The Kentucky Wildcats will look to improve to 4-1 tonight against the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers.
After defeating No. 1 Michigan State and laying the wood to Eastern Kentucky University, the Cats have struggled mightily. One reason for those struggles is that the already thin Kentucky roster has a serious case of the injury bug.
However, that will end tonight.
All three -- @EJMontgomery23, @IQ_GodSon and @KahlilWhitney -- are expected to be available tonight after dealing with a number of injuries the last few games.
— Kentucky MBB Stats & Info (@UKMBBStatsInfo) November 22, 2019
It will be the first time since the season opener the Wildcats will nine or more scholarship players available. https://t.co/u3rxgE3K2e
EJ montgomery will make his return tonight after missing the last three games due to an ankle injury suffered vs. Michigan State. That’s a major boost for the Wildcats, as Montgomery’s absence has essentially eliminated all depth from the frontcourt, and it also put Coach Cal in a position to play Nick Richards and Nate Sestina a significant amount of additional minutes.
The good news is that Immanuel Quickley, sidelined on Monday due to a mysterious chest injury, will be available tonight. Quickley was the most consistent player on this Kentucky roster through the first three games, and he brings a calming leadership to the floor that is desperately needed with this young group. Hopefully this injury is behind him and we will see IQ bounce back tonight.
Not only do Kentucky’s injury woes put the team behind developmentally, but with only 10 scholarship players it also puts unwanted wear and tear on the healthy players that are able to play each night.
Kentucky will take the court again on Sunday against Lamar before a five-day break leading up to their next matchup with UAB.
The Wildcats are finally healthy and should be at relatively full strength although we don’t know for a fact if any minutes restrictions will be added for these games which should rather easy wins for Cal’s Cats.