1941–42 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers basketball team

The 1941–42 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College (now known as Western Kentucky University) during the 1941-42 NCAA basketball season. The team was led by future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Edgar Diddle.^[1] The Hilltoppers won the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships, led NCAA in wins,^[2] and received an invitation to the 1942 National Invitation Tournament, where they advanced to the championship game.^[3] During this period, the NIT was considered to be the premiere college basketball tournament, with the winner being recognized as the national champion.^[4][5] This was the first Kentucky team to participate in the NIT.^[6] Oran McKinney, Earl Shelton, and Wallace “Buck” Sydnor were selected to the All-SIAA team, while the All-KIAC Team included Howard “Tip” Downing, Shelton, and Sydnor.^[7]

1941–42 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers basketball
SIAA Champions KAIC Champions
NIT Tournament, Finals National Runner-up
Conference	Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Record	29–5 (7–2 KIAC)
Head coach	Edgar Diddle (20th season)
Assistant coach	Ted Hornback
Home arena	Health & Physical Education Building
Seasons ← 1940–41 1942–43 →

Schedule

^[8]

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
12/6/1941*	Camp Shelby	W 52–18	1–0	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
12/8/1941*	at Austin Peay	W 42–34	2–0	Clarksville, TN
12/13/1941*	Wichita	W 36–9	3–0	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
12/15/1941	vs. Georgetown (KY)	W 48–38	4–0	Madisonville, KY
12/18/1941*	at Southeast Missouri	W 47–36	5–0	Houck Field House  Cape Girardeau, MO
12/19/1941*	at Southern Illinois	W 48–37	6–0	Davies Gym  Carbondale, IL
12/29/1941*	Washington and Lee	W 52–24	7–0	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
1/3/1942*	vs. Illinois Wesleyan	W 60–41	8–0	Owensboro, KY
1/5/1942*	vs. Great Lakes Training	L 37–64	8–1	Jeffersonville, KY
1/7/1942*	Austin Peay	W 46–34	9–1	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
1/10/1942*	Evansville	W 69–48	10–1	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
1/17/1942	Murray State	W 29–27	11–1	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
1/21/1942*	Tennessee Tech	W 32–31	12–1	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
1/23/1942	at Morehead State	L 49–56	12–2	Button Auditorium  Morehead, KY
1/31/1942	Eastern Kentucky	W 45–31	13–2	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
2/3/1942*	at Indiana State	W 41–35	14–2	Indiana State Gym  Terre Haute, IN
2/5/1942*	at Tennessee Tech	L 34–45	14–3	Memorial Gymnasium  Cookeville, TN
2/7/1942	at Murray State	L 37–43	14–4	Lovett Auditorium  Murray, KY
2/9/1942	Morehead State	W 64–31	15–4	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
2/11/1942	at Louisville	W 62–39	16–4	Belknap Gymnasium  Louisville, KY
2/14/1942	at Eastern Kentucky	W 43–40	17–4	Weaver Gymnasium  Richmond, KY
2/16/1942*	Indiana State	W 53–48	18–4	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
2/19/1942*	at Evansville	W 41–40	19–4	Evansville, IN
2/21/1942	Union (KY)	W 59–50	20–4	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
1942 Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament
2/26/1942	vs. Murray State KIAC Tournament	W 46–44	21–4	Weaver Gymnasium  Richmond, KY
2/27/1942	vs. Kentucky Wesleyan KIAC Tournament Quarterfinal	W 49–41	22–4	Weaver Gymnasium  Richmond, KY
2/28/1942	vs. Berea KIAC Tournament Semifinal	W 53–34	23–4	Weaver Gymnasium  Richmond, KY
3/1/1942	vs. Union (KY) KIAC Tournament Final	W 43–41	24–4	Weaver Gymnasium  Richmond, KY
1942 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament
3/6/1942	Tennessee Tech SIAA Tournament	W 61–35	25–4	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
3/7/1942	Southwestern Louisiana SIAA Tournament Semifinal	W 49–43	26–4	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
3/8/1942	Delta State SIAA Tournament Final	W 49–37	27–4	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
1942 National Invitation Tournament
3/19/1942*	vs. CCNY NIT Quarterfinal	W 49–46	28–4	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
3/23/1942*	vs. Creighton NIT Semifinal	W 49–38	29–4	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
3/25/1942*	vs. West Virginia NIT Final	L 45–47	29–5	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
*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. E. A. Diddle CBB Records, Sports Reference, retrieved October 6, 2018
3. 2019-2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020
4. "NCAA Tournament History". Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013. The tournament now determines the national champion, but that wasn't always the case. Until the 1950s, the NIT was just as big a tournament as the NCAA, and teams often chose to enter the NIT and bypass the NCAA tourney
5. Davies, Richard O. (2007). "Sports in American Life: A History." Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated. p. 155. ISBN 9781405106474
6. Tournament Results (1940s) at nit.org, URL accessed December 9, 2009. 11/7/09
7. Harrison, Lowell (1987). Western Kentucky University. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813116204.
8. Western Kentucky Men's Basketball Archive, retrieved 14 May 2020