Washington to miss NCAA opener for Kentucky
ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi predicts how far No. 2 seed Kentucky will advance in the NCAA tournament. (0:42)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Kentucky forward PJ Washington will miss Thursday’s first-round NCAA tournament game against Abilene Christian with a sprained foot, coach John Calipari announced.
Kentucky coach John Calipari again declared his plan to remain with the Wildcats, this time amid interest from UCLA.
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Calipari said on Twitter that the sprain was confirmed after Washington was seen by a specialist. Once it was determined that Washington would miss the game, he was put into a hard cast for precautionary reasons. There was no further information on Washington’s availability should Kentucky advance.
The news comes a day after Calipari said that he expected Washington to play against Abilene Christian and that Washington was set to see a specialist to make sure he would do no further harm if he played.
Washington was not with the team during its media session and shootaround Wednesday.
Washington, who was injured in an SEC tournament loss to Tennessee, had been in a protective boot since Sunday. He is averaging 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories.