Friday Aug. 29 Soccer
Friday Aug. 29 Volleyball
Saturday Aug. 30 Football
Sunday Aug. 31 Volleyball
Sunday Aug. 31 Soccer
Lincoln, Neb. – The Nebraska soccer team (1-1) came up short in its attempt at an opening weekend sweep, falling to DePaul 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Nebraska Soccer Field.
Sophomore Jaycie Johnson scored for the Huskers in the 89th minute off an assist from Caroline Flynn to give NU a chance in the closing minutes. Johnson’s tap-in score marked her second goal of the 2014 campaign. She led the Huskers on Sunday with two shots as NU compiled five for the game.
The Blue Demons opened the scoring in the 16th minute as Elise Wyatt rebounded a shot that hit the left post and knocked it in. Abby Reed put DePaul up for good with her unassisted goal in the 85th minute.
DePaul compiled six shots on goal for the game, three of which came from Wyatt. Nebraska goalkeeper Kelly Schatz earned four saves over 90 minutes of work.
The Huskers return to the Nebraska Soccer Field on Friday against Butler at 5:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on Huskers.com. Following its matchup with the Bulldogs, NU travels to Marquette for a Sunday showdown at 1 p.m.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Brandin Bryant grew up hearing about the football exploits of his grandfather at Nebraska, and he dreamed of the day that he, too, would play at Memorial Stadium.
His time comes Saturday, except he’ll be wearing the blue and red of Florida Atlantic instead of the Cornhuskers’ scarlet and cream.
Bryant will begin his second season as a starting defensive lineman for the Owls on the same field where Charles Bryant in 1953 was among the first two African-Americans to letter for the Huskers since 1913.
“When I walk out of the tunnel, he’ll most likely be on my mind,” Brandin said. “I’ll try not to play with emotions. I’ll try to get it all out of the way in the locker room. But it would be unavoidable not to think about him and what he meant.”
Brandin was 11 when Charles died in 2004. During an interview, Brandin recalled going to his grandparents’ house and having Charles help him with homework, play tee ball with him in the backyard and just talk sports.
“And he’d make me cut the grass over there all the time, too,” Brandin said, laughing.
Charles was a multisport star at South High School in Omaha in the late 1940s and early ’50s. Nebraska didn’t offer athletic scholarships to blacks at the time, so against the advice of family and friends he walked on in 1951.
“There was an inertia within the black community in Omaha. The message was: ‘Don’t go there, you won’t get a chance,’ “Nebraska football historian Mike Babock said. “He went there and got a chance.”
Coach Bill Glassford put Charles on scholarship in 1952, and the offensive lineman received All-Big Seven honors in 1954 while helping lead the Huskers to the Orange Bowl against Duke.
Brandin said his grandfather was humble about his athletic achievements and never complained about the abuse he and teammate Jon McWilliams sometimes endured because they were black.
“This was before the civil rights movement, so you can imagine that,” Brandin said. “At the 1955 Orange Bowl game in Miami, he had to stay at some person’s house and sleep on the floor because he couldn’t stay in the hotel with the team. He wasn’t allowed to eat with the team and had to go to the colored section of restaurants. A lot of crazy stuff.”
Brandin played at North High in Omaha, earned honorable mention for all-state honors in 2010 and had hoped to go to Nebraska. The Huskers talked to him about possibly walking on, but their interest waned and he went to Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College for a year.
Carl Pelini, the former Nebraska defensive coordinator, took over as head coach at Florida Atlantic in 2012 and signed Brandin. Bryant has played in all 24 games the past two seasons and was a key member of a defense that ranked 11th nationally last year.
The Owls, with new coach Charlie Partridge, will be big underdogs against the 22nd-ranked Huskers. They were 6-6 last year, when Pelini and defensive coordinator Pete Rekstis were forced out with four games left.
Brandin said the importance of Saturday’s game hit him while he was in Omaha in May visiting his grandma, Mollie Bryant, at the same house where he used to spend so much time with his grandpa. Charles Bryant’s trophies and plaques are still prominently displayed, as is the scrapbook his grandma kept.
