Nebraska releases availability report ahead of matchup vs. Wisconsin

Nebraska has released its availability report ahead of its matchup against Wisconsin on Thursday evening. Ahron Ulis, Jarron Coleman and Eli Rice will be out against the Badgers. Juwan Gary and Blaise Keita are questionable for the contest.

Rice reportedly suffered an ankle injury earlier this week at practice. The 6-foot-8 guard has seen a steady rise in minutes lately, averaging 16.5 minutes per game in Nebraska’s past two outings. For reference, Rice is averaging 9.8 minutes per game this season.

While Nebraska won’t be at full strength against No. 6 Wisconsin, Cornhuskers guard Brice Williams isn’t backing down.

“Game in and game out, nobody really cares if you’re tired or sore or if you’re a little banged up,” Williams said. “You kind of just have to respond. With the veteran guys and our leaders, we’ve really been setting the tone and going at it hard every day, not really worrying about the next day or the next game. Just win that day and try to get better any way you can.”

Nebraska has a chance at revenge

This won’t be the first time the two teams have faced off this season. On Jan. 6, Wisconsin handily defeated Nebraska in 88-72 fashion. Ahead of the rematch, Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg revealed how he game plans for a team he faced earlier in the season.

“Well, you have plenty of examples from the first time of what went well and what didn’t,” Fred Hoiberg said. “Offensively, we had some pretty good possessions. Defensively, we didn’t have very many.”

In the win, Wisconsin had five players score double figures. Hoiberg knows his team must step up its defense to stand a chance against Wisconsin’s red-hot offense.

“I guess that’s the biggest thing,” Hoiberg said. “Obviously, you can look back on the first time but you’ve got to make adjustments from things that you did well and things where you got exposed. So, that’s been the big thing is going back, watching a lot of film. This is the first time we’ve had three days prep actually on the floor. We had an off day and then had three days to prepare.

“We were able to watch a lot of film with our team. Now, we’ve got to go out and execute. Execute the gameplan, have enough self-discipline, and if you do that we should have a chance.”

The two teams will square off at 8:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.