The Nebraska women's basketball team announced its full 2023-24 season schedule for the first time on Thursday, Sept. 21, when the Big Ten released the conference-wide schedule at 11:30 a.m. (CT) on the Big Ten Network.
The Huskers, who have been postseason eligible for four consecutive seasons, will play 16 regular-season games at Pinnacle Bank Arena including nine Big Ten home games. The times and television designations for Nebraska's Big Ten games will be announced at a later date.
Nebraska tips off practice for the regular season next week, and the women's basketball program will join the men's team for Opening Night with Husker Hoops at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Friday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. The event will include practices by both men's and women's basketball programs, contests with members of the teams and a performance by nationally recognized recording artist DDG. Fans can register for up to four free tickets per person now at Huskers.com/Tickets. Doors to the event open on Friday, Sept. 29 at 6 p.m.
Nebraska previously announced its non-conference schedule and Big Ten match-ups (without dates). Today's announcement gives the Huskers their first look at the season from start to finish, as they begin their journey in pursuit of an NCAA Tournament bid under Coach Amy Williams.
"We're excited to see the road for the season laid out before us for the first time," Williams said. "It is obviously going to be filled with some great challenges and some thrilling home games at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Our players have been working hard in their offseason preparation, and we can't wait to get started in practice next week preparing full speed for our season. We have the best fans in the nation, and we can't wait to see them at Pinnacle Bank Arena this season."
Fans can purchase season tickets now at Huskers.com/Tickets or by calling 1-800-8-BIG-RED. Nebraska's Starting Five ticket plan will be available soon. Single-game tickets will go on sale at a later date, as more information on game times becomes available. Nebraska ranked No. 13 nationally in average home attendance at Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2022-23 with 5,761 fans per game, including a Pinnacle Bank Arena women's basketball-record crowd of 14,289 on Feb. 18, 2023. The Big Red has been ranked among the top 25 nationally in average home attendance in women's basketball for 13 consecutive seasons.
The Huskers play their lone exhibition game against Dakota Wesleyan on Sunday, Oct. 29 at noon at Pinnacle Bank Arena, before tipping off the regular season against Northwestern State on Monday, Nov. 6. The game with the Lady Demons will begin at noon, following Nebraska's annual Life Skills Sportsmanship Pep Rally, which will start at 9:30 a.m. at PBA. The Life Skills Sportsmanship Pep Rally featured more than 2,500 middle grade students from more than 40 schools across Nebraska last season. For more information, or to register your school for this year's event, please contact Kate Frazier at kfrazier@huskers.com.
Following a road game at 2023 WNIT qualifier and Mountain West Conference runner-up Wyoming (Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m.), the Huskers return to Pinnacle Bank Arena to face Alcorn State (Nov. 14, 7 p.m.) before taking on 2023 NCAA Tournament-qualifier Creighton on Sunday, Nov. 19.
The Big Red will spend the Thanksgiving holiday at the St. Pete Showcase, battling Lamar on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23, 2:30 p.m.) before squaring off with TCU on Saturday, Nov. 25 at noon. Lamar was the 2023 Southland Conference runner-up after winning 20 games last season.
Nebraska returns to Pinnacle Bank Arena to open a three-game home stand against Florida Atlantic (Nov. 29, 7 p.m.) before battling ACC foe Georgia Tech on Saturday, Dec. 2. The Huskers conclude the stand against UNC Wilmington on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m.
The Huskers get their first taste of Big Ten Conference action when they travel to East Lansing to square off with Michigan State on Saturday, Dec. 9. The Spartans, who will be led by first-year head Robyn Fralick, finished with a 16-14 record a year ago.
After a one-game Big Ten road trip, Nebraska returns to Pinnacle Bank Arena to face 2023 NCAA Tournament qualifier and SWAC Champion Southern on Sunday, Dec. 17. The Huskers then close non-conference play on the road by tangling with 2023 WNIT Champion Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Dec. 20. Nebraska split a pair of games with the Jayhawks last year, defeating the beaks in blue 85-79 in triple-overtime at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Dec. 21, 2022) before being eliminated from the WNIT Super 16 at Allen Fieldhouse with a 64-55 loss on March 23.
Nebraska will get 10 days off from competition at holiday break, before opening the full Big Ten slate at home against 2023 NCAA Elite Eight qualifier Maryland on Sunday, Dec. 31. The New Year's Eve clash with the Terrapins at Pinnacle Bank Arena will be the lone regular-season meeting with Maryland in 2023-24, after the Huskers split a pair of games with the Terps last season.
The Huskers hit the road to take on Wisconsin (Wednesday, Jan. 3), before returning for a weekend home clash with 2023 Big Ten regular-season champion Indiana (Sunday, Jan. 7) at Pinnacle Bank Arena. It will be Nebraska's lone regular-season meeting with the Hoosiers, after falling in overtime to IU in Bloomington last season.
Nebraska stays at home on Thursday, Jan. 11 to face 2023 NCAA qualifier Illinois at PBA, before making its third conference road trip of the season to Minnesota (Sunday, Jan. 14).
