Mark Pope reveals Amari Williams suffered a back injury during Thursday's practice

Amari Williams still grabbed 13 rebounds in Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament win over Troy, but it always felt like something was off with his performance. The seven-footer struggled to finish around the rim and couldn’t find his shooting touch from the charity stripe. He shot 2-8 from the field and 1-5 from the line in 25 minutes played.

Williams was missing point-blank layups. While it’s not unusual to see him opt for layups instead of throwing down the hammer (something fans have been understandably critical of throughout the season), this was a different kind of oddity. There was even a point where he grimaced after going down to the hardwood for a brief moment despite making little contact with the Troy nearby player.

Well, there might be an explanation as to why. Head coach Mark Pope revealed on the postgame radio show that Williams suffered a back injury during Thursday’s practice, but “gutted it out tonight” to play against the Trojans. Pope added he expects Williams to be good to go for Sunday’s second-round matchup.

“You think about the moments that rip your guts out, he was in practice yesterday and he went down with a little back injury,” Pope told Tom Leach. “And I was just like this cannot be possibly happening. But he gutted it out tonight and I thought he was unbelievable on the glass. I thought he was really great on the defensive end.

“And the good thing is he came out tonight great too, so he’s gonna feel much better tomorrow and then he’s gonna be full speed on Sunday. Really blessed.”

Mark Pope says Amari Williams had a back injury yesterday in practice but “gutted it out tonight.”

He thinks he will be ready to go fine on Sunday

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) March 22, 2025

All that being said, Williams still flashed moments of brilliance. Both of his made buckets were actually dunks, including an incredible highlight where he dribbled coast-to-coast and dunked over a Troy player for an and-one finish in the first half. He also dished out four assists and blocked a shot. But for the most part, Williams didn’t look like his usual healthy self. A hampered back might be the reason why.

We’ll have to hope this isn’t anything major moving forward. Kentucky, already injury-riddled, needs Williams at his best to continue on its tournament run. An extra day of rest will certainly help, but this is just another chapter in a season-long book of injuries for the Wildcats.