A new UK basketball player is on the injury report for the Auburn game
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK basketball guard Denzel Aberdeen is probable to play in Saturday’s game at Auburn.
- Aberdeen is a new addition to the Kentucky basketball availability report.
- Auburn has lost five straight games entering Saturday night’s meeting with UK.
Kentucky basketball will, once again, be down to nine healthy scholarship players for a crucial SEC game.
But, UK’s injury outlook had a new twist to it on the eve of the matchup with the Auburn Tigers.
The Wildcats’ availability report for Saturday night’s road contest at Auburn lists three players — Jaland Lowe, Jayden Quaintance and Kam Williams — as out. The availability report, which was posted Friday night, also listed senior guard Denzel Aberdeen as “probable.” SEC guidelines define “probable” as a 75% chance that a player will play in a game.
Aberdeen will play against the Tigers, however. UK released its final availability report Saturday evening, and the Wildcats’ playmaker was no longer on it.
During Tuesday night’s home loss to Georgia, Aberdeen appeared to injure his left shoulder before briefly checking out of the contest. Aberdeen quickly returned to the game and ended up logging 32 minutes for the Wildcats in the loss to the Bulldogs.
Aberdeen has played in all 26 games this season for UK, starting 25 of those. He’s averaging 12.6 points, a team-best 3.2 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per game. For the season, Aberdeen — an offseason transfer portal addition from Florida — is shooting 43.7% from the field, 35.5% from 3-point range and 78.6% on free-throws.
This was the first time this season that Aberdeen has been listed on UK’s availability report, which is only used for SEC games.
On the other side, Auburn’s report includes only sophomore center Emeka Opurum, who was ruled out for the season in mid-December due to “a medical condition,” according to the Tigers’ program.
This will be the eighth straight Kentucky game missed by all three of Lowe, Quaintance and Williams.
Lowe, a junior guard, is out for the season due to a series of right shoulder injuries that required surgery. Aberdeen has taken on increased duties at point guard for the Wildcats due to Lowe’s absence.
Quaintance, a sophomore forward, is set to miss his 12th straight game due to knee issues that stem from a torn ACL he suffered in February 2025 while a freshman at Arizona State. Quaintance was Kentucky’s top addition out of the transfer portal this past offseason, but he’s played in only four games for the Cats, and none since Jan. 7.
During his weekly press conference Thursday afternoon, Kentucky coach Mark Pope offered an update on Quaintance’s situation.
“He is not ready right now. He’s not ready, and we’re not gonna roll him out there until he’s 100%,” Pope said. “He’s gotta be 100% ready.”
Pope said Quaintance hasn’t yet returned to UK practice.
Williams, a sophomore wing, is also recovering from surgery after he broke his left foot on Jan. 21 during UK’s home win over Texas. On Thursday, Pope used the word “optimistic” to describe Williams’ outlook.
“The timeline is tight... There’s a real chance that at some point, if we extend the season out long enough, that he can come back and help us,” Pope said of Williams. “And we’re excited for that to happen.”
Notably, Pope hasn’t ruled out a return from Quaintance or Williams this season. There’s only five games left in the regular season for UK, including Saturday’s contest at Auburn. The SEC Tournament begins March 11 in Nashville, Tennessee. Round of 64 games in the NCAA Tournament start March 19.
Despite these long-term injuries, Pope has elected not to play freshman forward Braydon Hawthorne or junior forward Reece Potter. Both Hawthorne and Potter are preserving redshirt seasons.
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 8:21 PM.
