Huskers Ranked No. 16 by Coaches

The Nebraska women's basketball team will open the 2014-15 campaign ranked No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches Preseason Top 25, released on Monday, Nov. 3.

The Huskers, who return four starters from a 2013-14 squad that finished 26-7 overall and 12-4 in the Big Ten, also were ranked 16th in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 announced on Oct. 30.

Nebraska, which opened exhibition play with an 84-43 win over Wayne State on Sunday, is one of four Big Ten Conference teams in the USA Today Preseason Top 25, joining No. 8 Maryland, No. 15 Michigan State and No. 19 Iowa. 

Nebraska finished the 2013-14 season at No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 and No. 13 by the AP.

Defending national champion UConn was a unanimous No. 1, while South Carolina opens the year at No. 2 ahead of No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 4 Tennessee. Texas A&M rounds out the top five, while Stanford sits at No. 6. Those six teams were ranked in the same order by the AP.

Duke, which will come to Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln on Wednesday, Dec. 3, to face Nebraska in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge is also ranked No. 7 in both the USA Today and AP Preseason Top 25. Tip-off for the battle between the Big Red and the Blue Devils is set for 6:30 p.m.

One month later, No. 8 Maryland will make a trip to Pinnacle Bank Arena to take on the Huskers. The Terrapins, who advanced to the NCAA Women's Final Four last year, will make their first trip to Lincoln as a Big Ten foe when the Huskers take on the Terps on Saturday, Jan. 3, at 3 p.m. That game will be televised nationally by CBS. Nebraska and Maryland will meet again in College Park, Md., on Sunday, Feb. 8, at 3 p.m., in a game that will be nationally televised by ESPN2.

In addition to the four Big Ten teams in the top 25, Penn State (26th), Rutgers (27th), Purdue (28th) and Ohio State (38th) were among other teams receiving votes.

Nebraska closes exhibition play this Sunday, Nov. 9, at 2 p.m., when the Huskers play host to Concordia-St. Paul. The Bears went 28-9 last season in NCAA Division II. Season and single-game tickets are available now at Huskers.com.

2014-15 USA Today Coaches Preseason Top 25

1.	Connecticut (40-0)	800	1	32
2.	South Carolina (29-5)	739	9	0
3.	Notre Dame (37-1)	736	2	0
4.	Tennessee (29-6)	683	8	0
5.	Texas A&M (27-9)	630	10	0
6.	Stanford (33-4)	608	3	0
7.	Duke (28-7)	566	13	0
8.	Maryland (28-7)	543	4	0
9.	Baylor (32-5)	531	6	0
10.	Kentucky (26-9)	484	11	0
11.	Louisville (33-5)	474	5	0
12.	Texas (22-12)	458	not ranked	0
13.	North Carolina (27-10)	407	7	0
14.	California (22-10)	366	20	0
15.	Michigan State (23-10)	343	23	0
16.	Nebraska (26-7)	305	17	0
17.	West Virginia (30-5)	274	12	0
18.	DePaul (29-7)	246	16	0
19.	Iowa (27-9)	217	not ranked	0
20.	Oklahoma State (25-9)	164	15	0
21.	Oregon State (24-11)	123	25	0
22.	Dayton (23-8)	117	not ranked	0
23.	UCLA (13-18)	116	not ranked	0
24.	LSU (21-13)	65	24	0
25.	Syracuse (23-10)	55	not ranked	0

Dropped out: No. 14 Penn State (24-8), No. 18 Brigham Young (28-7), No. 19 Purdue (22-9), No. 21 North Carolina State (25-8), No. 22 Gonzaga (29-5).
Others receiving votes: Penn State (24-8) 50; Rutgers (28-9) 45; Purdue (22-9) 37; Georgia (20-12) 29; Vanderbilt (18-13) 24; Gonzaga (29-5) 17; Brigham Young (28-7) 16; Florida State (21-12) 16; St. John‘s (23-11) 16; North Carolina State (25-8) 14; Iowa State (20-11) 12; South Florida (23-13) 11; Ohio State (17-18) 10; Arkansas (19-11) 9; Oklahoma (18-15) 8; Oregon (16-16) 8; Middle Tennessee (29-5) 7; Southern California (22-13) 7; Western Kentucky (24-9) 5; James Madison (29-6) 3; Arizona State (23-10) 2; Albany (28-5) 1; Arkansas State (22-12) 1; Cal State Northridge (18-15) 1; Marist (27-7) 1.

The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 32 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.