BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball will participate in the first-ever Myrtle Beach Invitational during the upcoming 2018-19 season, ESPN Events announced Wednesday.
WKU will be joined in the eight-team event by West Virginia, Wake Forest, Valparaiso, UCF, Saint Joseph's, Cal State Fullerton and a team still to be announced.
Teams will play three games in the event on November 15, 16 and 18 at the HTC Center on the campus of Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C.
"We are excited to launch the Myrtle Beach Invitational," said Pete Derzis, ESPN senior vice president of college sports programming and ESPN Events. "After collaborating with Visit Myrtle Beach and the city of Myrtle Beach to move last year's Puerto Rico Tip-Off to the area due to the effects of Hurricane Maria, we saw first-hand the community's outstanding facilities and passion for college basketball. Based on that experience, we determined that Myrtle Beach would be an ideal location for college basketball teams and their fans to visit each November."
Of the teams already announced in the field, WKU has previously faced West Virginia, UCF and Saint Joseph's. The Hilltoppers are 11-5 all-time against those programs.
The seven programs announced for the tournament, including WKU, went a combined 134-100 during the 2017-18 campaign. Both West Virginia and Cal State Fullerton advanced to the NCAA Tournament, with the Mountaineers reaching the Sweet Sixteen.
The Hilltoppers went 27-11 in 2017-18, their most wins in 10 seasons, while advancing to the semifinals of the NIT for the first time since 1954. WKU finished the season 4-2 against Power 5 conference teams and was one of four teams in the nation – including the only non-Power 5 – to register wins over opponents from each of the ACC, SEC, Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences.
WKU found plenty of success in its early-season tournament trip last year, upsetting top-25 Purdue, beating SMU on a shot in the final seconds and going toe-to-toe with eventual national champion Villanova at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.
For more information on the Myrtle Beach Invitational, including travel packages, visit www.myrtlebeachinvite.com.
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