Nebraska women’s basketball has its schedule for the new season.
The Big Ten conference announced Monday afternoon the league schedule for the 2020–21 season, a week after releasing the men’s schedule. Nebraska also unveiled its three-game nonconference schedule that includes home games against Oral Roberts and Idaho State and a trip to Omaha to play Creighton.
The Huskers will tip off their season with two games in three days in early December, the opener coming against Oral Roberts on Friday, Dec. 4, at Pinnacle Bank Arena, followed by Idaho State on Sunday, Dec. 6. Game times and television/streaming designations will be announced at a later date.
Nebraska will then jump right into its 20-game regular-season conference schedule at home against Illinois on Thursday, Dec. 10. That game will mark the earliest meeting between Nebraska and a conference opponent since 1981.
The Big Red will wrap up a three-game nonconference schedule at Creighton on Monday, Dec. 14. The annual game against the Jays will tip at 5 p.m. CT at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha with live statewide television coverage by NET.
The Huskers return to conference action with their first Big Ten road game at Indiana on Sunday, Dec. 20. They’ll return to the state of Indiana three days later for a tilt against Purdue on Wednesday, Dec. 23. Those two contests will be the only games for Nebraska against the Indiana schools during the regular season. The other Big Ten single plays for the Huskers in 2020–21 include a road game at Michigan (Jan. 7), a home game against Ohio State (Jan. 16), a home game against Wisconsin (Jan. 28) and a home game against defending Big Ten co-champion Maryland (Feb. 14).
Nebraska will celebrate the holiday season with a week off from competition (Dec. 24-30), before returning to Big Ten home action against Northwestern on Thursday, Dec. 31. It will be the first of two meetings between the Huskers and the Wildcats, who shared the 2020 Big Ten regular-season title with Maryland. The Huskers will conclude the season series with Northwestern on Wednesday, Feb. 17, in Evanston.
In addition to the Big Ten double plays against Northwestern and Illinois, Nebraska’s season also will feature double-dips against Rutgers (Jan. 3/Feb. 7), Michigan State (Jan. 10/Feb. 27), Minnesota (Jan. 19/Feb. 24), Penn State (Feb. 4/Feb. 21) and Iowa (Feb. 10/March 5 or 6).
In order to accommodate the expanded schedule, the Big Ten women’s basketball tournament is expected to be held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, March 9–13. The tournament was held March 6–10 this past season.
Big Ten women’s basketball teams will follow the same medical protocols that the football team has been following so far this season. These include daily antigen testing and enhanced cardiac screening.
Nebraska went 17-13 last season (7-11 in conference play) but only return five letter-winners and two starters.
The full schedule:
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | TIME / RESULT | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Dec. 4 | Oral Roberts | Lincoln, Neb. | W, 90-61 | BTN+ |
| Sun, Dec. 6 | Idaho State | Lincoln, Neb. | W, 64-51 | BTN+ |
| Thu, Dec. 10 | Illinois | Lincoln, Neb. | W, 78-72 | BTN |
| Mon, Dec. 14 | Creighton | Omaha, Neb. | L, 78-62 | NET |
| Sun, Dec. 20 | Indiana | Bloomington, Ind. | L, 81-45 | BTN |
| Wed, Dec. 23 | Purdue | West Lafayette, Ind. | L, 83-72 | BTN |
| Thu, Dec. 31 | Northwestern | Lincoln, Neb. | W, 65-63 | BTN |
| Sun, Jan 3 | Rutgers | Lincoln, Neb. | W, 53-50 | BTN+ |
| Thu, Jan. 7 | Michigan | Ann Arbor, Mich. | L, 64-62 | BTN+ |
| Sun, Jan. 10 | Michigan State | Lincoln, Neb. | W, 68-64 | BTN+ |
| Sat, Jan. 16 | Ohio State | Lincoln, Neb. | W, 63-55 | BTN |
| Tue, Jan. 19 | Minnesota | Lincoln, Neb. | L, 76-71 | BTN |
| Mon, Jan. 25 | Illinois | Urbana-Champaign, Ill. | W, 57-53 | BTN |
| Thu, Jan. 28 | Wisconsin | Lincoln, Neb. | W, 84-68 | BTN+ |
| Thu, Feb. 4 | Penn State | University Park, Pa. | L, 85-74 | BTN+ |
| Sun, Feb. 7 | Rutgers | Piscataway, N.J. | L, 78-62 | BTN+ |
| Wed, Feb. 10 | Iowa | Lincoln, Neb. | L, 88-81 | BTN+ |
| Sun, Feb. 14 | Maryland | Lincoln, Neb. | L, 95-73 | FS1 |
| Wed, Feb. 17 | Northwestern | Evanston, Ill. | W, 71-64 | BTN+ |
| Sun, Feb. 21 | Penn State | Lincoln, Neb. | W, 87-72 | BTN+ |
| Wed, Feb. 24 | Minnesota | Minneapolis, Minn. | L, 73-63 | BTN+ |
| Sat, Feb. 27 | Michigan State | Lincoln, Neb. | Canceled | BTN+ |
| Sat, March 6 | Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa | L, 83-75 | BTN+ |
| BIG TEN TOURNAMENT | ||||
| Wed, March 10 | Minnesota | Indianapolis, Ind. | W, 72-61 | BTN |
| Thu, March 11 | Maryland | Indianapolis, Ind. | L, 83-73 | FS2 |
| WOMEN'S NIT | ||||
| Fri, March 19 | UT Martin | Memphis, Tenn. | W, 72-46 | FLOSports |
| Sat, March 20 | Colorado | Memphis, Tenn. | L, 75-71 | FLOSports |
