Auburn's Chuma Okeke has a torn ACL, out against Kentucky

[caption id="attachment_259410" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Photo: USA Today[/caption] After suffering a non-contact knee injury against North Carolina yesterday, an MRI confirmed that Auburn forward Chuma Okeke has suffered a torn ACL and will be out against Kentucky. Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports, who also said Okeke would have surgery on Tuesday, broke the news. https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1112088956831744003 Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl confirmed the news this afternoon. "Chuma has a torn ACL and he's scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday," he said. Okeke has been Auburn's third-leading scorer throughout the season, but the sophomore forward was one of the team's most valuable players late in the regular season and into postseason play. In today's press conference, Kentucky forward Keldon Johnson spoke on behalf of the Wildcats, saying their prayers go out to the Auburn forward during this difficult time.

"He’s a great player," he said. "Like I said, we heard he got hurt. That’s unfortunate. Our prayers go out to him and his family. I hope if it’s something serious, he gets a speedy recovery."

The 6-foot-8 big man finished in double figures in 15 of Auburn's last 17 games, including 17 or more points in five of those games. Against North Carolina on Friday, Okeke finished with 20 points (8-11 shooting and 3-5 from three) and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes before the injury. [mobile_ad]