The Big Red then play a fourth consecutive Big Ten home game against 2023 NCAA Tournament competition, when the Huskers face Michigan (Wednesday, Jan. 17) at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
The Huskers travel for back-to-back weekend road games at Penn State (Sunday, Jan. 21) and Iowa (Saturday, Jan. 27) around their first conference mid-week bye of the season, before returning for a fifth straight home battle with a 2023 NCAA Tournament team against Purdue (Wednesday, Jan. 31).
Nebraska completes a two-game home stand by colliding with Rutgers (Saturday, Feb. 3) at PBA, in its only regular-season meeting with the Scarlet Knights.
The Huskers face arguably their toughest stretch of the season in early February, beginning with a road game at Michigan (Tuesday, Feb. 6), before playing host to NCAA runner-up Iowa (Sunday, Feb. 11) at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska then travels to 2023 NCAA Elite Eight qualifier Ohio State (Wednesday, Feb. 14), before completing its home-and-home series at Purdue (Saturday, Feb. 17), capping four consecutive games against 2023 NCAA Tournament teams with three coming on the road.
Nebraska ends its regular-season home schedule with back-to-back games against Northwestern (Tuesday, Feb. 20) and Minnesota (Saturday, Feb. 24) at Pinnacle Bank Arena before getting its second mid-week bye in conference play. The Huskers close the regular season at Illinois (Sunday, March 3), before heading to the Target Center in Minneapolis for the Big Ten Tournament (March 6-10).
The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday, March 17, ahead of the NCAA First Four (March 20-21) and NCAA First and Second Round games (March 22-25) at 16 campus sites around the country. Two, eight-team NCAA Regionals will be held in Albany, N.Y., and Portland, Ore. (March 29-April 1) before the NCAA Women's Final Four in Cleveland, Ohio (April 5-7).
2023-24 Nebraska Women's Basketball Schedule
Sept. 29 (Friday) - Opening Night with Husker Hoops - Pinnacle Bank Arena - 7 p.m.
Oct. 29 (Sunday) - Dakota Wesleyan (exhibition) - Pinnacle Bank Arena - Noon
Nov. 6 (Monday) - Northwestern State (Life Skills Pep Rally) - Pinnacle Bank Arena - Noon
Nov. 10 (Friday) - at Wyoming - Laramie, Wyo. - 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 14 (Tuesday) - Alcorn State - Pinnacle Bank Arena - 7 p.m.
Nov. 19 (Sunday) - Creighton - Pinnacle Bank Arena - TBA
Nov. 23 (Thursday) - vs. Lamar (St. Pete Showcase) - St. Petersburg, Fla. - 2:30 p.m.
Nov. 25 (Saturday) - vs. TCU (St. Pete Showcase) - St. Petersburg, Fla. - Noon
Nov. 29 (Wednesday) - Florida Atlantic - Pinnacle Bank Arena - 7 p.m.
Dec. 2 (Saturday) - Georgia Tech - Pinnacle Bank Arena - TBA
Dec. 5 (Tuesday) - UNC Wilmington - Pinnacle Bank Arena - 7 p.m.
Dec. 9 (Saturday) - at Michigan State - East Lansing, Mich. - TBA
Dec. 17 (Sunday) - Southern - Pinnacle Bank Arena - TBA
Dec. 20 (Wednesday) - at Kansas - Lawrence, Kan. - TBA
Dec. 31 (Sunday) - Maryland - Pinnacle Bank Arena - TBA
Jan. 3 (Wednesday) - at Wisconsin - Madison, Wis. - TBA
Jan. 7 (Sunday) - Indiana - Pinnacle Bank Arena - TBA
Jan. 11 (Thursday) - Illinois - Pinnacle Bank Arena - TBA
Jan. 14 (Sunday) - at Minnesota - Minneapolis, Minn. - TBA
Jan. 17 (Wednesday) - Michigan - Pinnacle Bank Arena - TBA
Jan. 21 (Sunday) - at Penn State - University Park, Pa. - TBA
Jan. 27 (Saturday) - at Iowa - Iowa City, Iowa - TBA
Jan. 31 (Wednesday) - Purdue - Pinnacle Bank Arena - TBA
Feb. 3 (Saturday) - Rutgers - Pinnacle Bank Arena - TBA
Feb. 6 (Tuesday) - at Michigan - Ann Arbor, Mich. - TBA
Feb. 11 (Sunday) - Iowa - Pinnacle Bank Arena - TBA
Feb. 14 (Wednesday) - at Ohio State - Columbus, Ohio - TBA
Feb. 17 (Saturday) - at Purdue - West Lafayette, Ind. - TBA
Feb. 20 (Tuesday) - Northwestern - Pinnacle Bank Arena - TBA
Feb. 24 (Saturday) - Minnesota - Pinnacle Bank Arena - TBA
March 3 (Sunday) - at Illinois - Urbana-Champaign, Ill. - TBA
March 6-10 (Wednesday-Sunday) - Big Ten Tournament - Minneapolis, Minn. (Target Center)
March 17 (Sunday) - NCAA Tournament Selection Show
March 20-21 (Wednesday-Thursday) - NCAA First Four
March 22-25 (Friday-Monday) - NCAA First & Second Rounds (16 campus sites)
March 29-April 1 (Friday-Monday) - NCAA Regionals (Albany, N.Y. & Portland, Ore.)
April 5-7 (Friday-Sunday) - NCAA Women's Final Four (Cleveland, Ohio)