Big Ten Conference releases availability report, injury update for Michigan-Nebraska regular-season finale

The injury report has been listed for Michigan‘s senior day matchup against Nebraska on Sunday.

Ramel Llyod, Ahron Ulis and Eli Rice will not play for Nebraska, while Blaise Keita is labeled as questionable. For the Wolverines, Olivier Nkamhoua is out and Jace Howard is questionable.

For Nebraska, they aren’t losing much. Llyod hasn’t logged any stats this season, Ulis hasn’t played at all this season after being charged with tampering with records in the sports gambling probe at Iowa and Iowa State. Meanwhile, Keita, the one player that could potentially suit up, is contributing an average of 2.0 points and 3.5 rebounds this season. Rice is the most productive with 4.2 points per game.

The issue with Nebraska’s report is the fact that they’re down in numbers. Luckily, this does not impact their normal rotation. They can’t afford anyone else to be injured or have sit out, but they still have 13 players available on the roster to work with.

Michigan, meanwhile, is hurting without big man Olivier Nkamhoua. The Wolverines’ second-leading scorer this season with 14.8 points per game. He hasn’t played since Feb. 17 and will miss the rest of the season after undergoing successful wrist surgery late last month. Nkamhoua is expected to have three to four months of recovery before getting back to work on the basketball court.

Unfortunately for the veteran forward, this news almost certainly means the end of his collegiate career, as Nkamhoua was already in his fifth COVID season after playing four full years at Tennessee. 

With the Volunteers, he was a rotation piece of a perennial SEC contender and topped out averaging 10.8 points per game as a senior. Ultimately, though, he decided to leave Knoxville for more offensive opportunities and landed at Michigan, where he quickly became one of the team’s best contributors.

Rounding out the list, Howard averages 2.7 points per game and has made just nine appearances for the Wolverines this season. The Miami native is a four-year role player for the Wolverines, committing to Michigan before the 2020 season.

Tip-off between the Cornhuskers and Wolverines is scheduled for Noon ET live on the Big Ten Network.

The Huskers are -6.5-points favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 150.5 total points. ESPN Matchup Predictor gives Michigan a 32.3 percent of winning its season finale on senior day, while KenPom projects a final score of 78-72 in Nebraska’s favor.