What’s the injury news for UK basketball ahead of SEC game at South Carolina?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky basketball’s next SEC game is Tuesday night at South Carolina.
- UK is without Jaland Lowe, Jayden Quaintance and Kam Williams for a ninth straight game.
- Kentucky is currently on a three-game losing streak, the longest under coach Mark Pope.
It’s business as usual for UK men’s basketball on the injury front ahead of a crucial SEC contest.
Mark Pope’s program has only nine healthy scholarship players for Tuesday night’s game at South Carolina.
Three Kentucky players — Jaland Lowe, Jayden Quaintance and Kam Williams — are listed as out for the game on the availability report. This will be the ninth straight game missed by all three of Lowe, Quaintance and Williams.
On the other side, South Carolina will be without senior guard Myles Stute. That’s a significant absence. Stute has started 23 games for the Gamecocks this season, which is his sixth year of college basketball.
Stute averages 6.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 31.4% from a deep on more than four 3-point tries per contest.
Kentucky (17-10 overall and 8-6 in SEC games) and South Carolina (12-15, 3-11) are set for a 7 p.m. start Tuesday at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
Lowe, a junior guard, is out for the season due to a series of right shoulder injuries that required surgery.
Quaintance, a sophomore forward, will miss his 13th straight game due to knee issues related to a torn ACL he suffered in February 2025 while a freshman at Arizona State. Quaintance was Kentucky’s top-rated pickup from the transfer portal this past offseason, but he’s played in only four games for the Cats, none since Jan. 7.
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. This will be the ninth straight game missed by Williams.
Last week, Pope said Quaintance, a likely first-round NBA draft pick, hadn’t yet returned to UK practice.
“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.
Pope painted a more optimistic picture for Williams.
“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.”
Things would have to move quickly for Williams to see game action again this season. Including Tuesday’s contest at South Carolina, Kentucky has only four games left in the regular season. The SEC Tournament will begin March 11 in Nashville, Tennessee, and round of 64 games in the NCAA Tournament will start March 19.
Pope has repeatedly brought up fatigue as an issue for his team this season, especially in the context of the depth issues that resulted from the injuries to Lowe, Quaintance and Williams. Pope hasn’t played freshman forward Braydon Hawthorne or junior forward Reece Potter, who each is preserving a redshirt season.
This story was originally published February 23, 2026 at 8:17 PM.
