The Big Ten Conference unveiled the women’s basketball schedule on Thursday, and now Nebraska has its path as it sets out to win enough games to reach the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season.
Here are four things to know about the schedule:
The rivalry game
The annual Nebraska-Creighton game is Nebraska’s third regular-season game of the season, coming on Wednesday, Nov. 12, in Lincoln. Last year, Creighton made 13 3-pointers and got an 80-74 win in the series, but the Bluejays will look significantly different after the graduation of experienced players such as Morgan Maly and Lauren Jensen.
UCLA and USC come to town
Nebraska gets two big-time matchups in Lincoln against USC and UCLA this season, after the Huskers had to travel to Los Angeles last season and lost against both.
If Nebraska can win one of these games at home this season, it’s the type of win that improves seeding for the NCAA Tournament. UCLA has two of the biggest names in the sport with first-team All-American center Lauren Betts and star guard Kiki Rice. And USC made the Elite Eight last season.
USC comes to Lincoln on Monday, Dec. 29. Then, Nebraska should be able to get a large crowd for the game against UCLA with a Sunday date on Jan. 11.
The Iowa series
After the Big Ten expanded, Iowa is the only team Nebraska plays twice during the regular season. The teams split two games last season, with the road team winning each time.
After traveling to Iowa City on New Year’s Day, the Huskers get Iowa in Lincoln late in the season on Feb. 16.
Iowa’s returnees include all-Big Ten forward Hannah Stuelke and Fremont native Taylor McCabe, while also adding some top players nationally in the freshmen class.
The survival stretch
Nebraska has one of the most difficult three-game stretches of any league team, with three games in seven days against three of the top teams in the league: at Ohio State on Feb. 1; at Michigan on Feb. 4 and against Maryland on Feb. 7.
Unchanged for this season is that only the top 15 teams qualify for the Big Ten tournament, which returns to Indianapolis in March.
Nebraska finished 21-12 overall last season and was one of the record-setting 12 Big Ten teams to play in the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska’s top returning players are guard Britt Prince and forward Natalie Potts.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7435 or bwagner@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSSportsWagner.
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