Berke Buyuktuncel still recovering from 'unfortunate' ankle injury, out vs. Maryland
An otherwise celebratory ending to Nebraska’s home win over Ohio State finished with a dark cloud hanging in Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Berke Buyuktuncel, who had scored a season-high 15 points on 3-of-6 shooting from three vs. the Buckeyes, rolled his ankle going for a rebound with just 45 seconds remaining.
Trainers helped the 6-foot-10 sophomore off the floor and to the locker room. After the game, head coach Fred Hoiberg said it was a significant ankle sprain.
While the initial outlook didn’t look great, Hoiberg gave the latest on Buyuktuncel’s injury on Monday night’s Sports Nightly. Hoiberg said the UCLA transfer was “day to day,” but Buyuktuncel would likely be unavailable for Thursday night’s home game vs. Maryland.
“We’re going to miss him,” Hoiberg said. “I’m not exactly sure on the timeframe. He’s gotten multiple treatments (on Monday), and we’ll just go day by day with him. From the looks of it, he’s pretty swollen, and he’s very sore this morning.”
Not only did Buyuktuncel have his best offensive performance as a Husker before his injury, but he was also one of NU’s most effective low-post defenders.
“It’s so unfortunate,” Hoiberg said. “He’s been shooting the ball like that in practice, and I was just waiting for a game for him to take the lid off the basket. He goes 3-for-6 on threes, hits his free throws – 15 points, six rebounds.
“He’s been defending at a really high level. Even though he hadn’t shot the ball great to this point, he’s so valuable because he can guard multiple positions out there, including the five. I think he’s as good as anybody we have on our roster in defending the post.”
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Hoiberg talks potential lineup changes in Buyuktuncel’s absence
With Buyuktuncel likely out vs. Maryland and possibly beyond, Hoiberg admitted that the injury’s timing couldn’t be much worse. Led by big men Julian Reese (13.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg) and Derik Queen (15.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg), the Terrapins boast one of the Big Ten’s most talented frontcourts.
Hoiberg said Nebraska would go with a smaller starting five on Thursday night. Juwan Gary (6-6) will start at the four. Braxton Meah (7-1) and Andrew Morgan (6-10) could play together to match the Terps’ size.
Hoiberg also said some guys further down NU’s rotation. Players such as Cale Jacobsen and Gavin Griffiths must be ready if called upon.
Senior guard Brice Williams said the Huskers needed to be all hands on deck during Buyuktuncel’s absence.
“Next man up mentality, but we all just have to still band together,” Williams said. “We didn’t get this far doing it our own way or putting it all on one person’s back. It’s all of us together. Braxton is going to have to step up. Anybody else whose number is called, they’re going to have to step up and play and be physical and buy into our system and do what we do.
“And that’s going to be to defend for 40 minutes, get the 50-50 balls, and let our defense lead to offense.”
