As near as can be determined, the school was first represented by a men's basketball team on Feb. 2, 1897, just six years after James Naismith set down the rules of the game. The Nebraska "Bugeaters" defeated a team from the Lincoln YMCA 11–8 victory at Grant Memorial Hall, NU's home for all but two seasons until the Nebraska Coliseum opened in 1926. Nebraska doubled its schedule in 1898, losing twice to the Lincoln YMCA and splitting two games with the Omaha YMCA. NU faced another university for the first time in 1899, winning games against Nebraska Wesleyan and Doane to claim the unofficial state championship. Nebraska, now known as the "Cornhuskers", played an out-of-state opponent for the first time the following season, defeating James Naismith and Kansas 48–8 in what is still the worst loss in KU history. NU's 1900 team was retroactively ranked second nationally by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.