Huskers Set to See the Best at Home

Lincoln - The Nebraska women’s basketball team learned its potential match-ups for the 2016 Preseason WNIT and announced its full schedule of regular-season non-conference games on Monday, June 13.

Nebraska’s non-conference schedule could be the most challenging slate in school history, capped by a home game with defending national champion UConn on Wednesday, Dec. 21, at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

“If you want to be the best, you’ve got to see the best, and we definitely have a chance to run with some of the nation’s best teams this season,” first-year Nebraska Coach Amy Williams said. “Our home game against UConn is obviously a highlight, but we will play seven really good home games before that one, including three exceptionally tough games in the Preseason WNIT.”

Overall, Nebraska’s 2016-17 schedule could include as many as 11 games against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams, including 10 that advanced at least to the second round, and 11 more games against teams that advanced to the 2016 Postseason WNIT.

Nebraska’s regular-season non-conference campaign will open on Saturday, Nov. 12, when the Huskers take on Texas Rio Grande Valley in the opening round of the Preseason WNIT. UTRGV (formerly Texas Pan American), was the Western Athletic Conference runner-up in 2015-16, posting a 9-5 WAC mark to finish with a 19-14 overall record. Tip-off between NU and UTRGV is set for 1 p.m.

Following a tough opening test against the Broncos, the Huskers will play host to the winner of a match-up between Missouri and Abilene Christian. Missouri advanced to the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament after tying for seventh with an 8-8 record in the SEC. The Tigers, who went 22-10 overall, must get past an Abilene Christian club that returns nearly everybody from a squad that went 26-4 overall, including 17-1 in the Southland Conference. The potential match-up between the Huskers and the Tigers or Wildcats will come at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Monday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.

If the Huskers can open with a pair of home wins, they will likely face Colorado State or NCAA Women’s Final Four qualifier Washington on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m., at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Colorado State finished 31-2 overall last season after winning the Mountain West Conference title with an 18-0 record. The Rams advanced to the NCAA second round. The Huskies finished 26-11 after going 11-7 to take fifth in the regular-season Pac-12 standings. Missouri, Colorado State and Washington all advanced to the NCAA Tournament and finished among the nation’s top-45 teams in the final RPI, while UTRGV and Abilene Christian both earned trips to the Postseason WNIT.

“We are going to learn a lot about ourselves early in the season,” Williams said “Our three home games in the WNIT are going to give our fans a chance to see some great basketball right from the tip. We know it is going to be challenging, but we are going to meet these challenges together, one at a time, and see how fast we can grow from them.”

If the Huskers can go 3-0 at Pinnacle Bank Arena to open the season, they will likely earn a trip to South Bend, Ind., to take on perennial national power Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish finished the 2015-16 campaign as the nation’s No. 1 RPI team before advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16. The WNIT Championship Game is set for Sunday, Nov. 20.

After the Huskers compete in the Preseason WNIT, Nebraska will welcome Omaha to Pinnacle Bank Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 22. The Huskers will then embark on a tough three-game road trip that includes a familiar Pac-12 foe and a pair of games against ACC teams. The trip starts Friday, Nov. 25, when the Big Red battle Washington State in the first game of the South Point Shootout in Las Vegas, Nev. The Cougars finished as a top-100 RPI team last season despite a 14-16 overall record that included a 5-13 Pac-12 mark. The game will mark the fifth meeting between the Huskers and Cougars in the last nine seasons.

Nebraska wraps up its stay in Las Vegas by facing Virginia on Saturday, Nov. 26. It will be the first meeting ever between the Big Red and the Cavaliers in women’s basketball. Virginia is coming off an 18-16 campaign that included a 6-10 ACC mark. The Cavaliers advanced to the WNIT Sweet 16.

Following the trip west, the Huskers head to the East Coast to face another first-time ACC foe when they take on Virginia Tech in Blacksburg for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Thursday, Dec. 1. The Hokies finished 18-14 overall and 5-11 in the ACC before advancing to the second round of the WNIT in 2015-16.

Nebraska returns home to face another major-conference test when the Huskers host California on Sunday, Dec. 4. The Bears outlasted NU, 87-80 in overtime last season in Berkeley, Calif. Pac-12 Freshman-of-the-Year Kristine Anigwe will lead the Bears to Lincoln to face Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year Jessica Shepard. Cal finished with a 15-17 overall record last season but finished No. 84 in the RPI.

The game with Cal opens a three-game stand that continues against Drake on Tuesday, Dec. 6. The Bulldogs finished with a 23-10 overall record that included a runner-up finish in the Missouri Valley Conference at 14-4. Drake advanced to the WNIT second round.

The Huskers close the stand by taking on San Jose State at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Friday, Dec. 9. The Spartans went 13-17 overall including 11-7 in the Mountain West a year ago.

The Big Red remain in Nebraska for a road game against Creighton on Sunday, Dec. 18. The annual battle with the Bluejays will feature a CU squad that went 17-18 a year ago before advancing to the WNIT first round. The Bluejays went 8-10 to tie for seventh in the final Big East regular-season standings.

Nebraska’s eight-game non-conference home schedule wraps up against UConn. The 11-time NCAA champions won their fourth consecutive NCAA title with a 38-0 record that included an 18-0 mark in the American Athletic Conference last year. Coach Geno Auriemma will bring his 32nd UConn team to Lincoln for the second game of a home-and-home series with the Big Red. Auriemma, who enters the season with 955 career wins, led the Huskies to an 88-46 win over the Huskers in Hartford on Nov. 28, 2015. UConn has advanced to nine consecutive NCAA Women’s Final Fours.

In addition to the exciting challenges of the non-conference schedule, Nebraska’s conference home schedule could be its best in six seasons in the Big Ten. All eight of NU’s Big Ten home opponents advanced to the postseason in 2016, led by NCAA Sweet 16 qualifier Ohio State, which finished No. 6 in the RPI. Two-time defending Big Ten champion Maryland (RPI No. 8) also will come to Lincoln this season, as will Michigan State (RPI No. 17). The Terps and Spartans both advanced to the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Indiana also returns to Pinnacle Bank Arena this season. The Hoosiers added a trip of their own to the NCAA second round in 2016. Rutgers, Michigan, Minnesota and Northwestern all come to Pinnacle Bank Arena after advancing to the 2016 WNIT.

The Big Red will face Big Ten road challenges at Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Iowa, Purdue, Penn State, Illinois and Wisconsin as part of the Huskers’ 16-game conference schedule in 2016-17.

The regular-season should prepare Nebraska for the 2017 Big Ten Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, March 1-5. The announcement of the NCAA Tournament field will be made on Monday, March 13. The NCAA first- and second-rounds will be held March 18-21 at 16 campus sites, before NCAA Regionals in Bridgeport, Conn., Oklahoma City, Okla., Lexington, Ky., and Stockton, Calif.. The NCAA Women’s Final Four will be held at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, March 31-April 2.