Nebraska takes on Murray State racers at Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic

The final pieces of Nebraska’s non-conference schedule for the 2024-25 season were released as ESPN Events announced the pairings for the 2024 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. The 15th annual event will be held Dec. 22-25 at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Nebraska opens the three-day event on Sunday, Dec. 22 at 8 p.m. (Central Time) against Murray State. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

The Racers are coached by Steve Prohm, who is in his seventh season at the school. He was head coach from 2011-15 before returning to lead the Murray State program in 2022-23. The Racers, who play in the Missouri Valley Conference, have two starters and five players back who played in at least 15 games last season. JaCobi Wood is the Racers’ best returning guard, as the 6-foot-2 senior guard averaged 12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Prohm also coached at Iowa State from 2015-2021.

The Dec. 22 contest will be the third meeting between the two schools and the second on neutral ground, as the teams previously met in the title game of the 1990 San Juan Shootout.

Nebraska is making its second appearance in the Diamond Head Classic after losing 2-1 in 2014. The Huskers return seven key players and three starters from a team that finished 23-11 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. The Huskers are led by seniors Brice Williams, who averaged 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, and Juwan Gary, who averaged 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. The Huskers also boast seven transfer players who combined for 264 starts and 3,478 career points, 1,753 rebounds and 759 assists at their previous schools. Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg, the reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year, won the tournament in 2013 while at Iowa State.

The Huskers will face either Hawai’i or Charlotte, depending on the outcome of the Nebraska-Murray State game. That game will be broadcast on ESPN2. The other four teams in the bracket are College of Charleston, Loyola-Chicago, Oakland and Oregon State. A full tournament and broadcast schedule is below.