2024–25 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team
2024–25 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball | |
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Conference | Conference USA |
Record | 9–3 (0–0 CUSA) |
Head coach |
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Assistant coaches |
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Home arena | E. A. Diddle Arena |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Liberty | 0 | – | 0 | – | 12 | – | 1 | .923 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Louisiana Tech | 0 | – | 0 | – | 11 | – | 2 | .846 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Middle Tennessee | 0 | – | 0 | – | 9 | – | 3 | .750 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UTEP | 0 | – | 0 | – | 9 | – | 3 | .750 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Western Kentucky | 0 | – | 0 | – | 9 | – | 3 | .750 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jacksonville State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 7 | – | 5 | .583 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kennesaw State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 7 | – | 5 | .583 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New Mexico State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 6 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sam Houston | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 6 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FIU | 0 | – | 0 | – | 5 | – | 7 | .417 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
† 2025 CUSA tournament winner As of December 21, 2024 |
The 2024–25 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represents Western Kentucky University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by first-year head coach Hank Plona, and play their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky as eleventh-year members of Conference USA (C-USA).
Previous season
[edit]The Hilltoppers finished the 2023–24 season 22–12, 8–8 in C-USA play, to finish in third place. As the No. 3 seed in the C-USA tournament, they defeated New Mexico State in the quarterfinals,[1] Middle Tennessee in the semifinals,[2] and UTEP in the finals to win the C-USA championship.[3] As an automatic qualifier in the NCAA tournament, they earned the No. 15 seed, where they lost to No. 2 seed Marquette in the first round.[4][5]
On April 1, 2024, Steve Lutz left the program to accept the head coaching job at Oklahoma State.[6]
A day later, on April 2, 2024, the school named Hank Plona as the new head coach to lead the Hilltoppers.[7]
Offseason
[edit]Departures
[edit]Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rodney Howard | 0 | F | 6' 11" | 250 | 5th year | Ypsilanti, MI | Graduated |
Brandon Newman | 10 | G | 6' 5" | 195 | RS Senior | Valparaiso, IN | Graduate transferred to Oklahoma State |
Dontaie Allen | 11 | G/F | 6' 6" | 210 | RS Senior | Falmouth, KY | Transferred to Wyoming |
BJ Marable | 13 | F | 6' 9" | 230 | Senior | Knoxville, TN | Entered transfer portal |
Incoming transfers
[edit]Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
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Braxton Bayless | 0 | G | 6' 2" | 175 | Graduate student | Ankeny, IA | Niagara |
Blaise Keita | 1 | F/C | 6' 11" | 250 | RS Senior | Bamako, Mali | Nebraska[8] |
Cade Stinnett | 10 | G | 6' 3" | 198 | Junior | Bowling Green, KY | Centre College |
Leeroy Odiahi | 21 | F/C | 6' 11" | 218 | Senior | Tralee, Ireland | Old Dominion |
Recruiting classes
[edit]2024 recruiting class
[edit]Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
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Kade Unseld G/F |
Bowling Green, KY | Warren Central HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 202 lb (92 kg) | Oct 23, 2023 | |
Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR | ||||||
Julius Thedford G |
Memphis, TN | Cordova HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Apr 15, 2024 | |
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
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Roster
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
Schedule and results
[edit]Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
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Exhibition | |||||||||||
October 27, 2024* 2:00 p.m. |
UAB | L 79–88 | – |
20 – Faye | 8 – Faye | 4 – tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,724) Bowling Green, KY | ||||
Non-conference regular season | |||||||||||
November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., CBSSN |
Wichita State | L 84–91 | 0–1 |
28 – Faye | 8 – Faye | 4 – McHenry | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,547) Bowling Green, KY | ||||
November 9, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
at Grand Canyon | L 72–74 | 0–2 |
23 – McHenry | 8 – tied | 2 – tied | Global Credit Union Arena (7,332) Phoenix, AZ | ||||
November 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
Campbellsville | W 104–76 | 1–2 |
23 – Lander | 9 – Faye | 8 – Jackson | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,312) Bowling Green, KY | ||||
November 17, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
Lipscomb | W 66–61 | 2–2 |
21 – McHenry | 10 – Kalambay | 3 – Kalambay | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,712) Bowling Green, KY | ||||
November 20, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
Jackson State BBN Invitational |
W 79–62 | 3–2 |
15 – Lander | 10 – Marshall | 5 – Jackson | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,347) Bowling Green, KY | ||||
