The Nebraska basketball program has a bit of a prove-it game on Wednesday night against the Ohio State Buckeyes. If the Huskers can find a way to win against OSU, it might turn their season in a very interesting direction. A loss and you’ve got to wonder if Fred Hoiberg might be placing himself back on the hotseat.
Nebraska Basketball Is The Walking Wounded
On Tuesday, the Huskers’ head coach updated the media about three players who have missed some or all of the last couple of games. Of the three, Sam Griesel appears to have the best shot of playing on Wednesday night.
“He felt good this morning, and that was the best sign, I think, that he had really increased activity without any setback or soreness after that,” Hoiberg said. “Today it was good to see him back out there.” The coach said he expects to see Griesel play against OSU.
That’s not the case with Juwan Gary who is still out indefinitely and will go see a specialist about his shoulder. It feels unlikely that we’ll see Gary play again this season.
Meanwhile Blaise Keita is still dealing with a lingering high ankle sprain. He was able to take part in about half of practice on Tuesday and it seems unlikely that he’ll be able to play against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State On a Cold Streak
One of the reasons the game against OSU is so big tonight is that they are not exactly playing their best basketball. This is a chance for a win that would move the Nebraska basketball team closer to the middle of the pack and stop a downward spiral before it really gets going.
The Huskers are coming off back-to-back double-digit losses, but Ohio State has four straight losses under its belt, including a three-point loss to lowly Minnesota. They’re only 10-7 on the season and hold a half-game lead on the Huskers in the Big Ten standings.
Brice Sensabaugh Trending The Other Way
If the Huskers are going to have a shot against Ohio State, they’re going to need to find a way to keep forward Brice Sensabaugh under wraps. On the season, he’s average 16.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. But scoring-wise especially, he’s been much better as winter got into full swing.
Over his last eight games Sensabaugh has averaged 20.1 points. If he does go off against the Nebraska basketball team, the Huskers will have to do what OSU’s opponents have done most recently and make him the only guy who can score much at all. If the Buckeyes find two scoring options on Wednesday night, it could be a looooong game.