Huskers to Host Northern Iowa in WNIT Thursday

The Nebraska women's basketball team earned its fifth consecutive postseason tournament bid when the Huskers were among six Big Ten Conference teams chosen in the 64-team 2016 Postseason WNIT field on Monday night.

The Huskers, 18-12 overall and 9-9 in the Big Ten, will host Northern Iowa in the first round at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Thursday with an expected tip-off time of 7 p.m. Tickets will go on sale at Huskers.com at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Reserved tickets will be $10, while adult general admission tickets will be $5. UNL Students will be admitted free with their N-Card.

Coach Tanya Warren will bring Northern Iowa to Lincoln with a 22-10 record that included a 15-3 Missouri Valley Conference mark. Warren, who was a college teammate of Nebraska Coach Connie Yori at Creighton, is in her ninth season as UNI's head coach. Yori and Warren are the only two Creighton women's basketball players to have their jerseys retired.

Nebraska and Northern Iowa have not met since going head-to-head in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament in Minneapolis. The Huskers won that game 83-44. 

The Big Ten, which had five teams chosen to compete in the 64-team NCAA Tournament field, will have 11 teams competing in postseason play beginning this week.

The Huskers will be making their first appearance in the WNIT since 2009. It will be the Big Red's 12th postseason tournament appearance in the last 13 years under Coach Connie Yori, including their fifth trip to the Postseason WNIT.

The WNIT Selection Committee announced the field for its 19th postseason tournament on Monday at 8:30 p.m. (CT). A full bracket with first-round opponents and 32 host sites was released at 10 p.m. (CT).

The 2016 WNIT field includes 36 teams with 20 or more victories, while 18 teams either won or tied for their respective conference titles.

The Big Ten led all conferences with six teams, while the Mid-American Conference added four teams. The ACC, Conference USA and West Coast Conference will be represented by four teams. All games in the entire tournament are hosted by participating schools. 

First-round action tips off Wednesday, March 16 and concludes Friday, March 18. Second-round games will run March 19-22, Round three goes March 23-25, quarterfinals are March 26-28, and semifinals will be played March 30-31. The championship game will be played Saturday, April 2 and will be televised live on CBS Sports Network at 3 p.m. (CT). 

Tournament officials award an automatic qualifying berth to each of the nation’s 32 conferences. The spot goes to the team that finishes the highest in the regular-season conference standings that does not advance to the NCAA Tournament. If there is a tie, the WNIT abides by the conference tiebreaker. A team earns the AQ berth regardless of its overall record. A total of 32 teams are then given at-large berths. A team must have an overall record of .500 or better to be considered.

The Postseason WNIT is owned and produced by Triple Crown Sports, based in Fort Collins, Colo.  TCS also organizes men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments in Cancun, and the Preseason WNIT. Nebraska is also scheduled to compete in the 2016 Preseason WNIT.

For complete information on the tournament, please visit www.womensnit.com.

Automatic Qualifiers

• Abilene Christian (26-3), Southland
• Arkansas State (26-5), Sun Belt
• Bethune-Cookman (18-12), MEAC
• Bucknell (24-7), Patriot
• Drexel (19-13), Colonial
• Florida Gulf Coast (28-5), Atlantic Sun
• Fresno State (21-11), MWC
• Harvard (14-13), Ivy
• Liberty (20-12), Big South
• Maine (26-8, America East
• Mercer (24-8), Southern
• Milwaukee (19-12), Horizon
• Minnesota (19-11), Big Ten
• Montana State (21-9), Big Sky
• Northern Iowa (22-10), Missouri Valley
• Ohio (24-6), Mid-American
• Oregon (20-10), Pac-12
• Quinnipiac (24-8), MAAC
• Sacred Heart (20-12), Northeast
• Saint Louis (24-7), Atlantic 10
• Saint Mary’s (24-7), WCC
• South Dakota (26-6), Summit
• Southern (19-11), SWAC
• TCU (16-14), Big 12
• Temple (20-11), American
• UC Riverside (23-8), Big West
• UT Martin (21-9), Ohio Valley
• UTEP (26-4), C-USA
• UT Rio Grande Valley (19-13), WAC
• Villanova (19-11), Big East

At-Large Teams

• Akron (19-13), Mid-American
• Alabama (15-15), SEC
• Ball State (21-9), Mid-American
• Central Michigan (22-10), Mid-American
• Charlotte (19-11), C-USA
• Creighton (17-17), Big East
• Dayton (14-14), Atlantic 10
• Drake (22-9), Missouri Valley
• Eastern Michigan (21-11), Mid-American
• Elon (18-12), Colonial
• Georgetown (16-13), Big East
• Georgia Tech (19-12), ACC
• Gonzaga (18-13), West Coast
• Hofstra (22-8), Colonial
• Iowa (19-13), Big Ten
• IUPUI (20-10), Summit
• Little Rock (20-12), Sun Belt
• Long Beach State (24-8), Big West
• Marshall (21-11), C-USA
• Memphis (18-12), American
• Michigan (17-13), Big Ten
• Nebraska (18-12), Big Ten
• Northwestern (18-16), Big Ten
• Rutgers (18-14), Big Ten
• San Diego (23-7), West Coast
• Santa Clara (23-8), West Coast
• Tulane (21-11), American
• Utah (16-14), Pac-12
• VCU (23-9), Atlantic 10
• Virginia (16-15), ACC
• Virginia Tech (17-13), ACC
• Wake Forest (16-15), ACC
• Western Kentucky (24-6), C-USA
• Wright State (24-10), Horizon