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1979–80 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

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1979–80 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
OVC Tournament Champion
Ohio Valley Conference Champion
NCAA Tournament, First Round
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Record21–8 (10–2 OVC)
Head coach
Assistant coachClem Haskins
Home arenaE. A. Diddle Arena
Seasons
1979–80 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Western Kentucky 10 2   .833 21 8   .724
Murray State 10 2   .833 23 8   .742
Morehead State 7 5   .583 15 12   .556
Eastern Kentucky 7 5   .583 15 12   .556
Middle Tennessee 5 7   .417 13 13   .500
Austin Peay State 2 10   .167 8 18   .308
Tennessee Tech 1 11   .083 5 21   .192
1980 OVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 1979–80 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 1979–80 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.[1] WKU won the OVC regular season and tournament championships and received the conference's automatic bid to the 1980 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament.[2] Craig McCormick and Bill Bryant made the All-OVC Team, and McCormick was selected as OVC Tournament MVP.[3]

Schedule

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[4]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
12/1/1979*
Rollins W 104–73  1–0
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
12/3/1979*
at Illinois State L 55–66  1–1
Horton Field House 
Normal, IL
12/6/1979*
at Duquesne L 73–84  1–2
Mellon Arena 
Pittsburgh, PA
12/8/1979*
Florida A&M W 87–60  2–2
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
12/13/1979*
vs. Evansville
Holiday Classic
W 75–61  3–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
12/14/1979*
at No. 12 Louisville
Holiday Classic
L 74–96  3–3
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
12/29/1979*
Florida State L 65–67  3–4
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
1/3/1980*
Butler W 66–62  4–4
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
1/5/1980*
at Louisiana Tech W 63–59  5–4
Memorial Gym 
Ruston, LA
1/7/1980*
East Tennessee W 71–59  6–4
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
1/10/1980*
Akron W 92–58  7–4
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
1/12/1980
Tennessee Tech W 97–72  8–4 (1-0)
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
1/17/1980
Murray State W 68–48  9–4 (2-0)
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
1/19/1980
at Austin Peay W 95–71  10–4 (3-0)
Dunn Center 
Clarksville, TN
1/21/1980*
Dayton W 71–65  11–4
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
1/24/1980
at Middle Tennessee W 62–58  12–4 (4-0)
Murphy Center 
Murfreesboro, TN
1/26/1980
at Eastern Kentucky L 82–84  12–5 (4-1)
Alumni Coliseum 
Richmond, KY
1/31/1980
Morehead State W 86–79  13–5 (5-1)
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
2/2/1980
Eastern Kentucky W 74–62  14–5 (6-1)
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
2/7/1980*
at Akron W 70–68  15–5
James A. Rhodes Arena 
Akron, OH
2/9/1980
at Tennessee Tech W 75–56  16–5 (7-1)
Eblen Center 
Cookeville, TN
2/11/1980
at Morehead State L 73–76  16–6 (7-2)
Wetherby Gymnasium 
Morehead, KY
2/14/1980
Austin Peay W 70–51  17–6 (8-2)
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
2/16/1980
at Murray State W 56–55  18–6 (9-2)
Racer Arena 
Murray, KY
2/21/1980
Middle Tennessee W 81–79 3OT 19–6 (10-2)
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
2/23/1980*
at South Carolina L 65–73 2OT 19–7
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
1980 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
2/28/1980
(1) (4) Eastern Kentucky
Semifinals
W 84–83 OT 20–7
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
3/1/1980
(1) (2) Murray State
Championship
W 54–51  21–7
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
1980 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament
3/7/1980*
(10 ME) (7 ME) Virginia Tech
First Round
L 85–89 OT 21–8
E. A. Diddle Arena 
Bowling Green, KY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

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  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. ^ 2019-2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020
  4. ^ 1979-80 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Schedule and Results, Sports Reference, retrieved 6 May 2020