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The Nebraska Cornhuskers men’s basketball team may still be playing at least one more game for the 2021-2022 season, but fans can officially pencil in plans for part of next season now. The Huskers will be heading to Orlando, Florida from No. 24-27, 2022 to take part in the 2022 ESPN Events Invitational. The event will feature eight teams including Nebraska and take place at HP Field House at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex south of Orlando in the Disney World Resort complex.
On the road to Orlando this Thanksgiving.
— Nebraska Basketball (@HuskerHoops) March 8, 2022
https://t.co/TzBe2zZNmI | #GBR pic.twitter.com/PoIwdavh6z
The event is slated to kick off on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, 2022 and run through Sunday, Nov. 27. Depending on how the bracket plays out, that could result in a Black Friday matchup between Nebraska and Oklahoma, the first meeting between the programs since Nebraska left the Big 12.
In total, eight teams are participating, seven of whom have been involved in the event before. Nebraska will be making a return visit for the first time since its inaugural visit in the 2017-18 season. Also returning are Florida State (2009, 2018), Memphis (2013, 2018), Oklahoma (2012), Seton Hall (2016) Siena (2008, 2013), and Stanford (2016). Ole Miss will be participating for the first time to fully round out the field.
The Huskers are a combined 89-114 against the field, holding a winning record against Seton Hall (1-0), a .500 record against Florida State (1-1), and having never faced Siena. Behind Oklahoma (83-104), the Huskers have played Stanford the most among participants, holding a 3-6 record against the Cardinal, but haven’t played since the 1965-66 season.
Nebraska has not participated in an early-season multi-team event (MTE) since before the Covid pandemic struck the United States in the spring of 2020. Nebraska last participated in the Cayman Islands Classic in 2019 which also included Power-Six program Washington State along with other notable hoops programs George Mason and Loyola-Chicago.
For the past two seasons, the Huskers have hosted a MTE in Lincoln. The Golden Window Classic in November 2020 featured LSU, but no other Power-Six programs. The 2021 MTE in Lincoln did not include a Power-Six program.
The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex hosted a large number of games, 205 total, for the 2020 NBA season as a bubble environment to avoid COVID-19 exposure during the early period of the global pandemic.
Information on tickets, travel packages, and more is available on the ESPN Events Invitational web site (espnevents.com).