The Nebraska women’s basketball team opens the 2014-15 campaign with a No. 16 ranking in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 released on Thursday, Oct. 30.

The Huskers, who return four starters from a 2013-14 squad that finished 26-7 overall and 12-4 in the Big Ten, are one of five Big Ten Conference teams in the AP Preseason Poll, joining No. 10 Maryland, No. 14 Michigan State, No. 19 Iowa and No. 24 Rutgers.

Nebraska finished the 2013-14 season at No. 13 in the AP Poll and No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches Top 25. The coaches preseason poll will be released at a later date.

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.

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

No. 8 Baylor and No. 9 Texas join Maryland in completing the preseason top 10. The Terrapins, who enter their first season in the Big Ten Conference, advanced to the NCAA Women’s Final Four last year. They 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.

Overall, Nebraska is scheduled to play eight games against teams ranked in the AP Preseason Poll, including a game at No. 14 Michigan State on Jan. 8, two games against No. 19 Iowa (Jan. 26, Iowa City; Feb. 12, Pinnacle Bank Arena), a road game at No. 23 UCLA on Nov. 28, and a road battle at No. 24 Rutgers on Feb. 5.

In addition to the five Big Ten teams in the top 25, Purdue (27th), Penn State (28th), Minnesota (38th) and Northwestern (tied for 45th) were all among the team receiving votes.

The Huskers will face Penn State (Jan. 15) and Purdue (Jan. 19) in back-to-back home games at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska opens Big Ten play at Minnesota on Monday, Dec. 29, before playing its second-to-last home game against the Gophers in Lincoln on Tuesday, Feb. 24. All four of those games will be televised nationally by the Big Ten Network. The Big Red will battle Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., on Feb. 18.

Coach Connie Yori, who has earned back-to-back Big Ten Coach-of-the-Year honors, enters her 13th season leading the Huskers as they take aim at their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament trip in 2015.

Nebraska opens that journey with a home exhibition game against Wayne State College on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 2 p.m. The Wildcats went 28-5 last season and enter the 2014-15 campaign ranked No. 6 in NCAA Division II. Season and single-game tickets are available now at Huskers.com.

2014-15 Associated Press Preseason Top 25
1. UConn [35] (875)
2. South Carolina (824)
3. Notre Dame (798)
4. Tennessee (749)
5. Texas A&M (702)
6. Stanford (645)
7. Duke (577)
8. Baylor (573)
9. Texas (532)
10. Maryland (531)
11. Kentucky (522)
12. Louisville (505)
13. North Carolina (504)
14. Michigan State (433)
15. California (423)
16. Nebraska (314)
17. West Virginia (306)
18. DePaul (301)
19. Iowa (236)
20. Oregon State (183)
21. Oklahoma State (158)
22. Dayton (95)
23. UCLA (86)
T24. Rutgers (65)
T24. Syracuse (65)
Receiving votes: LSU 58, Purdue 45, Penn State 43, Georgia 37, Gonzaga 28, NC State 24, Vanderbilt 23, Oklahoma 17, Arkansas 14, BYU 14, Mississippi State 13, Florida State 10, Minnesota 8, South Florida 8, St. John’s 7, Oregon 5, Green Bay 4, Western Kentucky 4, Middle Tennessee 3, Iowa State 2, Northwestern 2, Albany (1), Arizona State (1), Colorado State (1), James Madison (1)