North Dakota State at Western Michigan Wednesday in College Basketball Invitational

FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State returns to the College Basketball Invitational presented by Buick for the second straight season when the Bison play at Western Michigan in the first round Wednesday, March 20.

The game is a rematch of last season's BracketBusters game won by NDSU 86-73 at the Bison Sports Arena in Fargo.  The teams are scheduled to meet during the 2013-14 season to close out the 2012 BracketBusters agreement.

Western Michigan is 20-12 overall and tied for first in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference with a 10-6 record.  The Broncos lost to NIT participant Ohio in the semifinals of the MAC tournament.

North Dakota State is 24-9 overall and placed third in The Summit League with a 12-4 record before falling to top-seeded South Dakota State 73-67 in the championship game of the Summit League tournament.

The NDSU-WMU winner advances to the March 25 quarterfinals against the winner of Tuesday's Lehigh at Wyoming game.  NDSU lost 78-75 at Wyoming in the first round of last year's College Basketball Invitational.

The teams have three common opponents.  Western Michigan beat Oakland 76-72 at home, lost 71-66 at Duquesne, and lost 65-43 at Akron.  NDSU split home wins with Oakland, won 57-43 at Duquesne, and lost 68-53 at Akron.

Wednesday will be the third all-time meeting between NDSU and WMU.  The Broncos won 79-57 in Kalamazoo on Dec. 8, 1956.

NDSU has a 3-3 record against Mid-American Conference teams Eastern Michigan (1-2), Western Michigan (1-0), Northern Illinois (1-0) and Akron (0-1) since beginning Division I play in 2004-05.