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
Record20–12 (12–6 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Lawrence Brenneman
  • David Boyden
  • Shawn Forrest
Home arenaE. A. Diddle Arena
Seasons
2014–15 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Louisiana Tech 15 3   .833 27 9   .750
Old Dominion 13 5   .722 27 8   .771
UTEP 13 5   .722 22 11   .667
WKU 12 6   .667 20 12   .625
UAB 12 6   .667 20 16   .556
Middle Tennessee 9 9   .500 19 17   .528
FIU 8 10   .444 16 17   .485
UTSA 8 10   .444 14 16   .467
North Texas 8 10   .444 14 17   .452
Rice 8 10   .444 12 20   .375
Charlotte 7 11   .389 14 18   .438
Marshall 7 11   .389 11 21   .344
Southern Miss* 4 14   .222 9 20   .310
Florida Atlantic 2 16   .111 9 20   .310
*Ineligible for postseason play due to self-imposed postseason ban
2015 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season

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The Hilltoppers finished the season 20–12, 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 20 wins, they did not play in a postseason tournament.

Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Payton Hulsey 0 G 6'5" 206 Freshman Memphis, TN Transferred to Eastern Florida State
Caden Dickerson 10 F 6'5" 205 RS Senior Argyle, TX Graduated
Aaron Adeoye 11 F 6'7" 237 Junior Marion, IL Transferred to Southeast Missouri State
Brandon Harris 12 G 6'1" 173 Senior Oklahoma City, OK Graduated
O'Karo Akamune 15 F 6'7" 210 Senior Miami, FL Graduated
Daouda Soumaoro 33 F 6'9" 236 RS Sophomore Bamako, Mali Transferred to Mobile

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Ayinde Sprewell 0 G 6'3" 195 Junior Orlando, FL Junior college transfer from Daytona State College.

Class of 2014 recruits

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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:    247SportsN/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:    247SportsN/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:    247SportsN/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:    247SportsN/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

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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: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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

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2014–15 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
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)

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

Roster

Schedule

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[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
(5) vs. (12) Marshall
First round
W 59–45  20–11
Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex 
Birmingham, AL
03/12/2015
6:00 pm, ASN
(5) vs. (4) 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

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2014–15 WKU Lady Toppers basketball team

References

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