Minnesota went 30-5 last season, advancing to the Final Four and finishing third in the final national poll.
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The first of the three brings arguably the most intrigue, when the Boilermakers host defending national champion Villanova on November 14 at 7 p.m.
Defending NCAA champion Nebraska was the unanimous pick at No. 1 while 2015 NCAA semifinalist and defending Big Ten champion Minnesota was voted second.
The lack of confidence in the Hoosiers possibly stems from last season’s 6-14 conference record, good for a 10th place tie with Northwestern.
Purdue’s other non-conference BTN games include the November 18 home games against Georgia State (7 p.m.) and the December 19 home game against Western Illinois (6 p.m.).
Penn State’s spot in the poll is much different than usual. This year’s team is ranked in the top 20 of almost all preseason polls.
See a full list of Big Ten preseason awards here. In conference-only matches, she led the league with a.432 hitting percentage and ranked seventh in the Big Ten with 1.23 blocks per set.
None of the teams that finished in the bottom half of the league last season are projected to move up to the top half.
The Big Ten Network will feature the Purdue men’s basketball team three times during the non-conference schedule, the network announced Wednesday. Nebraska players chosen were right-side hitter Kadie Rolfzen (unanimous), middle blocker Amber Rolfzen and libero Justine Wong-Orantes. Penn State and Wisconsin had two apiece.
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The No. 4-ranked Badgers open the season Friday at No. 7 Hawaii, the first of three matches next weekend in Honolulu.
