Friday afternoon’s NCAA Tournament opener for Kentucky basketball won’t be easy. In a first-round clash in St. Louis, the 7-seeded Cats drew 10-seeded Santa Clara, and Mark Pope’s team will probably face a strong challenge from the Broncos.
In order to begin its prospective March Madness run, the UK hopes to be as close to full health as possible after being decimated by injuries throughout the season. Several Cats discussed the injury problems they are currently dealing with during Kentucky’s pre-tournament media conference on Thursday morning.
First, let’s look at the players who will probably face the Broncos. Freshman center Malachi Moreno, sophomore wing Kam Williams, and junior forward Brandon Garrison were all involved in the injury narrative at various moments during last week’s SEC Tournament.
In the final 9:49 of Kentucky’s SEC Tournament quarterfinal loss to Florida, Moreno was not present. On the UK bench, he received treatment for his right leg and was observed wearing a hot pack on his right thigh. Pope stated that Moreno was experiencing “some soreness” after the Florida game and that the rookie sensation will “be in top, peak-level performance” for March Madness.
On the eve of his first NCAA Tournament, Moreno declared on Thursday morning that he is “all good.” Moreno remarked, “I think it was a little bit of a strain there.” We’re nearing the end of the season, after all. I’m not interested in sitting. I don’t want to be the one that is left out of this. I feel prepared to leave after just a week of rehabilitation.
During UK’s practice on Thursday, Moreno had a sleeve on his right leg. During the conference postseason, Williams finished his injury comeback. During a home victory over Texas on January 21, Williams injured his left foot. Williams returned to the court for Kentucky in the Cats’ opening-round SEC Tournament match exactly seven weeks later.
Williams played 37 minutes and scored six points in three SEC Tournament games. However, as the Cats played three days in a row, Williams’ playing time and output declined. After the Florida game, Pope remarked, “I’m very, very grateful that we were able to get him into some games so he can have a little bit of feel.” “Going into practice this week, it’s just different because you can apply your work to what you just experienced after participating in the game. I’m really appreciative of that.
Williams stated on Thursday that with more recuperation time, he feels “way better this week.” Williams did not, however, state that he was in perfect health. Despite recuperating from a right foot injury sustained in the UK’s regular season finale versus Florida on March 7, Garrison continued to play his typical number of minutes for the Cats in Nashville.
After every game Kentucky played in the SEC Tournament, Garrison applied ice on his right foot. Garrison also strained his right wrist on Monday’s practice dunk. During the UK’s open practice on Thursday in St. Louis, Garrison had athletic tape on his right wrist.
Nevertheless, Garrison declared that he is ready for March Madness. “I think our medical team did a great job with my foot.” As usual, they performed their magic, according to Garrison. “Compared to the SEC Tournament, it feels much better.”
Kentucky has ten healthy scholarship players going into the NCAA Tournament. Junior forward Reece Potter and freshman forward Braydon Hawthorne, who are both maintaining redshirt seasons, are not included in this.
UK basketball still without Jaland Lowe, Jayden Quaintance
As of right now, neither sophomore forward Jayden Quaintance nor junior guard Jaland Lowe’s status with the Cats has altered. Due to a string of right shoulder problems that necessitated surgery, Lowe was declared out for the season in January. For the first time in months, Lowe discussed his ailment with media last week in Nashville.
On Friday, Quaintance will miss his 20th consecutive Cats game. Since he started a home loss to Missouri on January 7, Quaintance has not played for the United Kingdom. Due to knee problems stemming from an ACL tear he sustained in February 2025, Quaintance has been sidelined.
Despite only making four appearances this season, Quaintance was the UK’s top transfer portal addition during the previous offseason. There won’t be a comeback this week. Pope stated on his radio show on Monday night, “JQ is making progress, but I don’t think he’s going to be able to cross the finish line before this weekend.” Quaintance stated on Thursday that he had kept his attention on his recovery.
Regarding the prospect of playing for the UK once more this season, Quaintance stated, “It depends how fast we ramp up.” “The swelling has been kind of hanging around, but I still have the strength.” It’s been a while since I’ve done much on the court. I have to painstakingly re-enter that. It’s probably not likely. Quaintance, who is expected to be selected in the first round of this summer’s NBA draft, did not take part in UK’s live practice on Thursday.
On Thursday night, Kentucky’s injury condition for its NCAA Tournament opening will be more fully revealed. The first availability report for Santa Clara and the UK must be submitted by Thursday at 10 p.m. EDT. UK and Santa Clara are required to submit a game-day availability report by 10:15 a.m. EDT on Friday.
The report must indicate if each rostered player is available, questionable, or out. There won’t be any further information given. The UK and Santa Clara games are scheduled to begin in St. Louis on Friday at 12:15 p.m. EDT.
