BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb men's basketball will finally get its 2020-2021 season underway Thursday night, hopping on a seven-hour bus trip to Bowling Green, Ky., to battle Conference USA favorite Western Kentucky.

Opening tip is set for 8:00 pm in Diddle Arena and the game will stream live on ESPN+.

The Runnin' Bulldogs are coming off a 16-16 campaign and third-place finish in the Big South Conference regular season standings. Head coach Tim Craft took GWU to the league semifinals again in 2020 – for the fifth time in his seven seasons at the helm. The 2020-2021 Gardner-Webb roster is dotted with new names and only four returning letterwinners.

Nine newcomers, including three redshirts from last season, are now on board and are highly touted. Regardless of the roster turnover, Gardner-Webb was tabbed to finish in the top-4 by the league's head coaches and select media.

Senior guard Jaheam Cornwall (6-0, 175) is poised to take control of the team after a breakout season shooting the basketball. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native is the third-best returning shooter in the nation. He knocked home 44.4% of his three-point chances last season and is a 43.0% shooter from long distance over his career.

Cornwall averaged a career-best 13.1 points per game last season and was one of the league's most dangerous scorers over the last 10 games of the season – when Gardner-Webb went 8-2 to move into third place by March.

The only other two men on the roster with starting experience are forwards Ludovic Dufeal (6-8, 200, Jr.) and Kareem Reid (6-9, 205, So.). The two shared the starting lineup only once last season – Reid's lone start – but played together on occasion to provide Gardner-Webb with one of the most formidable shot blocking tandems in the Big South Conference. Dufeal blocked a program Division I era-record 71 shots last season and Reid wasn't far behind with 47 swats.

The fourth letterwinner returning is guard Lance Terry (6-2, 180, So.), who missed a large chunk of action last season after a season-ending injury. Terry, a rangy wing with a 6-foot-8 wingspan himself, has the ability to knock down long jump shots and defend at a high level.

Headlining Gardner-Webb's newcomers is junior college All-America guard Jacob Falko. The 6-foot-2 native of North East, Md., blistered the nets at Cecil (Md.) College last season to the tune of 23.7 points and 62.0 percent shooting accuracy from the floor (43% from three). Falko finished third in NJCAA Division II National Player of the Year voting and ranked No. 5 nationally in scoring. He also dished off 125 assists.

Redshirts Mick Lynott (6-2, 190), Sammy Itodo (6-8, 210) and Anthony Selden (6-6, 220) each bring value to the rotation after sitting out last season. Selden, the younger brother of former Kansas star Wayne Selden, is a solid shooter with extreme leaping ability and explosiveness. Itodo is a hard-working center with the ability to block shots and rebound. Lynott can play all over the court and is one of the team's toughest guards on either end.

Freshmen Jordan Sears (5-11, 175), D'Maurian Williams (6-5, 195) and Jamaine Mann (6-6, 225) are also college ready and have shown strong bursts of ability during the preseason. A fourth freshman, Tyrone Simos-Primerano (6-7, 180), is expected to join the team in January from Australia.

Western Kentucky is paced by a veteran lineup, but the anchor is 6-foot-11 future first round NBA pick Charles Bassey at center. One of the top-10 players in the nation as a high schooler, Bassey leads the nation with 20 blocked shots so far in 2020-2021 and is the NCAA's top active career rebounder at 10.0 boards per game. Bassey (14.6 ppg and 11.2 rpg this season) is shooting a strong 57.4 percent from the floor.

The Hilltoppers leading scorer is guard Taveion Hollingsworth, who is pouring in an efficient 18.4 points per game. The 6-foot-2 senior from Lexington, Ky., has scored 1,586 career points during his time in Bowling Green. That total ranks No. 15 in program history.