BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Western Kentucky University announced its 2010-11 men's basketball schedule Tuesday, a challenging slate featuring a minimum of five games against NCAA Tournament participants from a year ago, competition in the 2010 Puerto Rico-Tip Off Tournament and 15 home games highlighted by tilts with Louisville and South Carolina.

The Hilltoppers, who finished the 2009-10 season with a 21-13 overall record and a 12-6 mark in Sun Belt Conference play, will play three opponents from BCS conferences in the first seven games of the season and could face as many as five in the same span. WKU could also potentially match up with five-time national champion North Carolina and 2010 Final Four participant West Virginia in Puerto Rico, and third-year head coach Ken McDonald's team has road contests at Vanderbilt and Memphis looming in early December.

The Hilltopper faithful will be treated to 15 home games in 2010-11, including games at E.A. Diddle Arena against Louisville, South Carolina and Southern Illinois. In addition, WKU has five-straight home games to start the month of February, marking the first time since 1986 the Hilltoppers will play five home games in a row.

"We're very excited about the challenges that lie ahead with a very aggressive schedule that I think our fans should be proud of," McDonald said. "We have put together a quality home schedule and a series of challenging road games that will tell us a lot about our team and our seven newcomers. We're looking forward to the opportunity to play against some of the best teams in the country this season."

The Sun Belt Conference schedule drops from 18 games to 16 this season with the departure of New Orleans. WKU will play home-and-home series with each of the five other teams in the East Division and will face each of the six schools in the West Division one time apiece.

West Division and Sun Belt Conference Tournament champion North Texas, the league's representative in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, visits E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday, February 12. Troy and Middle Tennessee, who finished tied for the top spot in the East Division last season, visit Bowling Green on Saturday, January 22 and Thursday, February 10, respectively. WKU heads to Troy on Thursday, January 13 and Middle Tennessee for the regular-season finale on Saturday, February 26.

The North Texas game on February 12 is scheduled for a 3:00 PM tip-off and will be televised by ESPN or ESPN2. Additional television information and game times for the rest of the 2010-11 WKU men's basketball schedule will be announced at a later date.

The Hilltoppers open the regular season with a November 12 tilt at St. Joseph's in Philadelphia, Pa. The Hawks finished last season with an 11-20 record, and head coach Phil Martelli piloted St. Joseph's to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament in 2004.

The first regular-season home game is on Monday, November 15 against Alabama A&M. WKU earned an 83-60 victory over Alabama A&M in the only previous meeting between the two schools on December 21, 2008 in Bowling Green.

Later that week WKU heads to Puerto Rico for the 2010 Puerto Rico Tip-Off Tournament November 18-21. The Hilltoppers face Minnesota in the opening round on November 18, and 2010 Final Four participant West Virginia, five-time national champion North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Davidson, Nebraska and Hofstra round out the field.

WKU and Minnesota have never met on the hardwood, although fourth-year Golden Gopher head coach Tubby Smith was the coach of the fourth-ranked Kentucky team the Hilltoppers upset at Rupp Arena on November 15, 2001, 64-52.

This will be WKU's third trip to Puerto Rico for an early-season tournament. The Hilltoppers participated in what was then known as the San Juan Shootout in 1989 and 1995. WKU finished seventh in both years.

The first marquee home game of the season is on Saturday, November 27, when South Carolina visits E.A. Diddle Arena. This continues the series with the Gamecocks, who are coached by former WKU head coach Darrin Horn, and will be South Carolina's first visit to Bowling Green since 1980. The Gamecocks defeated WKU last season in Columbia, S.C., 74-56.

December comes with three-straight road games to start the month for WKU, as the Hilltoppers will travel to Vanderbilt on December 1, Memphis on December 4 and Bowling Green State on December 8.

WKU defeated 24th-ranked Vanderbilt a year ago at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn., 76-69, in a game that was a part of the 2009 Sun Belt Classic. It was WKU's first win over the Commodores since 1946. The December 4 game will be WKU's first against Memphis since 1993, when the Hilltoppers beat then-Memphis State, 55-52, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Orlando, Fla. This will be Memphis' first visit to Bowling Green since 1977. After playing at Memphis, WKU travels to the other Bowling Green in Ohio to play Bowling Green State for the 30th time, but the first since 1991.

Southern Illinois heads to E.A. Diddle Arena on December 11, which marks the fifth-straight year that the Hilltoppers and Salukis will square off on the basketball court. WKU lost at Southern Illinois last season, 68-63, giving the Salukis a 11-10 edge in the all-time series.

Long-time rival Murray State will be WKU's opponent on December 18, with the Saturday meeting being the 148th in the series. WKU handed Murray State one of its five losses in 2009-10, knocking off the Racers in Bowling Green, 83-72. Murray State finished last season with a 31-5 record and defeated Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, before losing to eventual national runner-up Butler by two points.

The first meeting between WKU and Murray State came in 1932, and WKU holds a 97-50 all-time series advantage.

The third game of a four-game series between WKU and Louisville comes on December 22, with Louisville making its first trip to E.A. Diddle Arena since 1990. The Hilltoppers took down third-ranked Louisville on November 30, 2008 to open the series, and the Cardinals got their revenge a year ago in Freedom Hall in Louisville. WKU's last home win against Louisville came in 1950.

The final non-conference game takes place in the middle of Sun Belt Conference play on February 14, when Florida Gulf Coast comes to E.A. Diddle Arena. WKU and Florida Gulf Coast, hailing from the Atlantic Sun Conference, have never met.

WKU will begin its quest for its 42nd all-time conference championship and third Sun Belt Conference title in four years on January 1 at Arkansas State.

The Sun Belt Conference Tournament will be held in Hot Springs, Ark., for the third time from March 5-8. WKU won the tournament in 2008 and 2009 and advanced to the semi-finals in 2010.

Pre-season exhibition games will be held at E.A. Diddle Arena on October 31 against Campbellsville and November 4 against Xavier (La.).