Date set for Nebraska-Creighton hoops matchup, which will be part of Gavitt Games | Men’s Basketball

Nebraska-Creighton in November.

That’s the month for the annual hoops matchup this fall, as the Huskers will host the Bluejays Nov. 16 at Pinnacle Bank Arena as part of the Gavitt Games, NU announced Thursday.

Normally played in December, the matchup was shifted to make it a part of the annual Big Ten vs. Big East event. The date, a Tuesday, will mark the earliest-ever meeting between the teams in a series that has been played every season since 1977-78.

The previous earliest matchup between the teams had been Nov. 18, 2006.

It will be the first time Nebraska has hosted the Bluejays since 2018. The series shifted to Omaha in 2019, and was played there again last season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Nebraska won that 2018 game 95-75, but has dropped the past two, and 18 of the past 23 games between the teams.

The 2018-19 season also marked Nebraska’s last appearance in the Gavitt Games, when NU beat Seton Hall 80-57 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The event was canceled last season after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the season.

This year’s contest will be televised on either FS1 or BTN, with a start time announced at a later date.

Nebraska is expected to return four starters and five of its top six scorers from last season’s team, pending the decision of guard Dalano Banton to return to school or stay in the NBA Draft. Creighton must replace all five starters from a team that went 22-9 and advanced to its first-ever Sweet 16 last season.