1978–79 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

1978–79 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	17–11 (7–5 OVC)
Head coach	Gene Keady
Assistant coach	Clem Haskins
Home arena	E. A. Diddle Arena

1978–79 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Eastern Kentucky †	9	–	3		.750			21	–	8		.724
Western Kentucky	7	–	5		.583			17	–	11		.607
Morehead State	7	–	5		.583			14	–	13		.519
Middle Tennessee	7	–	5		.583			16	–	11		.593
Tennessee Tech	7	–	5		.583			11	–	15		.423
Austin Peay State	3	–	9		.250			8	–	18		.308
Murray State	2	–	10		.167			4	–	22		.154
† 1979 OVC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978–79 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were members of the Ohio Valley Conference and led by future National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame coach Gene Keady in his first year as head coach.[1] WKU finished tied for second in the OVC regular season. The conference tournament was hosted by regular season champion Eastern Kentucky.[2] Western Kentucky had defeated EKU twice during the season, but their third meeting in the conference tournament championship ended in controversy. The Hilltoppers held a one-point lead when the game clock expired, however, due to crowd noise, the referees and time keeper did not hear the buzzer. A foul was called on WKU with no time left and Eastern Kentucky made two free throws to win the game. A review of game film afterwards showed that the foul was called 3.5 seconds after the game clock had ended. Western Kentucky appealed to the OVC Commissioner, however, their appeal was denied.[3] This perceived wrong was a factor in Western Kentucky's decision to leave the OVC in 1982.[4] Greg Jackson and Trey Trumbo were named to the All-OVC Team, and Jackson was OVC Tournament MVP.[5]

Schedule

[6]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
11/25/1978*		No. 1 Duke	L 53–78	0–1	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
11/27/1978*		Jacksonville State	W 71–59	1–1	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
11/30/1978*		at Florida State	L 59–70	1–2	Tully Gymnasium  Tallahassee, FL
12/2/1978*		Bowling Green State	W 70–48	2–2	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/4/1978*		Mississippi College	W 56–53	3–2	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/9/1978*		at Evansville	W 63–60	4–2	Roberts Municipal Stadium  Evansville, IN
12/15/1978*		Davidson	W 103–81	5–2	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/18/1978*		Illinois State	L 74–75 ^OT	5–3	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/30/1978*		at Butler	W 71–65	6–3	Hinkle Fieldhouse  Indianapolis, IN
1/6/1979*		Wisconsin-Milwaukee	W 89–66	7–3	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/10/1979*		at La Salle	L 66–90	7–4	Palestra  Philadelphia, PA
1/15/1979		at Tennessee Tech	L 68–75	7–5 (0-1)	Eblen Center  Cookeville, TN
1/17/1979		Morehead State	W 78–76	8–5 (1-1)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/20/1979		at Murray State	L 65–67	8–6 (1-2)	Racer Arena  Murray, KY
1/22/1979		Austin Peay	W 85–61	9–6 (2-2)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/24/1979*		at Dayton	W 78–72	10–6	UD Arena  Dayton, OH
2/21/1980		Middle Tennessee	W 72–70 ^2OT	11–6 (3-2)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/29/1979		Eastern Kentucky	W 70–65	12–6 (4-2)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
2/1/1979*		CCNY	W 104–50	13–6	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
2/3/1979		at Morehead State	L 81–83	13–7 (4-3)	Wetherby Gymnasium  Morehead, KY
2/5/1979		at Eastern Kentucky	W 70–65	14–7 (5-3)	Alumni Coliseum  Richmond, KY
2/10/1979*		at East Tennessee	L 64–65	14–8	Memorial Center  Johnson City, TN
2/12/1979		Tennessee Tech	W 80–66	15–8 (6-3)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
2/17/1979		at Austin Peay	W 78–66	16–8 (7-3)	Dunn Center  Clarksville, TN
2/19/1979		Murray State	L 64–66	16–9 (7-4)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
2/24/1979		at Middle Tennessee	L 76–81	16–10 (7-5)	Murphy Center  Murfreesboro, TN
1979 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
3/2/1979	(2)	vs. (3) Morehead State Semifinals	W 90–85	17–10	Alumni Coliseum  Richmond, KY
3/3/1979	(2)	at (1) Eastern Kentucky Championship	L 77–78	17–11	Alumni Coliseum  Richmond, KY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

1. Lowell H. Harrison (1987). Western Kentucky University. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 276–. ISBN 978-0813116204.
2. 2019-2020 OVC Basketball Media Guide, retrieved 4 May 2020
3. Ruby, Earl (1979). Red Towel Territory : A History of Athletics at Western Kentucky University. American National Bank and Trust Co.
4. UA19/2/1 Press Conference re: WKU vs EKU Basketball Game Controversy, retrieved 28 December 2020
5. 2019-2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020
6. 1978-79 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Schedule and Results, Sports Reference, retrieved 6 May 2020