
2/12/1952 |
at Marshall | W 86β82 | 18β4 (9-1) |
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV | |||||||
2/16/1952 |
Murray State | W 97β63 | 19β4 (10-1) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
2/18/1952 |
Evansville | W 92β58 | 20β4 (11-1) |
Health & Phys Ed Building Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
1952 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament | |||||||||||
2/21/1952 |
vs. Evansville OVC Tournament |
W 83β63 | 21β4 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | |||||||
2/22/1952 |
vs. Marshall OVC Tournament Semifinal |
W 89β74 | 22β4 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | |||||||
2/23/1952 |
vs. Murray State OVC Tournament Final |
W 47β45 | 23β4 |
Jefferson County Armory Louisville, KY | |||||||
Regular Season | |||||||||||
2/27/1952* |
No. 18 | at Kentucky Wesleyan | W 94β68 | 24β4 |
Owensboro Sportscenter Owensboro, KY | ||||||
3/3/1952* |
No. 18 | at Bowling Green State | W 82β75 | 25β4 |
Bowling Green, OH | ||||||
1952 National Invitation Tournament | |||||||||||
3/8/1952* |
No. 18 | vs. No. 17
Louisville NIT First Round |
W 62β59 | 26β4 |
Madison Square Garden New York, NY | ||||||
3/10/1952* |
No. 18 | vs. No. 15 St. Bonaventure NIT Quarterfinal |
L 69β70 | 26β5 |
Madison Square Garden New York, NY | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from
AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
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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