Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.LINCOLN — Michigan and Nebraska couldn't be at much more different places in their seasons when they meet at the Devaney Center on Wednesday.
The Wolverines (17-7, 7-4) come in ranked No. 22 nationally, No. 15 by rpiratings.com and facing a stretch of schedule that should allow them to rise higher than their current tie for third in the Big Ten and to polish their NCAA tourney résumé.
Meanwhile, the Huskers (11-11, 3-8) — one game out of the Big Ten basement — simply are trying to figure out which players to use.
With the indefinite absence of center Jorge Brian Diaz (feet), coach Doc Sadler said he's unsure who should get Diaz's minutes and how big his rotation should grow while in the middle of a four-games-in-10-days stretch.
"That's something we're still talking about," Sadler said Tuesday afternoon.
Junior walk-on forward Mike Fox and junior center Christopher Niemann will get more work in what had been a seven-man rotation.
"And with this many games in this many days," Sadler said, "we're looking at having to play some more guards, too. Having looked at the tape, I thought we got a little tired against Minnesota."
A broader playing rotation could lead to a reintroduction of true freshmen Corey Hilliard, David Rivers and Josiah Moore. Those three, in the past eight games, have played only 21 minutes combined.
Sadler said it was "unfair" to play those three as many minutes as they got early in the Big Ten season.
"But they've continued to work hard," the coach said. "If they are put into a situation, I think they'll do fine.
"The speed of the Big Ten initially might have been a little different than what they expected. But they didn't let it discourage them."
Whomever Sadler decides to play, Nebraska will be a mystery to Michigan coach John Beilein.
"I have no history with Doc Sadler or their players," he said Tuesday. "I've never even seen one of their players in AAU or anything.
"This will be fresh. There is no comfort in that. Our kids have to study more than they normally would."
Michigan's most recent trip to Lincoln in men's basketball was in December 1964.
The Wolverines, led by All-American Cazzie Russell, were No. 1 in the country, but lost 74-73 when Nebraska's Fred Hare grabbed the ball in the lane and tossed it over his head into the basket with one second left.
»NOTES: Michigan hasn't lost back-to-back games this season. They lost 64-54 at Michigan State on Sunday. ... Wolverine point guard Trey Burke, a true freshman from Columbus, Ohio, has been voted Big Ten player of week once and freshman of week four times. ... Michigan is 1-6 in true road games. The lone victory was 66-64 at Purdue.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com
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