“In terms of team and preparation, I like to take every game the same,” Brandin said. “In terms of my family being there and coming home, yes, it is very special.”
Lincoln, Neb.- The Nebraska football team concluded its third week of the 2014 Fall Camp Saturday afternoon, as the Huskers went through a ‘situational walk-through’ for just over one hour inside of Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pelini met with media briefly following practice, noting that he likes the leadership presented by some of the more experienced players on the Husker Blackshirt defense.
“Josh Mitchell and Coop (Corey Cooper) are ones, and Banderas by the nature of his position,” Pelini said. “We have some guys that have some experience that have been through it and do a nice job of leading that group.”
Junior pre-season All-American candidate Randy Gregory is also a leader on the NU defense according to Pelini, but as a leader by his actions, rather than being vocal.
“Randy is a really good football player and he is a quiet guy,” Pelini said. “He is a leader by how he plays and by his actions on the field. He is not a real vocal guy but he is when he needs to be.”
Pelini mentioned that there has not been captains chosen for the upcoming season yet, as well as current walk-on players that will be awarded scholarships for the upcoming academic school year. Also, there has been no announcements on any freshmen that will be redshirting or not for the upcoming season. An announcement should come this week.
The Huskers will be back on the practice fields Monday as the Nebraska football team will enter game week preparations for the 2014 season opener versus Florida Atlantic just one week from today, on August 30. Check back here or at Huskers.com for a practice report and video coverage following practice immediately.
Nebraska fans are reminded about their opportunity to be on hand at Memorial Stadium as the Huskers kick off the 2014 season. Fans can purchase the Cornhusker Kickoff Combo package for the Florida Atlantic game on Aug. 30 and the matchup with McNeese State on Sept. 6. The two-game package can be purchased at Huskers.com for $100. Fans can also purchase single-game tickets to all games other than the Miami and Minnesota games at Huskers.com.
Lincoln – The White team defeated the Red, 3-1, Saturday night in a competitive Red-White match in front of 6,150 fans at the Bob Devaney Center.
The White won the first three sets (25-10, 29-27, 25-19) before the Red captured set four by a score of 25-19. Five Huskers finished with double-figure kills in the match, led by a trio of outstanding performers on the White squad. Junior Meghan Haggerty produced a match-high 16 kills on just 32 swings, while also totaling a match-high seven blocks. Classmate Alicia Ostrander produced 15 kills on .316 hitting, while freshman Annika Albrecht impressed in her debut, recording a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs. Libero Justine Wong-Orantes added a match-high 21 digs for the White squad.
Leading the Red was junior Kelsey Fien and sophomores Melanie Keil and Kadie Rolfzen. Fien finished with 11 kills while Keil added 10 kills on 16 swings, hitting .562. Rolfzen produced a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore Amber Rolfzen led the Red with 13 digs, while junior Cecilia Hall totaled a team-high five blocks.
The White squad led the match in nearly every category. The White produced 13 more kills, five more digs and three more blocks than the Red. The White team hit .270 on the match with 11 blocks, while the Red squad attacked at a .156 clip with eight blocks.
In the true intra-squad scrimmage, the Red team featured Fien, Hall, Keil, the Rolfzen twins, senior Mary Pollmiller and sophomore libero Alexa Ethridge. The White squad included Haggerty, Ostrander, Albrecht and Wong-Orantes, along with sophomore Kelly Hunter, redshirt freshman Kira Larson and true freshmen Maddie Haggerty and Sydney Townsend. Freshman Olivia Boender sat out the match with an injury.
Nebraska also switched up its setters, as Pollmiller played with the Red squad in sets one and two, with Hunter playing for the Red in sets three and four.
