The Hilltoppers were led by head coach Rick Stansbury in his second season and played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky as fourth-year members of Conference USA.

[2] They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Boston College, USC, and Oklahoma State to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Utah.

Mitchell Robinson, a McDonald's All-American and a projected first-round pick in the 2018 NBA draft, committed to Western Kentucky a few weeks after the school hired his godfather, Shammond Williams.

[5] Head coach Rick Stansbury and the school issued a statement that Robinson was suspended and would not be going on the team's trip to Costa Rica in August.

[7][8] Sources: The Hilltoppers announced that they would be participating in a seven-day, three-game foreign tour to Costa Rica in August.