2014–15 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

The 2014–15 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by head coach Ray Harper in his third season. They played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena and were first year members of Conference USA. They finished the season 20–12, 12–6 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament where they lost to UAB. Despite having 20 wins they didn't play in a postseason tournament.[1]

2014–15 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
ConferenceConference USA
2014–15 record20–12 (12–6 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Lawrence Brenneman
  • David Boyden
  • Shawn Forrest
Home arenaE. A. Diddle Arena
2014–15 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Louisiana Tech153 .833  279  .750
Old Dominion135 .722  278  .771
UTEP135 .722  2211  .667
WKU126 .667  2012  .625
UAB126 .667  2016  .556
Middle Tennessee99 .500  1917  .528
FIU810 .444  1617  .485
UTSA810 .444  1416  .467
North Texas810 .444  1417  .452
Rice810 .444  1220  .375
Charlotte711 .389  1418  .438
Marshall711 .389  1121  .344
Southern Miss*414 .222  920  .310
Florida Atlantic216 .111  920  .310
*Ineligible for postseason play due to self-imposed postseason ban
2015 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season

The Hilltoppers finished the season 21–11, 12–6 in Sun Belt play to finish in second place. They lost in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament where they lost to Louisiana–Lafayette. Despite having 21 wins, they did not play in a postseason tournament.

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Payton Hulsey0G6'5"206FreshmanMemphis, TNTransferred to Eastern Florida State
Caden Dickerson10F6'5"205RS SeniorArgyle, TXGraduated
Aaron Adeoye11F6'7"237JuniorMarion, ILTransferred to Southeast Missouri State
Brandon Harris12G6'1"173SeniorOklahoma City, OKGraduated
O'Karo Akamune15F6'7"210SeniorMiami, FLGraduated
Daouda Soumaoro33F6'9"236RS SophomoreBamako, MaliTransferred to Mobile

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Ayinde Sprewell0G6'3"195JuniorOrlando, FLJunior college transfer from Daytona State College.

Class of 2014 recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jordan Green
SF
Lexington, KY Henry Clay High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Apr 14, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 70
Justin Johnson
PF
Hazard, KY Perry County Central High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Oct 14, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 68
Avery Patterson
PG
Marietta, GA Joseph Wheeler High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Nov 11, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Derrick Clayton
PF
Castro Valley, CA Elev8 Basketball Academy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Nov 11, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 10, 2014.

    Class of 2015 recruits

    US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
    Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
    Chris McNeal
    PG
    Memphis, TN South Side High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jul 7, 2014 
    Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
    Overall recruiting rankings:
    • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
    • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

    Sources:

      Roster

      2014–15 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team
      PlayersCoaches
      Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
      G 0 Ayinde Sprewell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)188 lb (85 kg) Jr Orlando, Florida
      G 1 Kevin Kaspar 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)173 lb (78 kg) Sr Istanbul, Turkey
      G 2 Derrick Clayton 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)184 lb (83 kg) Fr Castro Valley, California
      G 3 Trency Jackson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)188 lb (85 kg) RS Sr Jackson, Mississippi
      G 5 Brandon Price 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)151 lb (68 kg) So Radcliff, Kentucky
      F 10 Jordan Green 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)193 lb (88 kg) Fr Lexington, Kentucky
      F 14 Benjamin Lawson 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)215 lb (98 kg) So Hitchin, England
      G 15 Avery Patterson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)190 lb (86 kg) Fr Decatur, Georgia
      C 20 Aleksej Rostov 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)225 lb (102 kg) Jr Riga, Latvia
      F 21 Nigel Snipes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr Marietta, Georgia
      F 23 Justin Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)239 lb (108 kg) Fr Hazard, Kentucky
      F 33 Rob Marberry (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)230 lb (104 kg) Fr Nashville, Tennessee
      F 44 George Fant 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)250 lb (113 kg) Sr Bowling Green, Kentucky
      G 51 Chris Harrison-Docks 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)168 lb (76 kg) RS So Okemos, Michigan
      G 52 T. J. Price 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)223 lb (101 kg) Sr Slidell, Louisiana
      Head coach
      Assistant coach(es)
      • Lawrence Brenneman (Geneva College)
      • David Boyden (Western Kentucky)
      • Shawn Forrest (Arkansas–Pine Bluff)

      Legend
      • (C) Team captain
      • (S) Suspended
      • (I) Ineligible
      • (W) Walk-on

      Roster

      Schedule

      [2]

