UK staying mum on Reid Travis’ status

The wait goes on for the return of Reid Travis.

The senior forward has missed the last three games after injuring his knee in a win over Missouri. It was thankfully just a sprained knee expected to sideline him two weeks, but it became clear last week that him being out is a major loss for Kentucky.

The Wildcats had to rally from 15 down in the second half to beat an Arkansas team that isn’t even a lock for the NIT. Then, the Wildcats were thoroughly manhandled by Tennessee in the same way they Kentucky did to the Vols in Rupp Arena, when Travis was still healthy.

Kentucky won’t make a deep run in March if Travis isn’t back and playing the same role he had in the first 26 games when Kentucky was 22-4 and was beginning to look like a legitimate title contender.

On Monday, assistant coach Tony Barbee met with the media to preview Tuesday’s matchup with the Ole Miss Rebels, but he wasn’t saying anything on Travis.

“That’s all up to the medical staff,” he said on when Travis could return.

Barbee added that he doesn’t know if Travis will practice today. If he doesn’t that not only ensures he’s out Tuesday, but it would also be a bad sign for him playing Saturday.

Travis did get in some work at the end of last week and even traveled to Tennessee before being ruled out. It was previously reported that Travis was targeting a return this Saturday for Senior Day against the Florida Gators.

Kentucky has done a great job of keeping Travis’ status a mystery, but it also adds doubt as to when he’ll return to action. The best-case scenario is he plays limited minutes Tuesday vs. Ole Miss, then gets a normal workload Saturday against Florida, which should be enough to get him back in a groove before SEC Tournament play begins next week.

Saying this, we shouldn’t expect Travis to play Tuesday, and he may only get limited minutes vs. Florida, if any.