November 26, 2024* 5:30 p.m., ESPNU |
at No. 8 Kentucky BBN Invitational |
L 68–87 | 3–3 |
18 – Thedford | 8 – tied | 3 – Lander | Rupp Arena (20,049) Lexington, KY | ||||
November 30, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
Marshall | W 90–82 | 4–3 |
19 – Thedford | 6 – Faye | 5 – Jackson | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,120) Bowling Green, KY | ||||
December 7, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
at Evansville | W 79–65 | 5–3 |
19 – Faye | 12 – Faye | 5 – Bayless | Ford Center (5,316) Evansville, IN | ||||
December 10, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
Tennessee State | W 84–60 | 6–3 |
19 – Lander | 6 – tied | 4 – Lander | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,312) Bowling Green, KY | ||||
December 14, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
Murray State | W 81–76 OT | 7–3 |
29 – McHenry | 11 – Marshall Jr. | 2 – Kalambay | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,707) Bowling Green, KY | ||||
December 17, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
Seattle | W 86–73 | 8–3 |
28 – McHenry | 8 – Bayless | 5 – Kalambay | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,702) Bowling Green, KY | ||||
December 21, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
Kentucky Wesleyan | W 91–77 | 9–3 |
29 – McHenry | 7 – Marshall Jr. | 5 – Jackson | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,712) Bowling Green, KY | ||||
December 29, 2024* 7:00 p.m., BTN |
at Michigan | Crisler Center Ann Arbor, MI | |||||||||
Conference regular season | |||||||||||
January 2, 2025 6:00 p.m., CBSSN |
at Liberty | Liberty Arena Lynchburg, VA | |||||||||
January 4, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
at FIU | Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL | |||||||||
January 9, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
Jacksonville State | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY | |||||||||
January 11, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
Kennesaw State | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY | |||||||||
January 18, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
at Middle Tennessee | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN | |||||||||
January 23, 2025 6:00 p.m., CBSSN |
at Louisiana Tech | Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA | |||||||||
January 25, 2025 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ |
at Sam Houston | Bernard Johnson Coliseum Huntsville, TX | |||||||||
January 30, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
UTEP | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY | |||||||||
February 1, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
New Mexico State | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY | |||||||||
February 6, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
at Kennesaw State | KSU Convocation Center Kennesaw, GA | |||||||||
February 8, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
at Jacksonville State | Pete Mathews Coliseum Jacksonville, AL | |||||||||
February 15, 2025 7:00 p.m., CBSSN |
Middle Tennessee | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY | |||||||||
February 20, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPNU |
Sam Houston | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY | |||||||||
February 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
Louisiana Tech | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY | |||||||||
February 27, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN |
at UTEP | Don Haskins Center El Paso, TX | |||||||||
March 1, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
at New Mexico State | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM | |||||||||
March 6, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
FIU | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY | |||||||||
March 8, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ |
Liberty | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY | |||||||||
Conference USA tournament | |||||||||||
March 11–15, 2025 TBA |
vs. TBA | Von Braun Center Huntsville, AL | |||||||||
Source:[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "Tops Roll In Quarterfinal Victory". Western Kentucky University Athletics. March 14, 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ "WKU Dominates Middle Tennessee, Clinches CUSA Championship Game Berth". Western Kentucky University Athletics. March 15, 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ "Hilltoppers Claim CUSA Championship With 78-71 Win Over UTEP". Western Kentucky University Athletics. March 16, 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ "Hilltoppers Fall To Marquette In First Round Of NCAA Tournament". Western Kentucky University Athletics. March 22, 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ "2023-24 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Men's Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ^ Brunt, Cliff (April 2, 2024). "Steve Lutz hired as basketball coach at Oklahoma State after one season at Western Kentucky". AP News. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ^ McMahon, Jake (April 2, 2024). "WKU mens basketball hires Hank Plona as next head coach". WKU Herald. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ^ Moore, Wilson (May 21, 2024). "Former Nebraska forward Blaise Keita transfers to Western Kentucky". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". WKU Athletics. Retrieved October 25, 2024.