Huskers to Face Louisville Friday in NCAA First Round

Lincoln - Nebraska claimed a No. 10 seed in the Birmingham 3 Region of the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and will take on No. 7 seed Louisville in Friday's first round in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Huskers (21-11, 10-8 Big Ten) learned their seed, opponent and first and second-round destination during the NCAA Selection Show, as the players, staff, friends of the program and media members gathered at the Osborne Legacy Complex to watch the 68-team bracket unveiling on ESPN.

Nebraska Coach Amy Williams said she was excited to lead the Huskers against the Cardinals in the opening round after guiding the Big Red to its third NCAA Tournament appearance in the past four seasons. In 2022, Nebraska traveled to Louisville for the NCAA Tournament to face Gonzaga in the opening round.

"I am excited for our players," Williams said. "I love coaching this group of Huskers and can't wait to get back out on the practice court with them tomorrow to get ready for Louisville. We have great respect for Louisville's program and Coach Jeff Walz, who coached me when I was a player here at Nebraska."

Williams, who was a senior guard on a Nebraska team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1997-98, was coached by Walz during her senior season as a Husker.

Walz, who helped Nebraska to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances as an assistant under Head Coach Paul Sanderford from 1997-98 to 1999-2000, is in his 18th year as Louisville's head coach. Walz leads a Cardinal team that finished 21-10 overall and 13-5 in the ACC. Walz has guided Louisville to 15 consecutive 20-win seasons and 13 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.  He has led the Cardinals to 16 NCAA bids overall, including four NCAA Women's Final Fours and two trips to the national championship game. Louisville lost in last year's NCAA first round as a No. 6 seed to No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee, 71-69, in Baton Rouge, La.

Nebraska is led by four-time All-Big Ten center Alexis Markowski, who is averaging team bests of 16.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Honorable-mention All-Big Ten point guard Britt Prince, who was a Big Ten All-Freshman selection, ranks second among the Huskers in scoring (13.4 ppg), while leading the Big Red in assists (3.7 apg) and steals (1.7 spg). She led Nebraska with 17.0 points and 5.3 assists in three Big Ten Tournament games in Indianapolis (March 5-7).

The Huskers put together their third 20-win campaign in the past four years despite losing 2024 Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year Natalie Potts to a season-ending knee injury in the fifth game of the season. Potts was Nebraska's leading scorer and rebounder through the Big Red's first four games of the season. The Huskers also overcame the additional adversity of losing redshirt junior guard Allison Weidner to a third season-ending injury in the last three years in practice on Jan. 11, just three days after she produced her best game of the season with 11 points and six assists in an 85-80 win over No. 20 Michigan State at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Jan. 8).

Sophomore starters Logan Nissley and Jessica Petrie, along with junior starter Callin Hake lead a balanced supporting cast for the Big Red that includes seniors Alberte Rimdal, Kendall Moriarty and Kendall Moriarty along with freshmen Petra Bozan and Amiah Hargrove.

Nebraska was one of the nation's best three-point shooting teams in 2024-25, averaging a Big Ten-best 8.3 made threes per game while tying for the conference lead in three-point percentage (.373), which ranked 12th nationally entering the NCAA Tournament.

Last season, No. 6 seed Nebraska advanced to the NCAA second round with a 61-59 win over No. 11 seed Texas A&M in Corvallis, Ore., on Friday, March 22. The Big Red suffered a second-round loss to No. 3 seed and 12th-ranked Oregon State (61-51) on March 24. 

Big Ten Champion TCU (31-3 overall, 16-2 Big 12) earned a No. 2 seed in the Birmingham 3 Region and will host the first and second rounds at Schollmaier Arena. The Horned Frogs are unbeaten (19-0) at home this season and will take on No. 15 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in Friday's other first-round match-up. TCU enters the tournament riding a 10-game winning streak after winning three straight games by single digits over Colorado, No. 16 West Virginia and No. 17 Baylor at the Big Ten Tournament in Kansas City (March 7-9).

The Huskers are expected to leave for Fort Worth on Wednesday and participate in NCAA required practice and media activities on Thursday. Game time and TV information for Friday's games have not been announced.

Big Ten Teams in the 2025 NCAA Tournament (12)

• UCLA (overall No. 1 seed)
• USC (No. 1 seed)
• Maryland (No. 4 seed)
• Ohio State (No. 4 seed)
• Iowa (No. 6 seed)
• Michigan (No. 6 seed)
• Michigan State (No. 7 seed)
• Illinois (No. 8 seed)
• Indiana (No. 9 seed)
• Nebraska (No. 10 seed)
• Oregon (No. 10 seed)
• Washington (No. 11 seed/First Four)

 

Interactive Bracket found HERE