The standing ovation Ed Morrow received from Thursday night's crowd at Pinnacle Bank Arena when he checked in for the first time against Wisconsin told the story.
The Huskers have missed their enforcer the past month.
And while his presence didn't lead to a win — in fact, the 70-69 defeat was another punch in the gut as Nebraska fell to 10-14 and 4-8 with their eighth loss in nine games — it did provide, just maybe, a glimmer of hope as NU readies for the final six games of the regular season.
"I was thankful that we had all our players, except for Anton (Gill, who is out for the season); that we have our crew that we know can do it," Nebraska coach Tim Miles said after the game.