Kentucky guard Sahvir Wheeler rolls ankle, injury sends him to locker room

A Sahvir Wheeler injury during the first half of a game against Ole Miss sent the Kentucky guard to the locker room after he appeared to roll his ankle on the defensive end of the floor.

Wheeler was following Ole Miss guard TJ Caldwell and turned his right ankle as he tried to squeeze between two players near the top of the key. The toe of his right shoe caught on Caldwell’s heel and he rolled over on it.

Following the roll, Wheeler hit the deck and was favoring his right ankle, clearly in pain. The game went to commercial break as Wheeler was helped into the locker room.

Kentucky is already without one of its stars in the backcourt, with third leading scorer Cason Wallace missing the game due to a leg injury.

Wallace was averaging 11.3 points per game, while also notching 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game. His absence meant the Kentucky backcourt was already working shorthanded against an Ole Miss team that has lost nine of its last 10 games.

The Sahvir Wheeler injury further depletes the Kentucky backcourt.

More on Kentucky vs. Ole Miss

Kentucky’s best stretch of the season came to an end over the weekend with their 77-68 loss to Kansas. Still, there’s a lot to now still be hopeful for when it comes to John Calipari’s team. Before their loss against the Jayhawks, they’d found more of an offensive groove not just centered solely around Oscar Tshiebwe while also playing with a new level of fight defensively as they allowed an average of just 61.8 points per game in their four-game winning streak. Now, to keep pace to make the NCAA Tournament, they’ll need a rebound starting tonight in Oxford.

As for Ole Miss, things haven’t gone as planned in Kermit Davis’ fifth season. The Rebels currently sit at just 9-12 overall and 1-7 in league play. That includes this last 10 game stretch where they’ve managed just one win over the bottom team in the SEC in South Carolina. After losing by 22 at Oklahoma State over the weekend, the Rebels will want to generate some form of success to build on in order to head into February. A step in the right direction would be getting leading scorer Matthew Murrell back in the lineup and, from there, finding a way to knock off the ‘Cats.