Which Kentucky basketball players are out for home game against Tennessee?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK basketball players Jaland Lowe, Jayden Quaintance and Kam Williams are out.
- Those three players won’t play for Kentucky in SEC home game against Tennessee.
- Earlier this season, the Wildcats defeated the Volunteers in Knoxville.
For the first time this season, Kentucky basketball is facing a repeat opponent.
Saturday night’s marquee matchup between UK (16-7 overall and 7-3 in SEC games) and No. 25 Tennessee (16-6, 6-3) is the second meeting this season between the Cats and Vols. UK claimed a comeback 80-78 win on Jan. 17 in Knoxville.
But once again, the Wildcats project to only have nine scholarship players for Saturday’s game.
UK’s availability report for the contest lists Jaland Lowe, Jayden Quaintance and Kam Williams as out. This marks the fifth straight game in which all three Wildcats won’t play.
Quaintance is set to miss his ninth straight game for Kentucky, while Lowe and Williams are both part of long-term injury absences.
Lowe, a junior guard, has already been ruled out for the remainder of the season following a series of right shoulder injuries that required surgery. Lowe was back with the Kentucky team for its midweek home win over Oklahoma, although Lowe was wearing a hefty brace on his right shoulder while sitting behind the UK bench during the game.
According to Kentucky coach Mark Pope, there’s “an outside, outside, outside chance” that Williams, a sophomore wing, could return this season. Williams broke his left foot on Jan. 21 during Kentucky’s home win over Texas. Williams has also undergone surgery for his injury. During Wednesday’s game against Oklahoma, Williams had a protective boot on his left foot and was using a scooter to move around.
As for Quiantance, time appears to be running out for the sophomore forward to return to the court for Pope’s program. The 18-year-old has only appeared in four games this season for UK, and he hasn’t played at all since Jan. 7.
Last week, Pope said Quaintance is “on full shutdown” from on-court work due to swelling in his surgically repaired knee. The 6-foot-10 Quaintance tore his ACL last season as a freshman at Arizona State, and he joined Kentucky as an offseason transfer while he was still in the early stages of rehabbing that injury.
Regardless of if Quaintance returns to action this season or not, he’s expected to depart the UK program. Quaintance is projected as a lottery pick in this summer’s NBA draft. Should this occur, Quaintance would be the first player who played for Pope in college to become a first-round draft selection.
All of this — combined with UK preserving redshirt seasons for freshman forward Braydon Hawthorne and junior forward Reece Potter — means the Cats are set to have just nine scholarship players for Saturday’s game.
On the other side, Tennessee has several players listed on its availability report. Junior forward Cade Phillips is out and senior forward Felix Okpara is a gametime decision to play.
After starting nine of Tennessee’s first 10 games this season, Phillips was ruled out for the rest of the Volunteers’ campaign in December due to a shoulder injury.
Okpara represents a potentially crucial absence for Rick Barnes’ team. He’s started 20 of Tennessee’s 22 games this season, but he’s missed two straight contests due to a left calf injury. Okpara is averaging 6.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 26.6 minutes per game for the Volunteers this season. In the Jan. 17 matchup between Tennessee and Kentucky, Okpara had five points and six rebounds in 27 minutes.
Freshman guard Troy Henderson and senior guard Amaree Abram were both listed as questionable on Tennessee’s initial availability report, which was released Friday night. This meant each player had a 50% chance to play. But neither player was listed on Saturday night’s final availability report. This signals that each player is available to play.
Abram — who previously played for Ole Miss, Georgia Tech and Louisiana Tech — has been dealing with flu-like symptoms. He’s primarily come off the bench for Tennessee, appearing in 21 games this season for an average of 12 minutes per contest. Last month, Abram made a 3-pointer and played five minutes off the bench against Kentucky.
Henderson has come off the bench in 17 games for the Vols this season. He played just six minutes in the previous meeting between UK and Tennessee.
The Wildcats and Volunteers are set for an 8:30 p.m. start at Rupp Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
This story was originally published February 6, 2026 at 8:14 PM.