The White team jumped out to an early 8-2 lead in set one and never looked back. Meghan Haggerty accounted for the first four points of the set with two kills and two blocks. Four of the Red’s first eight attacks were stuffed with Haggerty totaling four kills and Larson adding three blocks. A pair of kills and a block from Albrecht stretched the lead to 12-4 and the White continued to cruise behind Albrecht. Albrecht recorded her fourth kill on set point to close out a 25-10 victory. Albrecht finished the set with four kills on five error-free swings. White enjoyed a 5-2 edge in blocks in set one and an 11-4 edge in kills, hitting .409 compared to -.233 for the Red. All five White players who had an attack produced at least one kill, while Wong-Orantes produced seven digs.
The second set was much tighter as neither team led by more than two until the Red used a 5-1 run to grab a 13-10 advantage. The teams then traded sideouts until the White won four straight rallies to tie the set 17-16 lead on a Larson block. The Red came back to take a 19-18 lead but the back-and-forth set continued with the White regaining the lead at 20-19 on an Albrecht solo block. Albrecht’s 10th kill of the match gave White three set points at 24-21 but the Red fought back with three straight points to tie the set. The Red team earned its first set point at 26-25 following an ace from Keil. The White pulled even on a Haggerty kill following a timeout before Ostrander gave the White squad another set point at 27-26. The fifth match point proved to be the charm as an attack error gave White a 29-27 win. Albrecht led all Huskers with six kills in set five, while Haggerty put down five kills on eight swings and Ostrander added four kills. The Red out-hit the White .171 to .159 but four service errors hindered the Red’s chances to even the match.
Set three was tight as well. Fueled by a pair of kills from Pollmiller – who switched teams before set three – the White squad won three straight points to grab a 10-7 lead and force a Red timeout. The White held its small lead until three consecutive kills – including two from Keil – tied the set at 16. Following a timeout, the White won five consecutive rallies, grabbing a 21-16 lead on an Albrecht ace. The Red would get no closer than four down the stretch, as Larson closed out the set with a kill. The White hit .267 in the third set, compared to an .057 mark for the Red. Ostrander had six kills on 11 swings for the White, while Keil delivered four kills on seven swings with one block for the Red.
Despite White’s 3-0 lead, a fourth set was played. The Red team did not take its first lead until 15-4, but the squad closed the set on an 11-5 run to win the set. The Red hit .444 in the set, producing 18 kills on 36 swings. Kadie Rolfzen put down six kills on six swings, while Keil had five kills on six attacks. Haggerty led the White with five kills in set three.
Nebraska, ranked seventh in the preseason AVCA Top 25, opens the regular season on Friday at 7 p.m. against 13th-ranked Florida State at the Devaney Center as part of the AVCA Showcase.
Lincoln, Neb – Four different Huskers scored goals as goalkeeper Kelly Schatz earned a 4-0 shutout against SMU on Friday night at the Nebraska Soccer Field.
Senior Caroline Gray struck first for No. 13 Nebraska in the 13th minute off an assist from sophomore Jaycie Johnson. The Huskers added nine more shots in the first half compared to the Mustangs’ one, scoring on two of them.
In the 22nd minute, Caroline Flynn scored from 20 yards out to give NU a 2-0 advantage before Johnson added the Huskers’ third goal 10 minutes later. She scored a breakaway goal off a give and go from Mayme Conroy. Johnson took five shots for the game, three of which were shots on goal.
Nebraska added its fourth goal in the second half as sophomore Sydney Miramontez scored off a pass from Courtney Claassen in the 75th minute. Schatz, making her first start at goalie for the Huskers, earned four saves in the second half and made five overall in 90 minutes.
The Huskers complete their opening home stand on Sunday at the Nebraska Soccer Field against DePaul at 1 p.m.
The Nebraska women’s basketball team will face a loaded 18-game Big Ten Conference regular season, including marquee home matchups with 2014 NCAA Tournament qualifiers Maryland, Penn State, Purdue and Iowa.
The schedule announcement came from the Big Ten Conference on BTN Live on Thursday, Aug. 21, and included the unveiling of both the men’s and women’s conference schedules for the 2014-15 season.
