Kentucky at Auburn is the biggest matchup of the day in the SEC, and arguably college basketball as a whole. But an injury brought matters to a halt.
TyTy Washington, one of the premier freshmen in the country, entered the game averaging 14.2 points-per-game for John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats. A matchup with the more experienced Auburn Tigers was already a challenging one, but without Washington, the offense slowed dramatically.
Washington suffered an ankle injury against Auburn, and was forced to miss the remainder of the game. His status moving forward remains up in the air.
TyTy Washington injury: How long will Kentucky guard be out?
The injury looked bad originally, and Washington had to be helped off the court by the training staff. He was immediately taken to the locker room.
Washington was declared out after Gary Parrish of CBS Sports reported that he thought he was okay.
“TyTy Washington indicated both to the training staff and the coaching staff that he thinks he’s okay,” CBS sideline reporter Gary Parrish said. “They’re going to take him to the locker room just to make sure.”
Evidently, upon further examination by the Kentucky training staff, they opted to play it safe.
Washington entered Saturday’s game as a potential lottery talent.
“We’re seeing Washington in real-time blossom from a really good, borderline lottery talent to someone I’d bet winds up inside the top-10 by draft night,” CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone wrote. “First, he’s already carved out a strong role for himself as a freshman on a veteran-laden Kentucky team because of his shooting ability. He’s hitting his mid-range jumpers and shooting 40.4% on 3-pointers.”
Washington broke John Wall’s freshman record for assists in a game earlier this season with 17. He’s that kind of talent.
Hopefully, he’ll be able to return to the court soon.