Kentucky guard Sahvir Wheeler out against Arkansas with ankle injury

Kentucky will be missing a key piece of the guard rotation during a big SEC matchup against Arkansas on Tuesday night, with Sahvir Wheeler out of the lineup. Wheeler has an ankle injury that he suffered against Ole Miss on Jan. 31.

What’s curious about his absence against the Razorbacks is that Wheeler played in the first game after hurting his ankle, a win against Florida on Feb. 4. He played 26 minutes in that game off the bench and scored eight points.

Wheeler began the year as a starter before being demoted to coming off the bench midway through the season. The contest against Ole Miss was his first start since Jan. 10. Now, Kentucky will be without him at least for tonight.

Cason Wallace evaluates the impact Sahvir Wheeler had on his game in Florida win

Kentucky‘s most recent win over Florida was highlighted by the performance of freshman guard Carson Wallace. In the Wildcats’ 72-67 win over the Gators, Wallace had a team-high 20 points, adding three rebounds and three blocks to his stat line as well. Wallace attributed some of his Saturday success to the play of point guard Sahvir Wheeler, speaking after the game about the impact of his teammate.

“It gave me a little confidence knowing that he wanted the ball in my hands,” Wallace said. “I mean when you have a teammate that doesn’t care about his own play and wants you to succeed, he’s a great person, he’s a great teammate.”

Wheeler has been in and out of the starting lineup all season for Kentucky, starting 14 of the Wildcats’ 21 games this season. Despite this, he’s still managed to be one of the best distributors and playmakers in the country, averaging an SEC-leading 5.6 assists per game.

The play of Wheeler and the Wildcats’ offense has been good to Kentucky this season, as they rank third in the SEC in assists per game, points per game, and field goal percentage.

Wallace’s game versus Florida was his second 20-point or more performance of the season, and his fifth straight game scoring in double figures. The freshman is looking like he’s peaking around the right time for Kentucky, and hopefully, he can continue the success in the Wildcats’ next matchup versus Arkansas on Tuesday night.