GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands – South Dakota State will take part in the inaugural Cayman Islands Classic college basketball tournament this upcoming season, announced earlier this week by Global Sports Management, in conjunction with Caymax Sports Ltd.

The Jackrabbits will join Buffalo, Louisiana Lafayette, Richmond, Cincinnati, Iowa, Wyoming and UAB in the tournament, which will be held Nov. 20-22.

The Jackrabbits are coming off their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years and return eight from the 2016-17 team that claimed The Summit League's Tournament title before squaring off with eventual national runner-up Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament.

Mike Daum is the nation's top returning scorer with 25.1 points per game last season, raking in several postseason awards including being named an Associated Press honorable mention All-American as a sophomore.

"This is an fantastic opportunity for our program to be a part of one of the premier exempt events in college basketball," Jackrabbit head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. "Global Sports is a first-class organization that runs an unbelievable event, and our guys are really excited about this opportunity.”

SDSU last played out of the country in 2015-16 in Cancun, Mexico, and will be making their first trip to a Caribbean island since 2009-10.

"We are very excited about having these tremendous teams and their fans come to the Cayman Islands to experience not only some great basketball, but everything Cayman has to offer; our beautiful beaches, rich culture, great food, magnificent weather and most importantly the warmth and friendliness of the Caymanian people," said the Honorable Moses Kickconnell, Deputy Premier and Minister of Tourism in the Cayman Islands in a press release earlier this week.

"We are excited to add these strong basketball programs to an already outstanding field," said tournament director Maury Hanks after the addition of SDSU, Buffalo, Louisiana Lafayette and Richmond this week. "Our goal is to make this one of the premier early season multi-team events in college basketball."

"History will be made in the Caymans for the first of many years to come for basketball enthusiasts in the inaugural Cayman Islands Classic," said Caymax Sports chief executive officer Joe Wright. "It will truly be an unforgettable experience for not only the teams, but also the people of Cayman, the families, alumni and other fans who will travel to the Cayman Islands in November."

The Cayman Islands Classic is being sponsored by the Mountain West Conference.

The tournament games will be played in the brand new John Gray Gymnasium, just minutes away from world famous Seven Mile Beach.

A glimpse at the other seven teams in the field is below ...

Richmond, a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, posted a 22-12 record last season while advancing to the quarterfinal round of the 2017 NIT. The Spiders have appeared in the NCAA Tournament nine times earning a reputation as a giant-killer reaching the Sweet Sixteen in 1988 by defeating defending national champion Indiana and Georgia Tech, beating No. 3 seeded South Carolina in 1998, and becoming the first No. 15 seed to knock off a No. 2 seed when the Spiders defeated Syracuse in 1991.

Louisiana Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, which competes in the West Division of the Sun Belt Conference, had a 21-12 record last season with its last appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2014.

Buffalo went 17-15 last year. The Bulls captured their first outright Mid-American Conference championship in 2015 while advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

Cincinnati was ranked No. 18 in the final 2017 Associated Press poll, posting a 30-6 record while making its seventh straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Iowa had a 19-15 record, advancing to the second round of the 2017 NIT.

UAB owned a 17-16 mark last season.

Wyoming went 23-15 last season en route to winning the College Basketball Invitational – the school's first major postseason title since winning the 1943 NCAA Championship.