Huskers Announce 2016-17 Non-Conference Schedule

Lincoln – Match-ups with Kansas, Clemson and Creighton, along with three games at the Wooden Legacy, highlight Nebraska’s 2016-17 men’s basketball non-conference schedule released Thursday afternoon.

“When I look at our schedule, I can’t help but think that we’re building a resume for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament,” Nebraska Coach Tim Miles said. “I see great depth and quality among our opponents. We are in the Wooden Legacy matched up with Dayton and the same side of the bracket as UCLA.  We have Creighton at home, and we are at Kansas and at Clemson.  In Big Ten play, our double plays are Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa and Northwestern. There are great opportunities for this team to get high-quality wins. It should be exciting for the fans, and challenging for our program, and that is exactly what we want.”

Nebraska will be tested during the 12-game non-conference slate, taking on a minimum of five opponents who reached postseason play in 2015-16, including a Kansas squad that lost to Villanova in the NCAA Elite Eight and was No. 1 in the final RPI last season.  The game with Kansas starts a home-and-home series with the Jayhawks, who will visit Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2017-18.   NU also will travel to Clemson on Nov. 30 for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 30, giving Nebraska a pair of road games against power conference opponents.

The Huskers’ other road trip before Big Ten play is the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy in California over Thanksgiving weekend. Nebraska will open tournament play against a Dayton team that went 25-8 and shared the Atlantic-10 regular-season title with a 14-4 record. The Flyers, who lost to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, return four starters, including first-team All-Atlantic 10 guard Charles Cooke, who averaged 15.6 points per game in 2015-16. Nebraska will play either UCLA or Portland in the second round, while the remainder of the field includes a Texas A&M squad that reached the Sweet 16, Virginia Tech, New Mexico and Cal State Northridge.

The Huskers will play seven home non-conference games, highlighted by the annual intrastate match-up with Creighton on Dec. 7. The game with the Bluejays is one of three against postseason qualifiers on the Huskers’ 2016-17 home non-conference slate, as NU will face a Louisiana Tech team that returns four starters from a 23-win team on Saturday, Nov. 19, and close non-conference action against a Southern team that won 22 games and reached the NCAA Tournament.

NU will also host a pair of regional teams, including South Dakota and former Husker assistant Craig Smith, and the University of Mary, which is the alma mater of NU Head Coach Tim Miles. The game with the University of Mary counts toward NU’s stats and records, but contests against non-Division I opponents do not factor into the NCAA RPI. The Huskers also welcome Sacramento State to Pinnacle Bank Arena for the season opener on Sunday, Nov. 13. NU plays host to Gardner-Webb on Dec. 18.

Including the Huskers’ Big Ten slate, NU will play nine of its 16 regular-season home games against postseason participants, as the Big Ten Conference announced 2016-17 opponents last month. The Huskers will host five Big Ten teams (Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and Wisconsin) that made the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

Limited season tickets will become available for the 2016-17 season. Fans can join the season ticket request list today to participate in Seat Yourself.  This online process allows fans to choose their seat location. To join the Huskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena this season, click here.