P.J. Washington is out for Kentucky in its NCAA tournament opener against No. 15 seed Abilene Christian, the school announced. The star forward sprained his foot and has spent the week in a hard cast.
P.J. Washington’s injury could derail Kentucky’s Final Four hopes
Kentucky’s star forward is out in the first round of the NCAA tournament with a sprained foot.
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Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
John Calipari issued a statement on Twitter after Washington was ruled out:
Kentucky shouldn’t have any troubling getting past Abilene Christian even without Washington. But if the Wildcats want to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament, Washington needs to be on the floor and playing to the peak of his abilities.
P.J. Washington’s rise helped save Kentucky’s season
It’s impossible to forget how Kentucky’s season opened. Duke walloped the Wildcats by 34 points at the Champions Classic in Indianapolis to begin the season, giving Calipari the worst loss of his coaching career at any level. Kentucky was actually favored in that game.
Kentucky would lose again to Seton Hall a month later. That’s when Washington started to turn it on. He dropped 29 points in defeat to the Pirates, showing a versatile inside-out game that set the tone for his breakout season.
Washington has been one of the best players in America ever since. We ranked him as the No. 7 overall player in March Madness in our countdown of the best players in the field.
At 6’8 and 230 pounds, with a 7’3 wingspan, Washington is nimble giant in the paint. He’s always been comfortable hitting jump hooks with his back to the basket, but it’s the development of his jump shot that has taken his game to a new level.
As a freshman, Washington made five three-pointers at a 23 percent clip on the year. This season, he’s Kentucky’s best shooter, canning 31 threes on a 42 percent rate. That’s opened up everything else both for himself and his team.
Kentucky needed a star player. It needed shooting in the front court. Washington’s emergence checked both boxes and made the Wildcats a legitimate title contender. They need him more than ever over the next two weeks.
Kentucky can’t make it through the Midwest without Washington
A potential rematch with Seton Hall is waiting for the Wildcats in the second round. Wofford, with its brilliant three-point barrage led by Fletcher Magee, would also be a tough opponent should they knock off the Pirates in the 7-10 matchup.
In the Sweet 16, Kentucky likely has to face a Houston team that is 31-3 on the season, or an Iowa State squad that just won the Big 12 tournament. In the Elite Eight, North Carolina likely awaits.
Kentucky’s only chance of making a March run rests on Washington being one of the best players in the field. If he can’t go, or if he’s limited, the Wildcats are in big trouble.
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