Nebraska basketball to host Colorado in charity exhibition game

The 2021-22 Nebraska basketball team has lined up a high-major exhibition against a former Big 12 Conference rival to help gear up for head coach Fred Hoiberg’s third season.

The Huskers also hope to raise a bunch of money for some great causes in the process.

On Monday morning, the program announced that it would hold a charity exhibition game against Colorado at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday, Oct. 31, at 12 p.m. CT.

In 2022-23, the Huskers will return the favor and play a second charity game in Boulder, Colo.

The game will benefit three non-profit charities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic: the TeamMates mentoring program; the YWCA of Lincoln for its Employ402 program and the Nebraska Greats Foundation.

The game will be included in 2021-22 season-ticket packages, while potential single-game tickets will be announced at a later date.

“Over the past year, we have sought out ways for our program to make a positive impact in the community, and this charity game against Colorado allows us to directly help those in Lincoln who have been directly affected by COVID-19,” Hoiberg said. “We appreciate Coach (Tad) Boyle and his team for coming to Lincoln. I think it will be a matchup our fans will be excited to see and allows both team a chance to gain valuable experience prior to the start of the regular season.”

“We are excited to bring the Buffs to Lincoln and compete against a familiar foe from our days in both the Big 12 and Big Eight,” said Colorado Coach Tad Boyle. “Coach Hoiberg has his program poised for future success and will be a great test for our young team. More importantly, we are honored to help raise money for various Lincoln charities who have been negatively affected by the recent pandemic. We look forward to the Cornhuskers returning the favor to the Boulder community next year.”

Nebraska and Colorado faced off 128 times as members of the Big Eight and then Big 12 Conferences, with NU holding a 71-57 advantage as league foes.

The Huskers lead the all-time series, which dates back to 1903, 76-72.

Colorado is coming off a 23-win season but lost a major chunk of its ’20-21 production. However, Boyle and his staff made up for it by assembling the nation’s 15th-best recruiting class in 2021.

Four-star signees K.J. Simpson Jr., Lawson Lovering, and Quincy Allen join a seasoned lineup, highlighted by the returning frontcourt of Evan Battey, Eli Parquet, and Jabari Walker.