Pregame Report: CJ Fredrick, Sahvir Wheeler OUT at Georgia

Pregame Report: CJ Fredrick, Sahvir Wheeler OUT at Georgia

As has become the usual for Kentucky, it'll enter another SEC game shorthanded. 

Both shooting guard CJ Fredrick (cracked rib) and point guard Sahvir Wheeler (ankle) will not play for the Wildcats on the road in Athens, Ga. against the Georgia Bulldogs. 

With less than an hour before tipoff on Tuesday against Arkansas, UK announced that point guard Sahvir Wheeler would miss the game due to an ankle injury. Calipari disclosed during pregame radio that the Georgia transfer had rolled it in practice. Not timetable was provided on his return, but it won't be until at least Wednesday in Starkville against Mississippi State. 

For Wheeler alone, it's the third different injury he's suffered this season. He missed the season-opener against Howard after picking up a knee knock in an exhibition, then sat out in UK's win at Tennessee with a shoulder ailment.

In the Cats' win over Florida last weekend, Fredrick took a spill under the basket, running into a cameraman after making a layup.

After getting up, he walked back to the bench holding his left ribs. He would finish the game and also play against Arkansas, though he notched zero points in just 21 minutes in the loss. 

"His ribs were bothering him," Calipari said of Fredrick. "He's another one that probably should not have played, and you could see that he was hurting the whole time, but he was giving everything he had."

Fredrick's history of injuries are well-documented. It was a left hamstring injury that ended his 2021-22 season before it even began, as it was suffered in layup lines before the season-opener against Duke in New York City.

This season, it was a finger dislocation suffered in Columbia, Mo. in Kentucky's loss to Missouri on Dec. 28 that sidelined the shooter for three games. He would go on to play the next stretch of games with a splint on that finger, finally removing it before the rib issue emerged. 

Shooting guard Antonio Reeves enters the starting lineup for UK in place of Fredrick. It's expected that freshman Adou Thiero will backup Cason Wallace at point guard.

For Georgia, leading scorer and veteran guard Terry Roberts is dressed out and warming up for the Bulldogs, though he isn't in the starting five. He missed UGA's last two games due to concussion. 

Roberts averages 15 PPG, 4.2 APG and 4.0 RPG. He scored 21 points earlier this year against UK on Jan. 17 in Lexington. 

Tipoff inside Stegeman Coliseum is set for noon EST. The game will be televised on ESPN. 

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