Junior forward Nick Ward (44) celebrates after a basket and a foul during the men's basketball game against Ohio State at Breslin Center on Feb. 17, 2019.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said on his pregame radio show that guard/forward Kyle Ahrens is out for Tuesday's game against Nebraska.
Ahrens, a 6-foot-6 junior wing, has been dealing with chronic back pain stemming to an initial injury suffered Dec. 3 against Iowa, and did not play the final 11:42 in the ninth-ranked Spartans' 63-62 loss against Indiana on Saturday. He's played in 26 of MSU's 29 games, but was limited to 10 minutes against the Hoosiers.
Izzo said Monday Ahrens would be considered day to day, "if that" for the remainder of the season. The player most likely to absorb Ahrens' playing time is freshman Gabe Brown, who's averaging 2.2 points and 0.9 rebounds in 6.9 minutes. Brown scored three points with four rebounds in 21 minutes in MSU's 74-60 win at Nebraska on Jan. 17.
Ahrens, one of MSU's most-used pieces off the bench, was averaging 5.2 points ans 2.6 boards in just over 19 minutes a game.
Izzo also said forward Nick Ward (left hand fracture) met with a specialist on Tuesday and said the 6-foot-9 junior may be able to begin working our Thursday or Friday, depending on if Ward's pain level. Ward has been out since suffering the hairline fracture in his shooting hand in MSU's win over Ohio State Feb. 17.
The Spartans (23-6, 14-4 Big Ten) come into Tuesday's game against the Cornhuskers (15-14, 5-13) one game behind Purdue for first place in the Big Ten. Nebraska has lost three in a row.
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