Nebraska Basketball To Renew Missouri Rivalry in Kansas City for Non-Conference Matchup

The Huskers will return to the T-Mobile Center for the second consecutive season as Nebraska reignites an old Big Eight and Big 12 rivalry with Missouri.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Pryce Sandfort (21) celebrates at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Kansas City continues to be a popular destination for Nebraska sports fans, as the 2026-27 non-conference basketball slate will add another former conference rivalry flair to the fun.

Nebraska basketball announced on Thursday that the Huskers would make a return to the T-Mobile Center and Kansas City in December to renew another former Big Eight and Big 12 rivalry. Nebraska will face Missouri on Saturday, Dec. 12, one season after the Huskers took on Kansas State in Kansas City. Ticket information for the contest will be announced in July, as tipoff time and broadcast information are set to be announced at a later date.

The former conference foes will rematch for the first time since Nebraska's 69-58 home win at the Devaney Center on March 1, 2011. The 15-year wait is one that the program and its fans have been waiting for, according to the Huskers' head coach.

Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg and the Huskers will make a return to Kansas City, Mo to face former conference rival Missouri in December. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“This is a matchup our fans will be excited about because of the history between the two programs over the years,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said in the announcement. “Coach (Dennis) Gates has a team that could challenge in the SEC this season, and this will provide us a strong test right after we finish our Big Ten December schedule. Playing this matchup in Kansas City brings back a lot of memories of old conference matchups, and I believe our fans will make this a great neutral-site environment.”

As Nebraska's national mark has risen over the past three seasons, which included two NCAA Tournament trips and a Sweet 16 run last year, Missouri has also seen steady improvement under Gates. The Tigers have made an NCAA Tournament appearance in three of the last four seasons and are coming off a 20-13 season. Missouri has also totaled at least 20 wins in each of the last two seasons, along with double-digit conference victories in the SEC for the first time since joining the conference in 2012.

Missouri has also reloaded once again, securing a top-10 recruiting class this season, pairing with the 14th-ranked transfer class. The Tigers return six players from the 2025-26 season.

Missouri Tigers head coach Dennis Gates will await Nebraska in December. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

"When you look at scheduling, you have to mesh it with where the selection committee is," Gates said Wednesday night at a 'ZOU to YOU' fan event in St. Louis. "So with the addition of spots in the NCAA Tournament, I think we got to do, and I have to increase our strength of schedule, because opportunity to get in there as a, not only a 20-win team, but something near below is definitely going to be there."

Kansas City road trips have had promising returns for Nebraska athletics in the last 365 days, as Nebraska football secured a season-opening victory over Cincinnati inside of Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium. Husker basketball then followed in December with an 86-85 win at the T-Mobile Center against Kansas State in late November. The Huskers held off a second-half rally by the Wildcats after leading 45-35 at halftime of the Hall of Fame Classic.

The Huskers' leading scorer in the win, Pryce Sandfort, returns to lead a new core of Huskers after the NCAA Tournament run in March. Sandfort, Braden Frager, Cale Jacobsen, and Connor Essegian all participated in the contest a season ago and return to the team this year for a return trip to Kansas City.

Craig Robinson, executive director of the NABC, poses for a photo with Braden Frager after the Huskers' win in Kansas City. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

None of the returning players have faced Missouri before, as the two programs rematch with a 126-93 all-time record in favor of the Tigers. Although Nebraska took the last matchup, the series is 5-5 in the last 10 matchups overall, as the last Kansas City neutral site contest went in favor of Nebraska 75-60 back on March 10, 2010.

The contest marks the third non-conference neutral-site game that has been announced by Nebraska, as the Kansas City road trip pairs with the Huskers' visit to Uncasville, Conn., to face Providence and a visit to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., to battle Boise State. Nebraska will also take on Creighton in Omaha at the CHI Health Center for a true road game in its non-conference.

"Everybody's playing neutral site games right now just to try to bolster up their budgets. We have some of those in place," Hoiberg said Tuesday during his media availability. "Those neutral-site games are important for a team like us. We have to do everything we can to compete against teams that spend a lot more... Scheduling is a lot different than it used to be."

Nebraska guard Cale Jacobsen will be one of the few returners for the Huskers' after a Sweet 16 finish in 2025-26. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Nebraska basketball will report back to campus in August and begin its fall practices in preparation for the exhibition slate starting on Oct. 9 as Nebraska hosts Saint Louis, then travels to BYU on Oct. 16.