Alabama guard Rylan Griffen to miss home finale vs. Arkansas
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama sophomore guard Rylan Griffen (calf strain) will miss the Crimson Tide’s final home game against Arkansas today, BamaOnLine has confirmed.
CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein first reported the absence.
Griffen sustained the injury last time out at Florida and an MRI revealed on Thursday that it wasn’t as significant as initially believed. Still, Griffen will miss the regular-season finale.
“We got his MRI results back yesterday. The MRI results were a lot better than what we had feared they might be,” said Alabama head coach Nate Oats on Friday. “So he’s on a day-to-day basis right now. He’s just working through it with Clarke as many hours as he can be in the training room, trying to get him back as quick as possible.
“I don’t know for sure when he’ll be back.”
With 4:15 to play, Griffen collided with two Gators and fell to the court, favoring his right leg. Oats was unhappy that no foul was called by the officials and picked up another technical foul. Meanwhile, Griffen could not put any pressure on his right leg and needed help off the floor from a teammate and trainer Clarke Holter. He went straight to the locker room.
Griffen played 25 minutes before his injury and scored three points on 1-of-4 shooting. The sophomore is averaging 11.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in 30 contests (28 starts), is fourth on the team in scoring and is shooting 45 percent from the field, 38.2 percent from the 3-point line and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line before the final home game.
While Griffen is out, Alabama will welcome back senior guard Latrell Wrightsell, who had missed the last four games with a head injury. Wrightsell only played eight minutes, but Oats said Friday that as long as he is in a “great place” on Saturday, Wrightsell will be a full-go.
Today’s Alabama-Arkansas game is scheduled to tip off at 11 a.m. CT and air on ESPN.
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