Will Jaland Lowe, Trent Noah play for UK basketball against Valparaiso?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK basketball players Jaland Lowe and Trent Noah are injury concerns for the Wildcats.
- Lowe has a right shoulder injury and Noah injured his left ankle in UK’s season opener.
- Kentucky plays its second game of the season Friday night against Valparaiso.
It’s only the second game of the season, but Mark Pope’s Kentucky basketball team is already dealing with a number of injury concerns.
We know sophomore transfer forward Jayden Quaintance is still out for the Cats as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered last season. But following Kentucky’s season-opening win over Nicholls on Tuesday night, there are two injured players that are top of mind for UK fans.
Junior guard Jaland Lowe — a transfer addition this offseason from Pittsburgh — has been out since UK’s Blue-White Game on Oct. 17 with a right shoulder injury. That’s the non-shooting shoulder for Lowe, who is projected to be UK’s starting point guard this season.
Additionally, sophomore Trent Noah injured his left ankle during the first half of the season opener against Nicholls. Noah returned to Kentucky’s bench in the second half, but he didn’t return to game action for the Cats.
Will either Lowe or Noah play for UK in Friday’s home matchup against Valparaiso?
The answer is yes.
Lowe made his UK basketball debut Friday night. He came off the bench in the game, contributing six points, five assists, two rebounds and a steal in 18 minutes. UK blew out the Beacons by 48 points.
Lowe played while wearing a sizable brace on his right shoulder.
Noah — whose status for Friday’s game wasn’t discussed by Pope during his pregame radio show — didn’t play in the game.
What has UK coach Mark Pope said about injuries to Lowe, Noah?
On Thursday, Pope expressed optimism that Lowe would make his first Kentucky appearance against Valparaiso.
Pope said “I think so” when answering a question from the Herald-Leader about if Lowe would play against the Beacons. Pope added that Lowe would have a full practice Thursday for the Wildcats.
“He’s been really good the last couple days, and so I hope so,” Pope said about the likelihood of Lowe playing against Valpo.
With Lowe sidelined, the likes of freshman Jasper Johnson, sophomore Collin Chandler and senior Denzel Aberdeen have handled primary ball handling duties for the Cats.
Pope provided a less promising update on Noah.
“I expect he’s going to be back soon,” Pope said Thursday. “I don’t think we’ll practice him today. I don’t know if he’ll be available tomorrow. I’m guessing maybe he — it’s probably a tossup whether he will be or not. I’m probably leaning to saving him and just trying to get him healthy.”
Noah made his first college start against Nicholls, going scoreless with two rebounds and one steal in nine minutes.
On Tuesday, Pope also addressed the injuries to both Lowe and Noah. During his pregame radio show appearance before the season opener, Pope said Lowe needed more of an on ramp before making his UK debut. After the win over Nicholls, Pope said Noah was cleared to return in the second half of the game. Noah didn’t return to game action.
This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 5:36 PM.
