BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Coming off an impressive 25-win season in 2008-09 that saw the Hilltoppers, champions of the Sun Belt Conference, upend Illinois in the NCAA Tournament an come within one second of knocking off 10th-ranked Gonzaga for a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16, Western Kentucky University will open up the 2009-10 campaign right where it left off--on the national stage.  WKU is one of 16 teams selected to participate in the 25th Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament. 

The Toppers garnered a number five seed and will take on Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the first round on Monday, November 16 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.  LSU, the third seed in the field, will serve as host of the four-team South Regional and will square off against Indiana State.  The winners and losers face each other on Tuesday night, with the overall champion advancing to Madison Square Garden in New York City to compete in the "First Four" on November 25-27. 

If the Toppers are unable to open the season 2-0 in Baton Rouge and advance to New York, they are virtually assured of hosting two home games against other teams in the field.  The consolation bracket involving the 12 teams not making the "First Four" will take place on November 23-24 at campus sites with the highest remaining three seeds serving as hosts.  All 16 participants are guaranteed four games in the NIT. 

This will mark the fourth appearance in the NIT Season Tip-Off for WKU, the last coming in 1997 when the Toppers fell at second-ranked Kansas 75-62.  In 1993, Ralph Willard's squad lost 101-87 at top-ranked North Carolina before going on to win the Sun Belt Tournament and face Texas in the NCAA Tournament at season's end. 

In the program's first appearance in the NIT Season Tip-Off, the Hilltoppers won at Notre Dame 80-63, ousted TCU 96-90, and then beat Memphis 68-67 in Madison Square Garden, setting up a showdown with UNLV for the NIT Season Tip-Off Championship, only to suffer a heartbreaking 96-95 double overtime defeat. 

Duke, the top seed in the 2009 event, is the only former champion in the field.  The Blue Devils won the NIT Season Tip-Off in 1985, 2000, and 2005.  The eight seeded teams in the field include: Duke, Connecticut, LSU, Arizona State, WKU, Hofstra, TCU, and Charlotte respectively.  The eight non-seeded teams are: Coastal Carolina, Elon, Texas State, Cal State Northridge, Indiana State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Colgate, and Yale. 

ESPN will provide coverage throughout the event, televising games on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU.  Games on ESPN and ESPN2 will be simulcast on ESPN360.com.

WKU finished the 2008-09 season ranked 41st in the RPI ratings as well as receiving votes in the final ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll after going 25-9 and winning the Sun Belt Conference East Division championship.  The Toppers won the SBC Tournament and earned the program's 21st NCAA Tournament appearance, knocking off fifth-seeded Illinois 76-72 in the first round before falling at the buzzer to 10th-ranked Gonzaga 83-81, just missing the program's second-straight trip to the NCAA Sweet 16. 

WKU returns four starters for the 2009-10 season including five of their top six scorers.