Coach Connie Yori said Nebraska’s Big Ten schedule would challenge her Huskers, while giving fans an NCAA Tournament atmosphere every game at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
“It certainly isn’t going to be easy,” Yori said. “Our first three Big Ten home games will come against Maryland, Penn State and Purdue. Maryland went to the Final Four, Penn State went to the Sweet 16, and Purdue went to the NCAA second round. Overall, we will play 13 of our 18 conference games against teams that won NCAA or WNIT tournament games last year. You can’t get much more challenging than that.”
Season tickets are available now for Nebraska’s 17-game home schedule at Pinnacle Bank Arena by visiting Huskers.com or calling 1-800-8-BIG-RED. Single-game tickets for the Huskers’ special home game at the Bob Devaney Sports Center against Utah on Sunday, Nov. 23, are also on sale at Huskers.com.
Nebraska tips off the Big Ten Conference season on the road at Minnesota on Monday, Dec. 29. The Golden Gophers, who will be under the direction of first-year coach Marlene Stollings, return all five starters from a team that finished with 22 victories and advanced to the third round of the WNIT. The Huskers went 3-0 last season against the Gophers, including a win in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
The Huskers open home Big Ten action against first-year conference member Maryland on Saturday, Jan. 3. Coach Brenda Frese and the Terrapins earned a trip to the 2014 NCAA Women’s Final Four behind the leadership of Alyssa Thomas, who was the No. 4 overall pick in the WNBA Draft. The Terps, who finished 28-7 overall and 12-4 in the ACC, who also must replace three-year starting center Alicia DeVaughn and Katie Rutan, return plenty of weapons, including senior guard Laurin Mincy, junior forward Malina Howard and sophomore Lexie Brown.
The Big Red returns to the road to battle the Michigan State Spartans on Thursday, Jan. 8 in East Lansing, Mich. MSU shared the 2014 Big Ten regular-season title, finishing with a 13-3 conference mark on its way to a 23-10 overall record. The Spartans advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, after being eliminated from the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament by Nebraska. NU went 2-1 against Michigan State, including an early conference loss at East Lansing. The Huskers meet Michigan State just once in 2015.
Nebraska stays on the road to face Illinois on Sunday, Jan. 11, before returning home for a showdown with Penn State. The Lady Lions shared the Big Ten regular-season title with Michigan State and finished with a 24-8 overall mark before advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16. Penn State will have a new look in 2014-15 after losing their starting backcourt, including four-year starter and 2013 Big Ten Player of the Year and 2014 WNBA second-round pick Maggie Lucas. PSU also loses its No. 2 (Ariel Edwards), No. 3 (Dara Taylor) and No. 4 (Talia East) leading scorers from last season, but will be anchored inside by returning starter Tori Waldner. It will be NU’s lone regular-season matchup with Penn State in 2015.
The Huskers stay at Pinnacle Bank Arena for their third single-play game of the conference campaign when they play host to Purdue on Monday, Jan. 19. The special Martin Luther King Jr. Day game will continue a brief but thrilling series between the Huskers and Boilermakers. In the first six meetings between the two teams over Nebraska’s first three seasons in the Big Ten, three of the games have covered a total of six overtimes, while last year’s lone meeting in Lincoln on Jan. 19, 2014, went down to the wire in a 77-75 NU loss. Purdue advanced to the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament and finished with a 22-9 overall record that included an 11-5 Big Ten mark to tie for fourth in the regular-season conference standings.
Following a road clash at Wisconsin on Thursday, Jan. 22, the Huskers will play their fifth foe to advance to at least the NCAA Tournament second round in the first eight Big Ten games, when they travel to Iowa on Jan. 26. The Hawkeyes return a majority of their weapons from a team that won a Big Ten-best 27 games in 2013-14. Iowa tied Purdue for fourth in the final conference standings at 11-5 and went 27-9 overall but went 0-3 against the Huskers, including a loss in the Big Ten Tournament title game. Nebraska is 9-0 against Iowa in NU’s first three seasons in the Big Ten.
