1965–66 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

1965–66 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
Ohio Valley Conference Champion OVC Tournament Champion
NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen Mideast Region 3rd Place
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 10
Record	25–3 (14–0 OVC)
Head coach	John Oldham
Assistant coach	Gene Rhodes
Home arena	E. A. Diddle Arena

The 1965–66 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 1965-66 NCAA University Division Basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year John Oldham and OVC Player of the Year Clem Haskins.[1] WKU won the OVC tournament and season championship, as well as the conference's automatic bid to the 1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament, where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen and finished 3rd in the Mideast Region.[2] The conference tournament was held in December and had no impact on the conference standing; the conference NCAA tournament bid was awarded to the season champion.[3]

This team was the recipient of what many Hilltopper fans referred to as “the worst call in NCAA tournament history.” In the second-round game against Michigan, Western Kentucky forced a jump ball with seconds left, while leading by 1 point. Western Kentucky's Greg Smith was called for a foul during the jump and Michigan's Cazzie Russell made two free throws to win the game. Still pictures show Russell not jumping on the play and then leaning in to make contact with Smith.[4][5]

Haskins was joined on the All-Conference and OVC Tournament teams by Steve Cunningham, Dwight Smith, and Greg Smith[6]

Schedule

[7]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
12/2/1965*		Parsons (IA)	W 98–77	1–0	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/4/1965*		La Salle	W 93–67	2–0	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/6/1965*		Campbellsville	W 101–59	3–0	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/11/1965*		Memphis State	W 100–61	4–0	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/14/1965*		Abilene Christian	W 84–59	5–0	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/17/1965*		vs. SMU Vanderbilt Invitational	W 82–68	6–0	Memorial Gymnasium  Nashville, TN
12/18/1965*		at Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Invitational	L 69–72	6–1	Memorial Gymnasium  Nashville, TN
12/20/1965		vs. Morehead State OVC Tournament	W 80–55	7–1	Convention Center  Louisville, KY
12/21/1965		vs. Tennessee Tech OVC Tournament Semifinal	W 78–63	8–1	Convention Center  Louisville, KY
12/22/1965		vs. Eastern Kentucky OVC Tournament Final	W 83–67	9–1	Convention Center  Louisville, KY
1/8/1966		at Tennessee Tech	W 120–92	10–1 (1-0)	Memorial Gymnasium  Cookeville, TN
1/10/1966		East Tennessee	W 85–69	11–1 (2-0)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/15/1966		at Eastern Kentucky	W 107–88	12–1 (3-0)	Alumni Coliseum  Richmond, KY
1/17/1966		at Morehead State	W 45–35	13–1 (4-0)	Wetherby Gymnasium  Morehead, KY
1/22/1966*		at Dayton	L 57–77	13–2	UD Arena  Dayton, OH
1/31/1966		at Middle Tennessee	W 93–56	14–2 (5-0)	Alumni Memorial Gym  Murfreesboro, TN
2/5/1966		at Murray State	W 101–84	15–2 (6-0)	Racer Arena  Murray, KY
2/7/1966		at Austin Peay	W 94–67	16–2 (7-0)	Memorial Health Gymnasium  Clarksville, TN
2/12/1966		at East Tennessee	W 96–79	17–2 (8-0)	Brooks Gymnasium  Johnson City, TN
2/14/1966		Tennessee Tech	W 85–72	18–2 (9-0)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
2/19/1966		Morehead State	W 73–58	19–2 (10-0)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
2/21/1966		Eastern Kentucky	W 72–67	20–2 (11-0)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
2/26/1966		Murray State	W 71–59	21–2 (12-0)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
2/28/1966		Middle Tennessee	W 81–47	22–2 (13-0)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
3/3/1966		Austin Peay	W 76–63	23–2 (14-0)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament
3/7/1966*		vs. No. 4 Loyola (IL) Mideast Region First Round	W 105–86	24–2	Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center  Kent, OH
3/11/1966*	No. 10	vs. No. 9 Michigan Sweet Sixteen	L 79–80	24–3	Iowa Field House  Iowa City, IA
3/12/1966*	No. 10	vs. No. 20 UPI Dayton Mideast Region Consolation	W 82–68	25–3	Iowa Field House  Iowa City, IA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

1. Ruby, Earl (1979). Red Towel Territory : A History of Athletics at Western Kentucky University. American National Bank and Trust Co.
2. Haskins, Chapman reflect on special WKU squads from 1965-66, '66-67, By ZACH GREENWEL, The Bowling Green Daily News.com, Feb 20, 2016 retrieved 10 May 2020
3. 2019-2020 OVC Basketball Media Guide, retrieved 4 May 2020
4. Harrison, Lowell (1987). Western Kentucky University. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813116204.
5. The ‘what if' story of the '66 tourney, By O.J. Stapleton, The Daily News, Jan 17, 2006, retrieved 11 May 2020
6. 2019-2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020
7. 1965-66 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Schedule and Results, Sports Reference, retrieved 10 May 2020