Purdue guard P.J. Thompson (11) drives to the basket defended by Tennessee guard Jordan Bowden (23) during an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2017 in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in Paradise Island, Bahamas.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Western Kentucky came to Atlantis to play some of the best teams in college basketball.

The Hilltoppers are going to get their money’s worth.

WKU (2-2) will face a second straight AP Top 25 team Thursday when it takes on No. 18 Purdue (4-1) in a second-round consolation game at the Battle 4 Atlantis. Tipoff from Imperial Arena is set for 6 p.m. CST, with the game to be streamed on ESPN3.

The battle with the Boilermakers will come a little more than 24 hours after the Toppers walked off the court Wednesday, having taken a 66-58 first-round defeat to No. 5 Villanova.

“Again, there’s not much time to recover,” WKU coach Rick Stansbury said after the loss to the Wildcats. “We’ve got another one coming at us tomorrow.”

Playing Villanova and Purdue back-to-back will mark the first time the Hilltoppers have faced ranked opponents in consecutive games in nearly 25 years.

WKU knocked off No. 6 Seton Hall on March 20, 1993 in the second round of that year’s NCAA Tournament. Five days later, the Tops fell 81-78 in overtime to No. 11 Florida State at the Sweet 16.

WKU is 31-97 all-time against ranked opponents. Their last win over a Top 25 team came Jan. 10, 2015 — 72-65 at E.A. Diddle Arena against No. 25 Old Dominion.

The Hilltoppers’ last win over a ranked nonconference foe occurred Dec. 11, 2009, when they beat No. 24 Vanderbilt 76-69 at the Sommet Center – now known as Bridgestone Arena – in Nashville. WKU is just 1-13 against Top 25 squads since that win against the Commodores.

The chance to face top competition and pick up resume-boosting wins is a top feature of preseason tournaments like the Battle 4 Atlantis.

“The youth we have, just going against these types of teams early, it’s great,” guard Darius Thompson said. “You can’t get better experience the first few games than the schedule we have right now.

“It’s huge for everybody on the team to show we can compete against anybody.”

Purdue hoped to get a shot at Villanova on Thursday afternoon, but plans changed when Tennessee upset the Boilermakers 78-75 in overtime Wednesday. Forward Grant Williams scored 22 points to power coach Rick Barnes’ squad to the victory.

Guard Carsen Edwards led Purdue with 21 points against the Volunteers, but shot just 5-of-17 from the field and 2-of-9 from 3-point range. Dakota Mathias (15 points), Isaac Haas (13), Vincent Edwards (11) and P.J. Thompson (11) also scored in double figures for the Boilermakers.

Forward Dwight Coleby will play a key role for the Hilltoppers on Thursday. At 6-foot-9 and 245 pounds, the graduate senior is WKU’s best interior defender.

Coleby will deal with two giant Purdue centers – the 7-2 Haas and reserve Matt Haarms, who’s 7-3.

“They’ve got size and they’ve got toughness,” Stansbury said. “They’ve got four guys (Carsen Edwards, Vincent Edwards, Thompson and Mathias) that shoot that ball almost 50 percent from behind that line. They’re a good team, good team.”

Notes

The Hilltoppers are 11-20 all-time against the current membership of the Big Ten Conference. Stansbury is 1-1 in his career against Big Ten programs. … WKU is 4-8 all-time in games played outside the United States. The Toppers are now 0-1 in the Bahamas, 3-6 in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and 1-1 in Cancun, Mexico. … WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 942 consecutive games, dating back to March 15, 1987. … Six of the Hilltoppers’ seven active scholarship players are averaging in double figures, between 10 and 14.5 points. … Forward Justin Johnson is 33rd on WKU’s all-time scoring list with 1,163 career points. The senior needs just two points to pass Sergio Kerusch to move into 32nd.

No. 18 Purdue (4-1) vs. Western Kentucky (2-2)

6 p.m. CST, Imperial Arena, Paradise Island, Bahamas

Projected starters

Purdue

Vincent Edwards, f, 6-8, sr. (14.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg); Isaac Haas, c, 7-2, sr. (13.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg); Carsen Edwards, g, 6-1, so. (19 ppg, 4.6 rpg); P.J. Thompson, g, 5-10, sr. (10.4 ppg, 2 spg); Dakota Mathias, g, 6-4, sr. (16.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg)

Western Kentucky

Lamonte Bearden, g, 6-3, r-jr. (11.8 ppg, 2.5 apg); Dwight Coleby, f, 6-9, g-sr. (14 ppg, 7.8 rpg); Justin Johnson, f, 6-7, sr. (10.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg); Taveion Hollingsworth, g, 6-2, fr. (11.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg); Darius Thompson, g, 6-4, g-sr. (14.5 ppg, 3.8 apg)

Television

ESPN3

Radio

WKLX 100.7-FM

Coaches

Matt Painter (269-143 13th year; 294-148 overall), Purdue; Rick Stansbury (17-19 second year; 310-185 overall), Western Kentucky

Series record

Purdue leads 3-1 (Purdue won last meeting 72-65 on March 10, 1982 at the NIT in West Lafayette, Ind.)

Last time out

Western Kentucky lost 66-58 to No. 5 Villanova on Wednesday in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis; Purdue lost 78-75 in overtime Wednesday to Tennessee in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis