Nebraska will face a Troy team getting a key weapon back for the NCAA Tournament

When the Nebraska basketball team takes on Troy on Thursday morning, the Huskers will be taking on history as well as an opposing basketball team. Knowing that, it's far from good news that the Sun Belt champion will have a key piece returning to the court for the first time in over a month. Should Theo Seng indeed be 100%, he adds a new degree of difficulty to beating a 13-seed bent on pulling off one of the upsets of the tournament.

Seng, a 6-foot-9 senior, has missed the Trojans' last six games with a knee injury. However, Troy head coach Scott Cross talked to the media on Wednesday afternoon and said Seng — who last played February 14 at home vs. Southern Miss — has practiced at full speed of late and should be ready to suit up vs. the Cornhuskers on Thursday in Oklahoma City.

"Theo’s practiced the last four practices for us," Cross said ahead of his team's game against Nebraska. "He has been able to go full practice, so he will be available in the game barring a setback (Wednesday) or (in pre-game). But he hasn’t played in, like three weeks, so it’s going to be a little bit of a challenge getting them back into rhythm. But he will definitely play in the game, like I said, unless there’s a setback."

Theo Seng's return gives Troy a key weapon that directly targets Nebraska basketball's biggest weakness

The good news for the Huskers is that it seems Seng won't be at his best for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. On the other hand, NU's biggest concern for most of the season has been how its opponents crash the boards. Seng's return means the Trojans get back a player who was both an offensive threat (averaging 12.9 points per game) and someone who is both tall and capable of grabbing rebounds (4.5 per game).

Seng is one of four Trojans who stand 6-foot-8 or taller, and that could become a problem for a Huskers team whose leading rebounder (Rienk Mast) is averaging just 5.8 rebounds per game. Nebraska does have plenty of height of its own with Mast and Berke Buyuktuncel both standing at 6-foot-10. 

It's also possible that NU head coach Fred Hoiberg might turn to true freshman center Leo Curtis a bit more to improve its size advantage. However, Curtis played in just 10 games this season and averaged just 4.4 minutes. The first round of the NCAA Tournament might not be the best place to start experimenting with the rotation.

Nebraska basketball tips off its NCAA Tournament game against the Troy Trojans at 11:40 a.m. CT on Thursday.