Nebraska Women’s Basketball earns WNIT bid, no NIT bid for Men

Mar 13, 2023 - 2:25 AM

The Nebraska Cornhuskers women’s basketball team earned a bid for postseason play Sunday night while the men failed to secure a bid for the NIT. The women earned a second WNIT bid in the past three seasons and a third-straight postseason appearance while the men’s drought extends to four seasons, having last earned an NIT bid in 2019 and a NCAA Tournament bid last in 2014.

The Husker women earned a third-straight postseason bid Sunday night. UNL earned a No. 8-seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, it’s 15th all-time NCAA appearance. UNL also earned a bid to the 2021 WNIT as well, marking its seventh WNIT trip for the women’s team.

Of UNL’s seven appearances in the WNIT, the team’s best finish was an appearance in the 2006 quarterfinals. Three other appearances have extended to the Second Round, including in 2021. The Huskers also appeared in the NWIT in 1992. UNL will be making its 19th postseason tournament appearance in the last 25 years.

Nebraska finished the season 16-14 overall and 8-10 in conference play. UNL closed out the regular season on a two-game win streak before falling to Michigan State in the Second Round of the Big Ten Tournament.

The bracket for the 2023 WNIT will not be released until Monday morning, but play will open starting Wednesday, March 15 for the opening rounds. Having earned the automatic bid for the Big Ten and finished No. 43 in the NCAA NET rankings, the Huskers will likely be hosting at least the opening rounds in Lincoln at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Corn Nation will be sure to bring you those details when they are released Monday.

Second-round games at host sites will be played March 18-21, before the Super 16 contests are held at host sites March 22-24. The WNIT Great Eight will be played at host institutions March 25-27, before the semifinals March 28-29. The WNIT Championship Game will be played at a host institution on Saturday, April 1 at 4:30 p.m. (CT) in a game televised by CBS Sports Network.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to continue to compete together and represent Nebraska and the Big Ten Conference in the WNIT,” Nebraska Coach Amy Williams said. “Playing at this time of year is a privilege, and we intend to make the most of it.”

The Huskers faced the toughest schedule in school history in 2022-23, playing a school-record 12 games against Associated Press Top 25 teams at game time, including six games against teams currently ranked in the top six of the AP Poll (No. 2 Iowa-2; No. 3 Indiana-1; No. 4 Virginia Tech-1; No. 6 Maryland-2) – which all earned top-two seeds in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

As for the men, there was a growing hope that teams such as North Carolina refusing a bid for the NIT, the Huskers may just squeeze in. However, the preseason No. 1 squad opting out of an NIT bid did not make a difference in the end. The Husker men will look toward next season and a summer trip to Spain and close the book on the 2022-2023 season.