Fifteen years after the dramatic overtime loss to Florida State in the NCAA Tournament, Western Kentucky and the Seminoles will meet again.

Officials announced Wednesday that the Hilltoppers will meet Florida State in the 15th annual MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic on Dec. 28.

The contest will be part of a doubleheader at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. Florida and Winthrop will also play. Game times will be announced at a later date.

It will be the first meeting between WKU and Florida State since the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 1993. Florida State ended WKU’s tournament run with an 81-78 overtime victory. Had the Hilltoppers gotten past Florida State, they would have reached their first Elite Eight since 1971 and met Kentucky for an opportunity to go to the Final Four.

Along with providing some flashbacks to the past, the contest adds some notoriety to the Hilltoppers’ schedule. Florida State went 19-15 last year and fell in the opening round of the NIT Tournament, but returns four starters this upcoming season.

“This is a substantial game,” WKU coach Ken McDonald said. “We’re excited to be in this two-game classic. I think it’s a great field and a great opportunity for us to play against an (Atlantic Coast Conference) program. It’s going to be challenging for our guys, but I’m pretty excited.”

According to WKU athletic director Wood Selig, the Hilltoppers now have two openings left in their nonconference schedule.

One of those games is a Sunday, Nov. 30 matchup against Louisville in Nashville at the Sommet Center. But Selig said today that ESPN2 officials have called and asked WKU officials to consider changing the date for TV purposes.

“The fact that we’re going to play, yes (it’s official), but there’s still some details to work out,” Selig said. “ESPN2 has asked us to consider a different date and that was just as of yesterday. I haven’t even talked to Louisville or Ken McDonald or the Sommet Center.”

“They’re looking at a couple options. One is to move it up a day. But the Predators (host the Minnesota Wild) that day. I don’t know if that’s even possible, regardless of the desire of Louisville and WKU.”

Other games already solidified include Georgia, Southern Illinois and Murray State.

“Once you get to the last few (games), it gets a lot harder because you don’t have the option of dates,” McDonald said. “We’re struggling with the dates on some of them. We’ve got some opportunities, but the dates don’t work. We’re trying to work some things out to the finish, because we do have a terrific schedule in our grasp.”