Kentucky point guard Sahvir Wheeler is back for game against No. 22 Tennessee

Ben Roberts
·2 min read
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Kentucky point guard Sahvir Wheeler will return to the Wildcats starting lineup Saturday against Tennessee after missing most of the past three games with a neck injury.

Wheeler, who leads the Southeastern Conference in assists, was injured with 16:07 remaining in the first half in UK’s 65-60 loss to Louisiana State on Jan. 4 after running into a blindside screen set by Tigers center Efton Reid.

The junior point guard was also ruled out of the Wildcats’ past two games — against Georgia and Vanderbilt — as a result of the injury, but UK Coach John Calipari said Friday that Wheeler had returned to practice on Thursday and was expected to play against the No. 22-ranked Volunteers on Saturday afternoon.

Wheeler rejoined the Kentucky starting lineup alongside TyTy Washington, Kellan Grady, Keion Brooks and Oscar Tshiebwe for the Wildcats’ first home game against a ranked opponent this season. Wheeler is averaging 9.6 points and a league-best 7.3 assists per game in his first year with the Cats after transferring from Georgia in the offseason.

In Wheeler’s absence, UK’s other guards have picked up the slack over the past two games.

In his first start as the team’s primary point guard, Washington broke John Wall’s single-game school record for assists, finishing with 17 points and 17 assists in the Cats’ 92-77 victory over Georgia last weekend. He had 15 points in UK’s 78-66 victory over Vanderbilt on Tuesday night.

Veteran guard Davion Mintz — UK’s leading scorer last season — had a season-high 19 points in the Georgia game. Mintz made his first start of the season in the win over Vanderbilt and has shot 11-for-20 from three-point range over the past three games, his best stretch of the season.

“What about Davion? Davion has played out of his mind,” Calipari said Friday. “There’s one guy late in the game that I would say that I’m really comfortable with shooting the ball, and it would be him. But he’s fighting. He fights the post.”

Wheeler’s return comes at the beginning of a crucial stretch of games for the Wildcats, who will play four Top 25 teams over the next three weeks, including road trips to No. 4 Auburn and No. 9 Kansas the next two weekends.