Knee injury ends season for Nebraska’s Emmanuel Bandoumel

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s Emmanuel Bandoumel will require surgery and miss the rest of the season after injuring his knee in a game over the weekend, coach Fred Hoiberg announced Monday.

Bandoumel’s knee buckled as he drove to the basket in the first half of the Cornhuskers’ 76-65 loss Saturday to Penn State. He is the second Nebraska starter in two weeks to sustain a season-ending injury. Juwan Gary is out with a shoulder injury.

Bandoumel, a fifth-year guard who transferred from SMU, started all 20 games for the Huskers (10-10, 3-6 Big Ten) and was averaging 8.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

“I am heartbroken for Emmanuel to have his college career end this way,” Hoiberg said. “I’ve said all season that Emmanuel is one of the best defenders in the country, and he impacts the game in so many ways beyond the measurables.”

Bandoumel had started 84 consecutive games since his first season at SMU. He played 100 Division I games and totaled 880 points, 351 rebounds and 160 assists during three seasons at SMU and one season at Nebraska. He began his career at Hill College in 2018-19.

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