Nebraska men’s basketball to host Saint Louis in exhibition matchup
LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Athletics) — Another piece to the 2026-27 Nebraska men’s basketball schedule has been set, as the Huskers will host Saint Louis in a preseason exhibition on Friday, Oct. 9.
The tipoff time between the Huskers and Billikens will be set closer to tipoff, and tickets for the matchup will be included in 2026-27 season-ticket and student-ticket packages.
Preseason bout with the Billikens. pic.twitter.com/Q7bWYEUswt
— Nebraska Men’s Basketball (@HuskerMBB) May 19, 2026
Single-game ticket information will be announced later this summer.
“We want to use our exhibition games to prepare us for the start of the season, and I think the BYU exhibition last season helped our team in many ways,” head coach Fred Hoiberg said. “I think this matchup against Saint Louis will be a similar learning experience because of the challenges they present. They ranked in the top five in the country in both effective field-goal percentage and field-goal defense last year and will be among the favorites again in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Coming off last season, I know Husker fans are excited, and this exhibition matchup will be a good opportunity to be back at PBA in front of our fans.”
The game will be one of three preseason exhibitions for the Huskers, as schools are now allowed up to three exhibition games before the start of the regular season on Nov. 2.
The matchup with the Billikens marks the first year of a home-and-home series, with Nebraska traveling to Saint Louis for an exhibition game before the 2027-28 season.
Both Nebraska and Saint Louis are coming off record-breaking seasons in 2025-26.
Nebraska returns two of its top three scorers and six letterwinners from a team that won a school-record 28 games and reached the NCAA Sweet 16 last season.
The returnees are headlined by rising senior Pryce Sandfort, who earned first-team All-Big Ten honors after averaging 18.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
NU also welcomes back Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year Braden Frager, as the rising sophomore averaged 11.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
The Billikens, coached by Josh Schertz, went 29-6 and shared the Atlantic 10 regular-season title before falling to eventual national champion Michigan in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Saint Louis returns nine players, including a trio of starters, from last year’s team.
Nebraska had previously announced a home-and-home exhibition series with BYU, which began before the 2025-26 season, as the Huskers will make the return trip to Provo on Friday, Oct. 16.
