2005–06 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

2005–06 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
Sun Belt Conference East Division Champion
NIT Tournament, First Round
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Division	East Division
Record	23–8 (12–2 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Darrin Horn
Assistant coach	Paul Sanderford
Home arena	E. A. Diddle Arena

2005–06 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Western Kentucky	12	–	2		.857			23	–	8		.742
Middle Tennessee	8	–	6		.571			16	–	12		.571
Arkansas State	7	–	7		.500			12	–	18		.400
Arkansas-Little Rock	5	–	9		.357			14	–	15		.483
Florida International	4	–	10		.286			8	–	20		.286
West
South Alabama †	12	–	3		.800			24	–	7		.774
Louisiana–Lafayette	7	–	8		.467			13	–	16		.448
Denver	7	–	8		.467			15	–	16		.484
New Orleans	6	–	9		.400			10	–	19		.345
North Texas	6	–	9		.400			14	–	14		.500
Troy	6	–	9		.400			14	–	15		.483
† 2006 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 2005–06 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2005–06 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by head coach Darrin Horn and Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Anthony Winchester. The team won the East Division Championship and finished 2nd in the Sun Belt Basketball Tournament. They participated in the National Invitation Tournament where they were defeated by eventual champion, South Carolina. Winchester and future NBA player Courtney Lee were named to the All SBC team. Elgrace Wilborn and Winchester made the SBC All-Tournament team.

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
11/18/2005*		Austin Peay	W 83–54	1–0	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
11/22/2005*		IUPUI	W 89–75	2–0	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
11/26/2005*		Georgia	L 65–69	2–1	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
11/29/2005*		at UAB	W 92–76	3–1	Bartow Arena  Birmingham, AL
12/3/2005*		at Eastern Kentucky	W 97–89	4–1	Alumni Coliseum  Richmond, VA
12/6/2005*		Evansville	W 84–77	5–1	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/10/2005*		Pacific	L 75–91	5–2	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/14/2005*		at Bradley	L 76–78	5–3	Carver Arena  Peoria, IL
12/19/2005*		vs. Central Florida Fiesta Bowl Classic	W 73–68	6–3	McKale Center  Tucson, AZ
12/21/2005*		vs. No. 11 Arizona Fiesta Bowl Classic	L 81–86 OT	6–4	McKale Center  Tucson, AZ
12/29/2005*		Kentucky State	W 87–71	7–4	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
01/2/2006*		Virginia	W 78–68	8–4	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
01/5/2006		at Arkansas State	W 72–70	9–4 (1-0)	Convocation Center  Jonesboro, AR
01/7/2006		Middle Tennessee	W 80–48	10–4 (2-0)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/12/2006		Arkansas–Little Rock	W 74–70	11–4 (3-0)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
01/14/2006		Arkansas State	W 87–63	12–4 (4-0)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/19/2006		at Troy	L 49–76	12–5 (4-1)	Trojan Arena  Troy, AL
1/21/2006		at South Alabama	W 74–73	13–5 (5-1)	Mitchell Center  Mobile, AL
01/26/2006		Louisiana–Lafayette	W 94–81	14–5 (6-1)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
01/28/2006		New Orleans	W 72–57	15–5 (7-1)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/31/2006		at FIU	W 66–61	16–5 (8-1)	Ocean Bank Convocation Center  University Park, FL
02/9/2006		at Denver	W 71–70	17–5 (9-1)	Magness Arena  Denver, CO
02/11/2006		North Texas	W 97–71	18–5 (10-1)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
2/16/2006		at Arkansas–Little Rock	W 74–73	19–5 (11-1)	Jack Stephens Center  Little Rock, AR
02/18/2006*		Northern Arizona Bracket Buster	W 79–58	20–5	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
02/23/2006		at Middle Tennessee	L 74–80	20–6 (11-2)	Murphy Center  Murfreesboro, TN
02/25/2006		FIU	W 80–65	21–6 (12-2)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
2006 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
03/05/2006	No. (SBC 1E)	vs. No. (SBC 4W) New Orleans Second Round	W 80–61	22–6	Murphy Center  Murfreesboro, TN
03/6/2006	No. (SBC 1E)	vs. No. (SBC 2W) Louisiana–Lafayette Semifinals	W 80–72	23–6	Murphy Center  Murfreesboro, TN
03/7/2006	No. (SBC !E)	vs. No. (SBC 1W) South Alabama Championship Game	L 70–95	23–7	Murphy Center  Murfreesboro, TN
2006 National Invitation Tournament
03/15/2006*	No. (C 6)	at No. (C 3) South Carolina First Round	L 55–74	23–8	Colonial Life Arena  Columbia, SC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll (C) during NIT Tournament is seed with Region . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.