Here are five things you might not know about Western Kentucky:

HOME COOKIN’: Lucky for Illinois the Hilltoppers can’t play tournament games on their home floor. Western Kentucky went undefeated (13-0) at Diddle Arena this season by an average of 13 points per game. Since Diddle Arena, which is named for legendary Western Kentucky coach E.A. Diddle, opened in 1963, the Hilltoppers have won 79 percent of their home games. This year’s unblemished record marked the eighth time Western Kentucky has gone unbeaten at home. Only twice have the Hilltoppers finished below .500 at home in a season.

COACHING SUCCESS: Western Kentucky has a habit of  sending its basketball coaches on to bigger and better things (see Gene Keady, Bruce Weber, Tom Crean). They’ve also got at least one successful former football coach. Romeo Crennel, who recently was fired after four seasons as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, was the defensive line coach for his alma mater from 1970-74. Crennel helped the Patriots to three Super Bowl wins in four years as their defensive coordinator from 2001-04.

FAMOUS ALUMNI: Rap group “Nappy Roots” can trace their roots back to the Bowling Green school. The quintet got its start in the early 1990s during its time studying at Western Kentucky. Rod Smart, the “He Hate Me” guy was a football star for the Hilltoppers. Journalist, Duncan Hines — namesake of the bakery products company — is a graduate.

BIG RED: Orlando Mendez-Valdez was the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, but he’s probably received less air time on ESPN than his school’s mascot, Big Red. The red, furry blob has been featured in ESPN’s “This is SportsCenter” commercials, made the final four of ESPN’s “Battle of the Mascots” challenge in 1996 and reached the semifinals of the 2006 Capital One Mascot Challenge.

ESPY MOMENT: Former Hilltopper guard Ty Rogers won an ESPY award for “Best Finish” thanks to his game-winning three at the buzzer in overtime that gave WKU a 101-99 win against Drake in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
Marcus Jackson