Adou Thiero says the basketball gods don't want to see Kentucky healthy

The Cats have played a whopping 24 minutes together as a complete unit, Tre Mitchell returning from a two-game absence to play 21 minutes against Ole Miss before suffering another injury early in the second half. First it was his back, now his shoulder — a sprained trapezius, to be specific.

Before that, it was Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso with broken feet, DJ Wagner with a lingering ankle injury and Adou Thiero also dealing with a back issue. Justin Edwards missed the Florida loss with a quad injury, Rob Dillingham out with a stomach bug at Arkansas.

And you can pick your poison with Zvonimir Ivisic — literally. He’s dealt with food poisoning here and there, along with a few other nicks and bruises. Oh, and the whole eligibility thing.

Long story short, roster availability has been a disaster all season.

That doesn’t excuse the losses, defense more to blame overall than any one injury or absence. But it’s undoubtedly made an impact, specifically with continuity and cohesion on the defensive end if nothing else. It all plays into the product Kentucky puts on the floor and what needs to get fixed coming down the home stretch of the regular season.

“Just being consistent and just being able to take what we do in one game and bring it to the next,” Adou Thiero said Friday. “I think also having a healthy team will help but we can’t use that as an excuse.”

If you’ve been frustrated watching the injuries pile up for Kentucky, you’re not alone. Imagine the guys actually dealing with the trainers and rehab and treatment, fighting to get back on the floor wondering why in the world they keep getting taken off in the first place.

It feels personal with the basketball gods, doesn’t it? That’s how Thiero sees it.

“It’s kind of crazy. It’s like the basketball gods don’t want to see us all play together because they just know what’s gonna happen if we all play together,” he said. “The time is coming, hopefully soon, that we’ll have our whole team.”

Saturday wouldn’t be a bad time for Kentucky’s first complete game at full strength this season with No. 13 Alabama coming to town. It’s gonna take an all-in effort to pull that one off inside Rupp Arena, tipoff scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on CBS.