Nebraska Basketball: 3 takeaways from Huskers loss at Illinois

Borchardt did his part

One of the guys who has been getting a lot of attention is Tanner Borchardt, who has been starting in place of Copeland. And after scoring just three points in his last six games, Borchardt exploded Saturday against Illinois to the tune of 12 points and 18 rebounds.

Early on, he was one of the few bright spots for Nebraska basketball as he grabbed a bunch of offensive rebounds early, which helped keep the Huskers in the game. He had attempted just 30 field goals all season before going 6-of-9 from the field Saturday.

While the Huskers can hardly count on a double-double from Borchardt every game, it was nice to see someone finally step up. With Copeland out, the only way Nebraska is going to do anything positive during the final stretch is by getting contributions from guys like Borchardt and Nana Akenten, among others.

Obviously, guys like Palmer, Isaiah Roby (3-of-11 and Glynn Watson (3-of-12) have to be better. Palmer had his issues but at least he got to the line. Roby and Watson combined for 15 points, just three more than Borchardt. That’s an issue and unless someone can relieve some of the pressure on those guys, things may not get better.