Trent Noah was a healthy DNP-CD vs. Louisville, Jaland Lowe's shoulder is 'in good shape'

A total of 10 Kentucky players took the floor at the KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday night in the Wildcats’ loss to Louisville, but one former starter did not make an appearance.

That would be sophomore guard Trent Noah, who was in the starting five for Kentucky’s season-opening win over Nicholls a little over a week ago. But after going down with an ankle injury in the first half of that contest, Noah was held out for game two a few days later against Valparaiso. The hope was that Noah would be healthy enough to give it a go against Louisville.

As it turns out, he was — he just didn’t find his way onto the hardwood, receiving a DNP-CD (Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision).

“He’s doing good, I expect him to be full today in practice,” Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said Thursday regarding Noah’s injury. “I think he’s doing really well.” Pope was then asked if Noah was available to play against Louisville, to which he responded with a yes.

Would Noah’s impact have changed the outcome if he’d played against Louisville? We’ll never know for sure, but what he brings to the table above all else — outside shooting — was not the issue for Kentucky on Tuesday. UK still shot 12-34 from deep; it was the other end of the floor that gave the ‘Cats fits. That being said, it’s much better to have a healthy Noah than not moving forward. It certainly sounds like he’ll be good to suit up and get in on the action Friday against Eastern Illinois.

Sticking with the injury updates, Pope was also asked about Jaland Lowe‘s injury during Thursday’s presser. Lowe, who hurt his non-shooting shoulder nearly a month ago in the Blue-White Game, came off the bench in Kentucky’s last two games. He had some moments against Louisville, both good and bad, finishing with nine points, five assists, and three turnovers on 2-8 shooting in 29 minutes.

“He’s got a lot of soreness, I think in his whole body, but I think he’s fine,” Pope said of Lowe. “I think he’s in good shape.”

Now let’s just hope everyone else stays in good shape, too. It would be nice for Kentucky to have a fully healthy roster outside of Jayden Quaintance, who continues to trend in the right direction with his ACL rehab, going into Friday’s game against Eastern Illinois. A showdown with No. 17 Michigan State in New York City is just five days away.

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