Michigan sophomore small forward Isaiah Barnes ruled out of Nebraska game with illness

Michigan sophomore small forward Isaiah Barnes has been ruled out of the Wolverines’ matchup with Nebraska on Wednesday evening, according to a Michigan team spokesperson. He’s played in 15 games so far this season for Michigan, averaging six minutes per outing.

The Wolverines’ associate head coach Phil Martelli and trainer Chris Williams were also ruled out due to testing positive for COVID-19, per the team spokesperson.

Wednesday night’s Big Ten matchup between Michigan and Nebraska is set to begin at 6:30 PM EST on the Big Ten Network. Nebraska is coming off a 72-63 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions, in which their sharpshooter Keisei Tominaga poured in a career-high 30 points.

Michigan has won two of their last three games, including their last game, a 77-69 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. Hunter Dickinson posted a monster performance in that game, stuffing the stat sheet with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and two assists. The Wolverines are currently on the outside looking in with regards to the NCAA Tournament, unless they make a miraculous run to finish the season.

Michigan jumped out to a 23-12 early lead against Nebraska on Wednesday night. Tominaga continued to be on a tear, scoring six points in the first eight minutes against the Wolverines. The Wolverines have two matchups with Indiana in the seven remaining games on their schedule.

In the 2021 recruiting class, Barnes was ranked as the No. 22 small forward in America and the No. 103 overall player in the country, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings. He played his high school basketball for three different schools, Simeon, River Forest, and Romeoville High School. As a senior, he averaged 18 points, eight rebounds, and three assists per game. As a junior, he averaged 21 points, eight rebounds, and five assists per game.