Coming off a heartbreaking loss against Michigan, will the Nebraska basketball team have Rienk Mast and Braden Frager back for Sunday's matchup against No. 9 Illinois? The best answer Fred Hoiberg could give is "maybe."
The Huskers' head coach met with the media on Friday ahead of his team's second straight Top 10 tilt. During the appearance, he shed some light on both players working their way back. He included that Mast was so sick that he had to go to the hospital for severe dehydration when they returned to Lincoln.
Both Mast and Frager have at least started to practice a bit in anticipation of playing against Illinois. However, neither is in a place where it's a guarantee they'll be ready for Nebraska's game against the Illini on Sunday. The good news here is that for Mast at least, the extra day of rest could be the difference.
"If he responds well the rest of the day and has a good day tomorrow, we anticipate him being out there on Sunday, not knowing what he will be able to give us," Hoiberg said of Mast. "He has lost a ton of weight. He is still very weak, but it was good to see him back in the gym today."
Frager is a "game-time decision" as he continues to increase his workload over the next few days.
"It was good to give him live reps (today) and we will see how he responds," Hoiberg said of Frager. "When we initially saw the sprain, we thought two-to-four weeks. We are eight days out right now, so we will see how he responds to the work he did today, and then make a decision on Sunday."
Nebraska has had a flu virus running roughshod over the roster the last few weeks. Sam Hoiberg was at least a little sick for the game against Michigan, but nowhere near as bad as Mast. Ugnius Jarusevicius also has the flu and is out for Sunday.