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Kentucky provides update on TyTy Washington, Sahvir Wheeler injuries moving forward

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax02/19/22

BarkleyTruax

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AUBURN, AL - JANUARY 22: Sahvir Wheeler #2 of the Kentucky Wildcats is helped off the court after an injury during the second half against the Auburn Tigers at Auburn Arena on January 22, 2022 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

TyTy Washington Jr. is out with a lower leg injury, and Sahvir Wheeler is out with a right upper extremity injury Saturday against Alabama, according to Kentucky Men’s Basketball on Twitter. Both are day-to-day.

In their place, Jacob Toppin and Davion Mintz will make starts for the Wildcats at Rupp Arena Saturday afternoon. This news comes after the report by KSR’s Zack Geoghegan. Kentucky head coach John Calipari said earlier in the week that the Wildcats may be without up to three players due to various injuries.

Washington is battling said left lower leg injury he suffered a week ago vs. Florida, while Wheeler injured his right wrist Tuesday at Tennessee. For the past few days, John Calipari has hinted he’ll sit a few guys out against Alabama to make sure the team is healthy for the final stretch of the season.

After looking at X-rays, John Calipari said Washington was day-to-day. He suited up vs. Tennessee and tried to give it a go, but was clearly not 100 percent. Less than a minute into the second half, Washington went down and had to limp to the bench and watched the rest of the game from the sidelines, clearly frustrated.

“The first thing has to be about the players,” Calipari said Friday. “If they need to sit, they need to sit, and then I’ll figure it out. It’s not resting them. It’s that they’re not capable of playing at 100 percent and why would you do that? To win one more game? To improve your seeding? Well, it’s about them.”

The only time Kentucky has been without both of their star point guards this season was during the second half of the Wildcats’ 80-71 loss to Auburn on Jan. 22. Washington went down with an ankle injury and Wheeler ran into a hard screen, which forced him out of the game. Mintz and Kellan Grady were tasked as UK’s primarily ball handlers, which will most likely be the case today.

Kentucky’s six-game winning streak was ended Tuesday night in Knoxville after the Wildcats dropped their rematch against Tennessee 76-63 in their worst loss of the 2021-22 season. During that win streak, however, Kentucky took down Alabama in Tuscaloosa 66-55 on Feb. 5 — the only difference, Kentucky had both of their point guards. Now, the have none.

Here’s how to watch UK vs. Alabama, including predictions, odds and game preview. The game is currently underway on CBS.