The Huskers return home to complete their two-game season series with Illinois and the first half of Big Ten play on Thursday, Jan. 29. NU tips off the second half of conference action at home against Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 1, and the Huskers will hope it is the start of another fabulous February. Nebraska, which will play eight games in February, went 8-0 during the month last season. In fact, the Huskers will carry a 16-game February winning streak into the matchup with Michigan. The Wolverines finished 20-14 overall, 8-8 in the Big Ten, and advanced to the third round of the WNIT in 2013-14. NU, which went 7-0 in February of 2013, has won nine straight February home games and have not dropped a home game in the month since losing to Northwestern on Feb. 16, 2012.
After NU’s single-play game with Michigan, the Huskers head to Piscataway, N.J., for the first time in history for their first-ever meeting with Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights went 28-9 overall and 12-6 in their lone season in the American Athletic Conference before winning the 2014 WNIT championship. It will be NU’s lone regular-season meeting with Rutgers in 2014-15.
The Huskers continue the East Coast road swing by completing their season series with Maryland in College Park on Sunday, Feb. 8. The Big Red returns home to complete its home-and-home series with Iowa on Feb. 12, giving the Huskers 10 games against 2014 NCAA or WNIT teams in their first 12 Big Ten Conference contests.
NU wraps up its two-game season series with Wisconsin at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday, Feb. 15, before hitting the road for single-play conference games at Northwestern (Feb. 18) and Indiana (Feb. 21). Northwestern finished with a 17-16 overall record and advanced to the WNIT third round, while the Hoosiers fought their way to the WNIT Elite Eight to finish with a 21-13 overall record.
Nebraska completes its two-game season series with Minnesota in Lincoln on Tuesday, Feb. 24, before honoring seniors Emily Cady, Brandi Jeffery, Tear’a Laudermill and Hailie Sample on Senior Day against Ohio State on Sunday, March 1. The four Husker seniors have led Nebraska to the most successful stretch in school history, averaging 25 wins per season in their first three years while claiming three straight NCAA Tournament bids. No Nebraska senior class has ever led their team to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The regular-season should prepare Nebraska well to defend its 2014 Big Ten Tournament championship, March 4-8, at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill.
The announcement of the NCAA Tournament field will be made on Monday, March 16. The NCAA first- and second-rounds will be held March 20-23 at 16 campus sites this season, before NCAA Regionals in Oklahoma City, Okla., Greensboro, N.C., Albany, N.Y., and Sacramento, Calif. The NCAA Women’s Final Four will be held at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa Bay, Fla., April 5-7.
Lincoln, Neb.- The Nebraska football team continued its third week of 2014 Fall Camp Thursday afternoon, as the Huskers practiced for just over an hour inside of the Hawks Championship Center and outside at the Ed and Joyanne Gass Practice Fields.
Nebraska defensive coordinator John Papuchis spoke with media following practice, noting that the Huskers began working in their base defense preparations for the season opener versus Florida Atlantic.
“We got a good core of our base in, today was a big day for that,” Papuchis said. “We still have a lot of work to do—we just started today, but in terms of the ‘base’ defense we got a lot of it in today.”
Papuchis also mentioned that juniors Daniel Davie and Jonathan Rose are still battling for one of the cornerback positions opposite of senior Josh Mitchell. Papuchis said that fans will see a good combination of all three during the season opener.
“Right now (Daniel) Davie and (Jonathan) Rose have been taking equal reps, Josh Mitchell has established himself as the starter on one side,” Papuchis said. “We are going to play both of the guys, so who lines up first I am not sure of yet but we are going to give both of them an opportunity to play.”
Sophomore defensive tackle Kevin Maurice has been impressing Papuchis and the rest of the NU coaching staff at practice so far. Maurice, a, Orlando, Fla., native will likely be the third or fourth d-tackle used throughout the season for the Blackshirts.
“We feel good about Kevin Maurice, he has had a good camp,” Papuchis said.
When asked what Maurice had to improve on from his freshman season, Papuchis said ‘everything,’ but said that Maurice was similar to a lot of other true freshmen lineman.