      Date
      time, TV
      Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
      city, state
      Exhibition
      11/10/2014
      7:00 pm
      Pikeville W 105–84 
      E. A. Diddle Arena (3,487)
      Bowling Green, KY
      Regular season
      11/15/2014*
      4:00 pm
      Austin Peay W 77–70  1–0
      E. A. Diddle Arena (4,572)
      Bowling Green, KY
      11/18/2014*
      7:00 pm, ESPN3
      at Minnesota
      NIT Season Tip-Off
      L 54–76  1–1
      Williams Arena (10,763)
      Minneapolis, MN
      11/22/2014*
      7:00 pm
      Belmont L 63–64  1–2
      E. A. Diddle Arena (5,194)
      Bowling Green, KY
      11/25/2014*
      6:00 pm
      at Stony Brook
      NIT Season Tip-Off
      L 61–71  1–3
      Island Federal Credit Union Arena (2,252)
      Stony Brook, NY
      11/27/2014*
      6:00 pm, ESPNU
      vs. Saint Joseph's
      NIT Season Tip-Off
      W 62–59  2–3
      Madison Square Garden (1,266)
      New York City, NY
      12/03/2014*
      7:00 pm, ASN
      Bowling Green W 62–52  3–3
      E. A. Diddle Arena (3,852)
      Bowling Green, KY
      12/06/2014*
      5:30 pm, ASN
      at Murray State L 81–93  3–4
      CFSB Center (5,312)
      Murray, KY
      12/13/2014*
      3:30 pm
      at Ole Miss W 81–74  4–4
      Tad Smith Coliseum (6,692)
      Oxford, MS
      12/17/2014*
      7:00 pm
      Chicago State W 75–60  5–4
      E. A. Diddle Arena (2,876)
      Bowling Green, KY
      12/20/2014*
      11:00 am, FS1
      No. 4 Louisville L 67–76 Vacated 5–5
      E. A. Diddle Arena (7,598)
      Bowling Green, KY
      12/27/2014*
      7:00 pm
      Brescia W 89–42  6–5
      E. A. Diddle Arena (2,903)
      Bowling Green, KY
      12/29/2014*
      7:00 pm
      Alice Lloyd W 104–62  7–5
      E. A. Diddle Arena (2,722)
      Bowling Green, KY
      01/04/2015
      2:00 pm
      Marshall W 81–62  8–5 (1–0)
      E. A. Diddle Arena (3,597)
      Bowling Green, KY
      01/08/2015
      7:00 pm
      Charlotte W 74–66  9–5 (2–0)
      E. A. Diddle Arena (3,606)
      Bowling Green, KY
      01/10/2015
      4:30 pm, ASN
      No. 25 Old Dominion W 72–65  10–5 (3–0)
      E. A. Diddle Arena (5,123)
      Bowling Green, KY
      01/15/2015
      6:00 pm
      at Florida Atlantic W 88–85 OT 11–5 (4–0)
      FAU Arena (1,491)
      Boca Raton, FL
      01/17/2015
      5:00 pm
      at FIU W 65–58  12–5 (5–0)
      FIU Arena (1,370)
      Miami, FL
      01/22/2015
      8:00 pm, FSN
      UTEP W 71–66 OT 13–5 (6–0)
      E. A. Diddle Arena (6,414)
      Bowling Green, KY
      01/24/2015
      2:00 pm
      UTSA W 83–74  14–5 (7–0)
      E. A. Diddle Arena (5,839)
      Bowling Green, KY
      01/29/2015
      6:00 pm, CBSSN
      at Louisiana Tech L 56–69  14–6 (7–1)
      Thomas Assembly Center (4,029)
      Ruston, LA
      01/31/2015
      7:00 pm
      at Southern Miss W 73–62  15–6 (8–1)
      Reed Green Coliseum (3,608)
      Hattiesburg, MS
      02/05/2015
      7:00 pm
      North Texas W 65–59  16–6 (9–1)
      E. A. Diddle Arena (3,862)
      Bowling Green, KY
      02/07/2015
      7:00 pm
      Rice L 68–72  16–7 (9–2)
      E. A. Diddle Arena (5,071)
      Bowling Green, KY
      02/14/2015
      4:30 pm, ASN
      at Marshall L 82–87  16–8 (9–3)
      Cam Henderson Center (6,135)
      Huntington, WV
      02/19/2015
      7:00 pm
      at UAB L 66–71  16–9 (9–4)
      Bartow Arena (3,892)
      Birmingham, AL
      02/22/2015
      12:00 pm, FSN
      at Middle Tennessee L 66–68  16–10 (9–5)
      Murphy Center (5,227)
      Murfreesboro, TN
      02/26/2015
      7:00 pm
      Florida Atlantic W 71–68  17–10 (10–5)
      E. A. Diddle Arena (3,645)
      Bowling Green, KY
      02/28/2015
      7:00 pm
      FIU W 77–61  18–10 (11–5)
      E. A. Diddle Arena (7,119)
      Bowling Green, KY
      03/05/2015
      6:00 pm
      at Charlotte W 88–84 OT 19–10 (12–5)
      Dale F. Halton Arena (3,526)
      Charlotte, NC
      03/07/2015
      4:30 pm, ASN
      at Old Dominion L 52–75  19–11 (12–6)
      Ted Constant Convocation Center (8,472)
      Norfolk, VA
      Conference USA Tournament
      03/11/2015
      6:00 pm, ASN
      vs. Marshall
      First round
      W 59–45  20–11
      Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex 
      Birmingham, AL
      03/12/2015
      6:00 pm, ASN
      vs. UAB
      Quarterfinal
      L 52–53  20–12
      Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex 
      Birmingham, AL
      *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
      All times are in Central Time
      Louisville’s win was later vacated by the NCAA due to recruiting violations by the Louisville basketball program.[3].

      See also

      2014–15 WKU Lady Toppers basketball team

      References

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