1939–40 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers basketball team

1939–40 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers basketball
SIAA Champions KAIC Champions
NCAA Tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Record	24–6 (7–2 KIAC)
Head coach	Edgar Diddle (18th season)
Assistant coach	Ted Hornback
Home arena	Health & Physical Education Building

The 1939–40 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 1939-40 NCAA basketball season. The team was led by future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Edgar Diddle and All-American center Carlisle Towery.^[1] The Hilltoppers won the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships, and received an invitation to the 1940 NCAA basketball tournament.^[2] This was the first team from Kentucky to participate in the NCAA tournament^[3] Herb Ball and Howard “Tip” Downing were selected to the All-SIAA team, while Towery made the All-KIAC Team.^[4]

Schedule

^[5]

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
12/9/1939*	Culver–Stockton	W 47–35	1–0	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
12/15/1939*	at Bradley	L 38–39	1–1	Peoria Armory  Peoria, IL
12/18/1939*	at St. Ambrose	W 40–32	2–1	Davenport, IA
12/18/1939*	at Southern Illinois	L 32–38	2–2	Davies Gym  Carbondale, IL
12/19/1939*	at Southeast Missouri	W 39–33	3–2	Houck Field House  Cape Girardeau, MO
12/22/1939*	Washington and Lee	L 34–44	3–3	Lexington, VA
1/2/1940*	Xavier	W 40–39	4–3	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
1/6/1940	at Cumberland (KY)	W 40–30	5–3	Williamsburg, KY
1/8/1940*	Evansville	W 52–45	6–3	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
1/12/1940*	at Tennessee Tech	W 41–29	7–3	Memorial Gymnasium  Cookeville, TN
1/13/1940*	at Middle Tennessee	W 60–26	8–3	Murfreesboro, TN
1/17/1940	at Louisville	W 55–40	9–3	Belknap Gymnasium  Louisville, KY
1/20/1940	Murray State	W 39–30	10–3	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
1/27/1940	Eastern Kentucky	L 32–45	10–4	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
1/29/1940	Morehead State	W 44–34	11–4	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
2/2/1940	at Eastern Kentucky	W 53–33	12–4	Weaver Gymnasium  Richmond, KY
2/3/1940	at Berea	W 46–28	13–4	Berea, KY
2/6/1940*	Tennessee Tech	W 38–28	14–4	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
2/9/1940	Louisville	W 54–40	15–4	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
2/10/1940	at Murray State	L 30–36	15–5	Lovett Auditorium  Murray, KY
2/13/1940*	at Evansville	W 55–36	16–5	Evansville, IN
2/16/1940*	Vanderbilt	W 36–25	17–5	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
2/17/1940*	Middle Tennessee	W 76–41	18–5	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
1940 Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament
2/23/1940	vs. Union (KY) KIAC Tournament	W 44–39	19–5	Weaver Gymnasium  Richmond, KY
2/24/1940	vs. Georgetown (KY) KIAC Tournament Semifinal	W 45–39	20–5	Weaver Gymnasium  Richmond, KY
2/24/1940	vs. Morehead State KIAC Tournament Final	W 36–33	21–5	Weaver Gymnasium  Richmond, KY
1940 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament
3/1/1940	Wofford SIAA Tournament	W 55–21	22–5	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
3/2/1940	Murray State SIAA Tournament Semifinal	W 25–23	23–5	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
3/2/1940	Louisiana Normal SIAA Tournament Final	W 39–33	24–5	Health & Phys Ed Building  Bowling Green, KY
1940 NCAA basketball tournament
3/23/1940*	vs. Duquesne NCAA Elite Eight	L 29–30	24–6	Butler Fieldhouse  Indianapolis, IN
*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. 2019-2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020
3. NCAA Tournament History, Sports Reference, retrieved 15 May 2020
4. Harrison, Lowell (1987). Western Kentucky University. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813116204.
5. Western Kentucky Men's Basketball Archive, retrieved 14 May 2020