The 2007–08 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2007–08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by head coach Darrin Horn and by future NBA player Courtney Lee. They were members of the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference and finished the season 29–7 with a 16–2 record in Sun Belt play to finish tied for first in the East Division.[1] The team won the Sun Belt Basketball tournament and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.[2] Western Kentucky finished ranked 22nd in the postseason ESPN/USA Today Poll.
Lee was SBC Player of the year and was joined by Tyrone Brazelton on the All SBC team. Jeremy Evans was SBC Tournament Most Valuable Player, Lee and Brazelton also made the All-Tournament team. Brazelton was named to the NCAA Tournament All-Region Team.[3]
| 2007–08 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball | |
|---|---|
 | |
Sun Belt Conference tournament Champion | |
NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen | |
| Conference | Sun Belt Conference |
| Division | East Division |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 22 |
| Record | 29–7 (16–2 Sun Belt) |
| Head coach | |
| Home arena | E. A. Diddle Arena |
Seasons
← 2006–07
2008–09 →
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Conf | Overall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Alabama | 16 | – | 2 | .889 | 26 | – | 7 | .788 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Kentucky † | 16 | – | 2 | .889 | 29 | – | 7 | .806 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Middle Tennessee | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 17 | – | 15 | .531 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida Atlantic | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 15 | – | 18 | .455 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida International | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 9 | – | 20 | .310 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Troy | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 12 | – | 19 | .387 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas-Little Rock | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 20 | – | 11 | .645 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana–Lafayette | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 15 | – | 15 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Texas | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 20 | – | 11 | .645 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Orleans | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 19 | – | 13 | .594 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Denver | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 11 | – | 19 | .367 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas State | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 10 | – | 20 | .333 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana–Monroe | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 10 | – | 21 | .323 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2008 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site city, state | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | |||||||||||
| 11/09/2007* |
Kennesaw State | W 96–61 | 1–0 |
E. A. Diddle Arena (6,271) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 11/13/2007* |
Kentucky Wesleyan | W 88–67 | 2–0 |
E. A. Diddle Arena (4,848) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 11/17/2007* |
Murray State | W 87–63 | 3–0 |
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,566) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 11/22/2007* |
vs. No. 14 Gonzaga Great Alaska Shootout |
L 71–74 | 3–1 |
Sullivan Arena (8,383) Anchorage, AK | |||||||
| 11/23/2007* |
at Alaska Anchorage Great Alaska Shootout |
W 71–67 | 4–1 |
Sullivan Arena (6,904) Anchorage, AK | |||||||
| 11/23/2007* |
vs. Michigan Great Alaska Shootout |
W 73–69 | 5–1 |
Sullivan Arena (7,043) Anchorage, AK | |||||||
| 12/01/2007* |
at Northern Arizona | L 61–64 | 5–2 |
Walkup Skydome (1,269) Flagstaff, AZ | |||||||
| 12/5/2007* |
Nebraska | W 69–62 OT | 6–2 |
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,809) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 12/8/2007* |
at Eastern Kentucky | W 77–60 | 7–2 |
Alumni Coliseum (4,900) Richmond, VA | |||||||
| 12/15/2007* |
vs. No. 11 Tennessee Sun Belt Classic |
L 82–88 | 7–3 |
Sommet Center (18,071) Nashville, TN | |||||||
| 12/18/2007* |
North Carolina Central | W 84–53 | 8–3 |
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,879) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 12/22/2007* |
at Southern Illinois | L 78–88 | 8–4 |
Banterra Center (6,010) Carbondale, IL | |||||||
| 12/29/2007 |
at Troy | W 94–90 | 9–4 (1–0) |
Sartain Hall (1,932) Troy, AL | |||||||
| 01/2/2008 |
Middle Tennessee | W 62–51 | 10–4 (2–0) |
E. A. Diddle Arena (4,186) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 1/5/2008 |
at South Alabama | L 61–65 | 10–5 (2–1) |
Mitchell Center (6,783) Mobile, AL | |||||||
| 01/10/2008 |
at ULM | W 71–44 | 11–5 (3–1) |
Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,610) Monroe, LA | |||||||
| 01/12/2008 |
FIU | W 76–60 | 12–5 (4–1) |
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,071) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 01/16/2008 |
Florida Atlantic | W 80–62 | 13–5 (5–1) |
E. A. Diddle Arena (4,291) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 01/19/2008 |
at Louisiana–Lafayette | W 69–66 | 14–5 (6–1) |
Cajundome (6,190) Lafayette, LA | |||||||
| 01/23/2008 |
at New Orleans | W 73–55 | 15–5 (7–1) |
Lakefront Arena (1,099) New Orleans, LA | |||||||
| 01/27/2008 |
Arkansas State | W 77–68 | 16–5 (8–1) |
E. A. Diddle Arena (6,109) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 1/31/2008 |
Arkansas–Little Rock | W 71–47 | 17–5 (9–1) |
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,022) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 02/2/2008 |
Denver | W 78–64 | 18–5 (10–1) |
E. A. Diddle Arena (6,567) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 02/7/2008 7:00 pm |
at North Texas | W 94–84 | 19–5 (11–1) |
The Super Pit (3,246) Denton, TX | |||||||
| 2/13/2008 |
Troy | W 92–57 | 20–5 (12–1) |
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,803) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 02/16/2008 |
at Middle Tennessee | W 71–66 | 21–5 (13–1) |
Murphy Center (5,307) Murfreesboro, TN | |||||||
| 02/21/2008 |
South Alabama | L 64–69 | 21–6 (13–2) |
E. A. Diddle Arena (7,718) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 02/23/2008 |
ULM | W 86–75 | 22–6 (14–2) |
E. A. Diddle Arena (6,750) Bowling Green, KY | |||||||
| 2/27/2008 |
at FIU | W 69–54 | 23–6 (15–2) |
Ocean Bank Convocation Center (709) University Park, FL | |||||||
| 3/1/2008 |
at Florida Atlantic | W 88–78 | 24–6 (16–2) |
FAU Arena (802) Boca Raton, FL | |||||||
| 2008 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament | |||||||||||
| 03/09/2008 9:15 pm |
(3) | vs. (6) North Texas Second Round |
W 84–70 | 25–6 |
Mitchell Center (4,734) Mobile, AL | ||||||
| 03/10/2008 |
(3) | vs. (2) Arkansas–Little Rock Semifinals |
W 70–55 | 26–6 |
Mitchell Center (6,397) Mobile, AL | ||||||
| 03/11/2008 |
(3) | vs. (4) Middle Tennessee Championship |
W 67–57 | 27–6 |
Mitchell Center (5,234) Mobile, AL | ||||||
| 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament | |||||||||||
| 03/21/2008* |
(12 W) | vs. (5 W) No. 14 Drake First Round |
W 101–99 OT | 28–6 |
St. Pete Times Forum (15,920) Tampa, FL | ||||||
| 03/23/2008* |
(12 W) | vs. (13 W) San Diego Second Round |
W 72–63 | 29–6 |
St. Pete Times Forum (14,504) Tampa, FL | ||||||
| 03/27/2008* |
(12 W) | vs. (1 W) No. 3 UCLA Sweet Sixteen |
L 78–88 | 29–7 |
US Airways Center (18,103) Phoenix, AZ | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll (W) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. | |||||||||||
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