Huskers Head to Grand Island for Exhibition Matchup

Lincoln – The Husker men’s basketball team is coming to central Nebraska this fall, as Nebraska will take on Kansas State in Grand Island.  The matchup between the Huskers and Wildcats, presented by Pinnacle Bank, takes place on Monday, Oct. 26 at the BigIron Events Center. 

Ticket information, tipoff and broadcast info will be announced later this summer.  Of note, the Grand Island game will not be included in 2026-27 Husker basketball season ticket packages.

“We have a lot of fans in central Nebraska and are excited to bring the Huskers to Grand Island,” Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg said. “With a third exhibition game, it provides us an opportunity to build our brand across the state, and we appreciate Head Coach Casey Alexander and the Wildcats for making this matchup happen. We have had a lot of great matchups with K-State over the years, including last year’s Hall of Fame Classic, and it should be a tremendous environment.”

Alexander takes over the Wildcat program this season after guiding Belmont to a 166-60 record in seven seasons, including three regular-season tournament titles. Last season, the Bruins went 26-6 and won the Missouri Valley Conference title, where he coached current Husker Sam Orme. K-State will have a retooled roster with just one returnee from last season’s team.

Nebraska’s returnees are headlined by 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 and was on the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2025-26.  In addition, the Huskers regain the services of Connor Essegian, who averaged 10.7 ppg in 2024-25 before missing most of last season with an ankle injury. The Huskers also welcome an eight-member freshman class, led by transfers Sam Orme (12.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg at Belmont), Trevan Leonhardt (11.9 ppg, 6.0 apg, 5.4 rpg at Utah Valley), Boden Kapke (10.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg at Boston College) and Taj DeGourville (5.5 points, 3.0 assists at San Diego State) and freshmen Colin Rice and Jacob Lanier, a pair of top-150 recruits who both earned state player of the year honors in Iowa and Arkansas, respectively.

The Nebraska-Kansas State matchup continues BigIron Events Center’s growing emphasis on attracting high-profile athletic events to Grand Island. Eihusen Arena welcomed a sold-out crowd of more than 5,000 fans for a LOVB Nebraska professional volleyball match earlier this year and hosts professional arena football, the Heartland Hoops Classic, the Nebraska Cheer & Dance Championship, the USA Wrestling Folkstyle State Tournament and numerous basketball, volleyball, wrestling and other regional competitions.

The Grand Island matchup with Kansas State is NU’s third exhibition game, as the Huskers will host Saint Louis on Friday, Oct. 9, and travel to BYU on Friday, Oct. 16. For the 2026-27 season, schools are allowed to play up to three exhibition games.  The remaining non-conference schedule will be announced later this week.