As rumors and anonymously sourced reports have been swirling about head coach Tim Miles’ future at Nebraska, he and his players are doing their best to block out the outside noise and stay focused on the opportunity at hand.

After earning a No. 4 seed in the 2019 National Invitation Tournament on Sunday, NU lived to play another day and will host No. 5-seeded Butler in the first round Wednesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

While Miles and the Huskers all know what’s going on, they’re determined to keep on winning and delay any decision on Miles’ job status as long as possible.

“What you try and do as a coach, you know the noise that’s out there, but you do your job,” Miles said. “I’m never going to quit on this job; I don’t expect our players ever to quit. We’re going fight until they tell us we can’t fight anymore.”

Seniors Glynn Watson and James Palmer Jr. said they'd heard the talk about their coach, but being on the road in Chicago most of last week and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln now on spring break, it’s been easy to isolate themselves and only worry about what happens on the court.

“I really don’t try to pay attention to all them things,” Watson said. “It is what it is.”

Palmer said he hadn't noticed any change in Miles since the team returned to work on Monday.

“Miles just act the same as Miles," Palmer said. "He didn’t change anything like that. There’s no change in his demeanor or attitude or anything. He’s just coaching us the way he has all season."

Nebraska’s three-game run in last week’s Big Ten Tournament was especially improbable given how diminished its roster had become due to injury and suspension going in.

Now the Huskers could enter the NIT somehow even more shorthanded.

Miles said freshman center Brady Heiman hurt his back getting out of bed on Monday morning and has not practiced the past two days. His status for Butler is questionable at best and likely doubtful.

On top of that, there doesn’t seem to have been much progress made in sophomore guard Thomas Allen’s recovery. Miles said Allen’s injury, which he suffered in the loss at Michigan on Feb. 28, had been classified as a high ankle sprain.

Allen is still hardly able to practice, though he was at least in his practice uniform on Tuesday, and is again unlikely to play vs. Butler. That would be the sixth straight game he will have missed due to the injury.

Miles also confirmed that freshman guard Amir Harris (knee) and sophomore guard Nana Akenten (suspension) had already been ruled out for Wednesday night.

Assuming Heiman and Allen are out, the Huskers would have five scholarship players and seven total available players vs. Butler.