Nebraska is turning to its football team for some help in the Big Ten basketball tournament.
The Cornhuskers have rounded out their roster by adding two football players — quarterback Noah Vedral and offensive tackle Brant Banks — for the conference tourney that begins Wednesday in Indianapolis, coach Fred Hoiberg said.
Both players will be available to play in No. 14-seeded Nebraska’s opener against No. 11 Indiana.
Vedral, a sophomore, played in six games (two starts) for the Cornhuskers football team this past season. According to the school, he was a four-year basketball player at Bishop Neumann High in Wahoo, Nebraska, leading it to three C-1 state titles (third-largest division in state) and a 98-16 record. He averaged 13.6 points per game as a senior.
Banks played four football games this past season, but ultimately took a redshirt. According to the school, he averaged 11.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as a junior at Westbury Christian (Houston) but didn’t play basketball as a senior after enrolling at Nebraska early.
Nebraska has only seven scholarship basketball players after it suspended guards Dachon Burke Jr. and Cam Mack indefinitely last week.