Hilltopper basketball, in-state rival Louisville to clash during opening night of the 2020-21 season

WKU freshman guard Jordan Rawls (3) looks for an open teammate while being guarded by Louisville freshman guard David Johnson (13). The Cardinals defeated the Hilltoppers 71-54 in Bridgestone Arena on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019, in Nashville.

Drake Kizer

The WKU men’s basketball program will play on the first night of the 2020-21 college basketball season against in-state rival Louisville in the KFC Yum! Center, the Herald confirmed with a source on Monday morning. The exact date the season-opening contest will be played is still being determined.

Jon Rothstein, a college basketball insider for CBS Sports, reported that Louisville would “open the 20-21 college basketball season against Western Kentucky at the KFC Yum Center” in a tweet posted Saturday night, but it was unclear whether or not the game would take place on the season’s opening night.

The Hilltoppers and Cardinals met in Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Nov 29, 2019, for the first of a four-game series. The second game is now confirmed to be a true road contest for WKU.

The third game of the current series will see Louisville pay a visit to Diddle Arena in 2021. The fourth and final game of the four-game set will be played in the KFC Yum! Center in 2022.

Louisville leads the all-time series 41-39. The Hilltoppers haven’t won in the series since 2008, including a 71-54 loss to then-No. 2 Louisville in the most recent meeting between the two schools.

Sports Editor Drake Kizer can be reached at [email protected]. Follow Drake on Twitter at @drakekizer_.