“Really it is hard to answer because I would say everything, from a technique standpoint getting off blocks and initial foot work and hand placement,” Papuchis said. “That is the case for almost every true freshman that comes in, he has the tools, he just needed to refine his technique.”
The Huskers will be back on the practice fields Friday to continue the 2014 Fall Camp. Check back here at Huskers.com for a practice report and video coverage following practice immediately.
Nebraska fans are reminded about their opportunity to be on hand at Memorial Stadium as the Huskers kick off the 2014 season. Fans can purchase the Cornhusker Kickoff Combo package for the Florida Atlantic game on Aug. 30 and the matchup with McNeese State on Sept. 6. The two-game package can be purchased at Huskers.com for $100. Fans can also purchase single-game tickets to all games other than the Miami and Minnesota games at Huskers.com.
Lincoln – Home matchups against a pair of NCAA Tournament teams, as well as a trip to Hawaii highlights Nebraska’s 2014-15 non-conference schedule released Thursday.
The Huskers, who return five starters from a team that went 19-13 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998, will host seven non-conference games at Pinnacle Bank Arena as well as an exhibition against Division II Southwest Minnesota State on Thursday, Nov. 6. That matchup pits Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles against a school he coached for four seasons, as he guided the Mustangs to the Division II Elite Eight in 2001.
The non-conference slate features home matchups with NCAA qualifiers Cincinnati and Creighton, a trip to Florida State for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and three games in the Diamond Head Classic over Christmas, where the Huskers face a 20-win Hawaii team in the opener and could meet Wichita State in the semifinals.
The 2014-15 season begins with a pair of home games, as Nebraska will open the 119th season in program history on Sunday, Nov. 16, against an opponent to be announced at a later date. Nebraska will take on a first-time opponent on Tuesday, Nov. 18, as the Huskers will host the Central Arkansas Bears. The Bears are coached by first-year coach Russ Pennell, who had previously served as the interim coach at Arizona in 2008-09 when the Wildcats reached the Sweet 16.
Nebraska will make its first road trip of the year on Saturday, Nov. 22, when the Huskers visit Atlantic 10 member Rhode Island. Third-year head coach Dan Hurley returns four starters, including sophomore E.C. Matthews, who was the Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Year in 2013-14. Nebraska won the only previous meeting between the schools in 2011.
The Huskers will host the first of its two games against in-state foes on Tuesday, Nov. 25, when Nebraska takes on the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The Mavericks welcome back four starters for Coach Darrin Hansen after reaching the postseason for the first time as a Division I program in 2013-14. The week continues on Friday, Nov. 28, when Nebraska hosts Tennessee Martin. The Skyhawks are coached by first-year coach Heath Schroyer, who had previously coached against Miles when he served as the head coach of Wyoming from 2007 until 2011.
The Huskers face a challenging December to close out non-conference play, as Nebraska’s five known opponents (Florida State, Creighton, Incarnate Word, Cincinnati and Hawaii) combined to post a 117-46 record in 2013-14. In addition, NU could face a Wichita State team that went 35-1 in 2013-14 in the semifinals in Hawaii while Colorado, George Washington, Ohio and DePaul are on the other side of the Diamond Head Classic bracket.
Prior to heading to Hawaii, the Huskers will face three postseason teams in their first four games of the month, including a Florida State team brings back four starters from a team that won 22 games and reached the NIT semifinals in 2014. On Sunday, Dec. 7, Creighton makes its first-ever trip to Pinnacle Bank Arena, as the Bluejays went 27-8 before falling to Baylor in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska and Creighton will meet for the 48th time with the Huskers holding a 25-22 series lead over the Bluejays.
The three-game homestand continues on Wednesday, Dec. 10, when the Huskers face Incarnate Word. The Cardinals, who are in their second year transitioning to Division I, went 21-6 last year posting the most ever wins for a transitional Division I program. The Cardinals have three starters back, including Denzel Livingston, who averaged 20.3 points, 6.4 assists and 3.8 assists per game in 2013-14.
