Saturday, January 19, 2013
Cauley-Stein's status
By Luke Lapinski
It's tough to keep Willie Cauley-Stein off the court. In high school, he didn't miss a basketball -- or football -- game. But there's at least a chance the Kentucky big man could be sidelined for today's tilt with Auburn.
According to the Wildcats, Cauley-Stein has been hampered by an "old injury" to his left knee and had a "minor procedure" to repair it this week. The school hasn't ruled him out for the matchup with the Tigers, but it's certainly possible he misses the game. The talented freshman is averaging 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest while playing nearly 21 minutes a night. On top of that, his 31 blocks on the year are third in the SEC to this point.
At 11-5, UK still needs all the wins it can get right now. But, at the same time, having Cauley-Stein at full strength later in the season is more important. If he can't go tonight, however, the Wildcats will still hold a pretty solid size advantage over Auburn. Calipari's group plays next at Alabama on Tuesday, then hosts LSU a week from today. Their next ranked opponent is Florida, who they visit on Feb. 12.
