WKU Basketball: Hilltoppers Selected for NIT, Open Tourney Against Saint Mary’s

For the second time in the last three tournament seasons, the Western Kentucky men will be participating in the National Invitational…

For the second time in the last three tournament seasons, the Western Kentucky men will be participating in the National Invitational Tournament.

Sunday night, the NIT announced WKU as one of the 16 teams participating in the bubbled-event in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

WKU will open their NIT run in the first round against Saint Mary’s in the two-three game in the round of 16. The Gaels went 14–9 in the regular season this year, with wins against NIT #1 seed Colorado State, and CUSA’s own UTEP.

The Hilltoppers and Gaels most recently met on December 22, 2018, when WKU won, 71–68, at Diddle Arena.

The Tops are also in a bracket with Ole Miss and Louisiana Tech, who will play in the one-four game.

The last time the Tops played in the NIT, they ran through Boston College, USC and Oklahoma State before falling by five points to Utah in New York City in the semifinals, averaging 78.5 points in the process.

The Tops will play the Gaels Wednesday night on ESPN2.

This year’s Hilltoppers team yet again underperformed early in the Conference USA tournament, blowing an opportunity to announce themselves to the rest of the country on the sport’s biggest stage.