Nebraska’s final home non-conference game is on Saturday, Dec. 13, when the Huskers welcome Cincinnati to Pinnacle Bank Arena in the second game of a home-and-home series. The Bearcats went 27-7 and shared the American Athletic Conference regular-season title in 2013-14. It marked the fourth straight NCAA appearance for the Bearcats and Head Coach Mick Cronin, whose team replaces three starters, including first-team All-American Sean Kilpatrick.
The Huskers wrap up the non-conference schedule at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic beginning with a first-round game against host Hawaii on ESPNU. The trip marks the Huskers’ first trip to Hawaii since the 2006-07 campaign.
Start times and television information will be released by the Big Ten in September. Nebraska’s Big Ten schedule will be announced this evening on BTN Live beginning at 5 p.m. central.
Nebraska Basketball 2014-15 Non-Conference Schedule
Day Date Opponent Location TV Tipoff
Thursday Nov. 6 Southwest Minnesota State (exhibition) Pinnacle Bank Arena TBA TBA
Sunday Nov. 16 TBA Pinnacle Bank Arena TBA TBA
Tuesday Nov. 18 Central Arkansas Pinnacle Bank Arena TBA TBA
Saturday Nov. 22 at Rhode Island Kingston, R.I. TBA TBA
Tuesday Nov. 25 Nebraska-Omaha Pinnacle Bank Arena TBA TBA
Friday Nov. 28 Tennessee-Martin Pinnacle Bank Arena TBA TBA
Monday Dec. 1 at Florida State (ACC/Big Ten Challenge) Tallahassee, Fla. ESPN2 6 p.m.
Sunday Dec. 7 Creighton Pinnacle Bank Arena TBA TBA
Wednesday Dec. 10 Incarnate Word Pinnacle Bank Arena TBA TBA
Saturday Dec. 13 Cincinnati Pinnacle Bank Arena TBA TBA
Monday Dec. 22 vs. Hawaii (Diamond Head Classic) Honolulu, Hawaii ESPNU 11:59 p.m.
Tuesday Dec. 23 vs. Wichita St./Loyola Marymount (Diamond Head Classic) Honolulu, Hawaii ESPNU/2 8/10:30 p.m.
Thursday Dec. 25 vs. TBA (Diamond Head Classic) Honolulu, Hawaii TBA TBA
Dates and Times subject to change; Times listed are Central
Lincoln – A pair of teams in this month’s FIBA World Cup will have Husker connections, as former Husker center Jorge Brian Diaz has been named to the Puerto Rico National Team. He joins Husker sophomore guard Tai Webster, who was selected for the New Zealand National Team earlier this week.
Diaz played at Nebraska from 2009 until 2012 and totaled 765 points, 342 rebounds and 110 blocked shots during his career. His 110 blocked shots ranks ninth on Nebraska’s career chart, including 41 blocked shots as a redshirt freshman in 2009-10. His best year came in 2010-11, when he averaged 10.5 points per game on 54 percent shooting and 3.3 rebounds per game to help the Huskers win 19 games and earn an NIT bid. He was limited to just 16 games in his final year at Nebraska because of foot injuries, averaging 8.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game.
Diaz currently plays professionally for Quebradillas Pirates in his native Puerto Rico, where he averaged 8.0 points on 57 percent shooting and 3.5 rebounds per game during the 2014 season which completed last month.
Prior to this year, only one Husker (Bill Johnson in 1954) had played in the FIBA World Cup, which until 2010 was known as the FIBA World Championships. It is the second straight major competition where at least two Huskers have played, as Aleks Maric (Australia) and Ade Dagunduro (Nigeria) both played in the 2012 London Olympics.
Puerto Rico, which is ranked 17th in the world by FIBA, is in Group B, a six-team pool which includes Argentina, Senegal, Greece, Philippines and Croatia. They open tournament play against Argentina on Saturday, Aug. 30.Puerto Rico has its final pretournament game on Friday night when it takes on Team USA at Madison Square Garden. The game tips Friday night at 6 p.m. central and will be televised on ESPN2.
