Arthur Kaluma, Chendall Weaver injury update: Texas reveals status vs. South Carolina

Texas‘ Arthur Kaluma (undisclosed) and Chendall Weaver (hip) are probable to play in the Longhorns’ showdown against South Carolina on Saturday, per the SEC availability report. Weaver has not played since Jan. 7.

Weaver is averaging 6.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game this season while shooting 51.4% from the field and 35.3% from downtown. Weaver transferred to Texas last season after spending his freshman season at UT Arlington.

Texas head coach Rodney Terry has been outspoken about how much the Longhorns have missed Weaver’s presence.

“He’s been a big loss for us, now,” Terry said. “We don’t talk about it enough because the way he plays and the toughness that he brings and the winning plays that he makes for our team. It’s huge.

“It’s the plays that he will make for us that wouldn’t show up in the stat sheets,” Terry continued. “He’s going to get that 50-50 ball; he’s going to get that defensive rebound; he’s going to make that extra pass. You know, winning plays and winning basketball.”

As much as Texas needed Weaver back on the court, it may have needed Arthur Kaluma even more. The 6-foot-7 forward is second on the team in scoring this season, averaging 12.9 points per game while adding 7.9 rebounds and two blocks a night.

Kaluma only missed one game and his fellow Longhorns stepped up in his absence to defeat Kentucky 82-78. Alas, the Longhorns can’t be satisfied by the win. Sitting at 5-8 in conference play, Texas must finish the season strong if it hopes to receive an at-wide berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Thankfully for the Longhorns, they enjoyed a midweek bye and will have six days of rest under their belts when they square off against South Carolina. This past week, Texas forward Jayson Kent discussed how much the rest will benefit the team.

“It’s big,” Kent said. “Guys get to recover their bodies physically, mentally hit the reset button from the games so we can give it all we’ve got in this last stretch. This week is important.

“We also get to work on things we need to get better on. Figure out what little details we can fix now in practice so that when it’s in the game it’s fixed and we’re ready to go to finish out the season.”

Texas and South Carolina will face off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will air live on the SEC Network.