Courtesy: Husker Athletics
Lincoln - Nebraska claimed the No. 6 seed in the Albany 1 Regional and will face No. 11 seed Texas A&M in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament in Corvallis, Ore., on Friday, March 22 at 9:30 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised by ESPNU.
The Huskers (22-11, 11-7 Big Ten) learned their seeding, opponent and location during the NCAA Selection Show that was televised live on ESPN on Sunday, March 17. Nebraska players and staff were joined by hundreds of fans during a public watch party at Pinnacle Bank Arena, as they celebrated their second NCAA appearance in the past three seasons and third under Head Coach Coach Amy Williams since 2018.
Nebraska, which will be making its 16th NCAA appearance since 1988, enters March Madness after fighting to a runner-up finish in the Big Ten Tournament at the Target Center in Minneapolis, March 7-10.
The Huskers defeated Purdue and NCAA Tournament qualifiers Michigan State and Maryland in Minneapolis before falling to NCAA No. 1 seed Iowa in overtime in the championship game. A month early, the Huskers knocked off the No. 2 ranked Hawkeyes, 82-79, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln (Feb. 11) - matching the highest ranked opponent the Big Red has ever defeated.
Nebraska will face a Texas A&M squad that went 19-12 overall and 6-10 in the SEC on the season. Head Coach Joni Taylor's team is led by Aicha Coulibaly (13.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.4 spg), Endyia Rogers (12.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.9 apg) and Janiah Barker (12.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg).
The Aggies also feature 6-5 redshirt junior forward Lauren Ware, who averages 9.1 points and a team bests of 7.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Ware, who has started 30 of 31 games for A&M, is from the same high school as Nebraska Big Ten All-Freshman Team guard Logan Nissley. The Husker 6-0 guard has started the last eight games for the Big Red and is averaging 6.7 points and 2.0 rebounds on the year.
Nebraska and Texas A&M spent the 1996-97 through 2010-11 seasons together in the Big 12 conferences before the Huskers joined the Big Ten and the Aggies shifted to the SEC. The Aggies defeated the Huskers in their last regular-season Big 12 Conference game in College Station on March 5, 2011.
Since then, the Huskers have faced Texas A&M only once, an NCAA Tournament Second Round between No. 6 seed Nebraska and the hosts from No. 3 seed and AP No. 9 Texas A&M at Reed Arena in College Station. The No. 24 Huskers upset the Aggies, 74-63, on March 25, 2013 to advance to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Nebraska owns a 15-9 edge in the all-time series with Texas A&M.
If Nebraska can advance past Texas A&M, the Huskers will face the hosts from No. 3 Oregon State or No. 14 Eastern Washington at Gill Coliseum.
The Nebraska men and women both earned bids in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday for the first time since 2014, and they will both face Texas A&M. The No. 8 seed Husker men's basketball team will face No. 9 seed Texas A&M in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday at 5:50 p.m. (CT).