Kentucky point guard D.J. Wagner misses UNC Wilmington game due to injury
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Game day: UNC Wilmington 80, No. 12 Kentucky 73
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and UNC Wilmington in Rupp Arena.
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Kentucky point guard D.J. Wagner did not play against UNC Wilmington on Saturday.
Wagner — the reigning SEC freshman of the week — suffered an ankle injury late in the first half of UK’s 95-73 victory over No. 8-ranked Miami on Tuesday night and was unable to return to the game. He did work out on an exercise bike after coming out of the halftime locker room, but UK ruled him out of the game early in the second half.
Fellow freshman Reed Sheppard started the second half in his place Tuesday, and he made his first career start as a Kentucky Wildcat on Saturday afternoon.
UK lost a stunner to the Seahawks, 80-73. Sheppard led the Cats with 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Calipari said after the game that he had no update on Wagner’s injury status.
Going into the Miami game, Wagner was averaging 14.5 points, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals, and he was coming off the two best games of his young college career before suffering the injury Tuesday night.
Wagner scored a season-high 28 points in a 118-82 victory over Marshall last Friday night, adding five assists and three steals. Four days before that, he scored 22 points and dished out six assists in Kentucky’s 96-88 overtime victory over Saint Joseph’s.
The ankle injury is not expected to sideline Wagner for long. UK does not play again until its matchup with Penn in Philadelphia on Dec. 9, giving Wagner another week between games to get healthy. He is from Camden, New Jersey, which is right across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.
UNC Wilmington started the day at No. 145 nationally in the KenPom ratings.
This story was originally published December 2, 2023 at 3:12 PM.
