Nebraska Basketball: Issac Copeland injury devastating to Huskers

Nebraska Basketball will now have to find a way to compensate for the loss.

As if Saturday afternoon’s loss couldn’t make the weekend anymore miserable for Nebraska basketball, they received some devastating news on the injury front for one of the team’s biggest stars. Issac Copeland is out for the season. Copeland announced that he was done for the year via Twitter.

For a Nebraska basketball team that are relies heavily on its primary scoring threats, this is a major blow not only to the team’s next game but also to their tournament chances. The team has needed Copeland in various ways. For instance, teams have begun to key on the fact that James Palmer is the primary scoring threat. When Palmer has not been able to get it going due to defensive pressure, Copeland has been there to provide assistance. He has done a great job in that role.

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Copeland is second on the team in minutes with 32.3. He is second on the team in points with 14.3. Third on the team in that category is Glynn Watson Jr. Watson will have to step up in Copeland’s absence. He has 13.2 points on the season. Copeland also proved to be an effective rebounder with 5.6 boards per game on the year. Copeland was truly a triple-threat and gave Nebraska basketball a lot of different things while he was on the court.

This will mean that other players will have to step up. Watson will be one of them. He complements both James Palmer’s and Issac Copeland’s style of play very well in the sense that he can get his shooting stroke at the right time. He is particularly effective at the end of games. When those two are tired, it is nice to have someone like Watson who can come in and continue to provide steady output. He is very good in spurts, and it will be interesting to see whether he can keep up a high level of performance throughout the course of a game. Having him come in and immediately replace Copeland in terms of scoring production is a lot to ask. Copeland has been a bona fide offensive catalyst for this team and the void left by his injury will certainly be felt.

This is a major concern for a Nebraska basketball team that at this point in the season is just looking to have a shot at postseason play. It hurts their depth, it hurts their scoring, and it hurts their veteran leadership. A senior like Copeland knows what it takes to win big games, and especially in March, having that experience is crucial. Now, Nebraska basketball does not even have that.

This is a devastating injury to Copeland and we wish him the best. Nebraska basketball has to find a way to win without him and although it may be tough, they have enough pieces to scrape by.