Another untimely injury didn’t help Washington when it needed it most

Wisconsin was hoping to do what no other team has been able to do all season: knock off the unbeaten No. 7 Nebraska squad. However, it was going to take an extraordinary effort and as many healthy guys as possible. The first part of the equation seemed to happen in the second half of the game, Washington players willing the game to stay close, but the second may have cost the Huskies.

UW scored 40 points in the paint, and that helped keep the game close against a raucous Nebraska crowd. However, Washington head coach Danny Sprinkle had to rely heavily on freshmen to fill out his roster and his team's minutes. That didn't help. It also hurt not having Wesley Yates III available after he was injured in practice earlier in the week.

Wesley Yates II rolled his ankle during a rebounding drill at practice before the Nebraska game

After the game, Sprinkle didn't get too far into the injury, but he did start the press conference with a rolled eye, "here we go again," frustration about injuries keeping them from being full strength. He said, "It's not an excuse, but we lost another guy this week." He went on to say that it was just a fluke thing, too; it happened during a non-contact rebounding drill.

The Big Ten broadcast during the game, said it was a rolled ankle that kept Yates out playing Nebraska.

It's becoming the curse of the season: the Huskies can't seem to stay healthy and always have a much fuller injury report than the opponent they are facing. In fact, in the Washington vs. Nebraska game alone, UW had four players listed as "out" and one as "questionable." That one questionable tag is a weird one, too, considering it was given to Desmond Claude, who has posted he isn't playing until he fully heals, maybe not again this season.

That put five players as gone from the game for Washington, but Nebraska had only three listed as out. Like Sprinkle said, it's no excuse, but it is becoming a detriment to actually winning games.