Is DJ Wagner playing today vs Vanderbilt? Kentucky guard's status explored
DJ Wagner is expected to miss Tuesday's game against Vanderbilt. He has missed the last three games for the Kentucky Wildcats due to a high ankle sprain but is inching closer to a return.
According to Wildcats beat writer, Jack Pilgrim of KSR, Wagner is expected to sit out Tuesday's game against Vanderbilt but could return on Saturday against Gonzaga.
DJ Wagner hasn't played the last three games, with Kentucky going 0-3 and getting outscored by 21 points. Following the Wildcats' loss to Tennessee, Kentucky coach John Calipari said that Wagner is getting close to returning.
"He is probably – I'd say – I don't even want to say. Okay. I'm expecting him to play soon. Sooner than later. But you know, he did the high ankle sprain and came back against Penn. He's done okay. He's freshman of the week four different times. So it's not like he played awful, but we need him healthy," Calipari said, via SI.
"If it was really bothering him. We've done some things, and I think he's getting healthy. It's like you all know when he doesn't play, we don't win. You know that. We can go crazy about this, and it's that, and it's this. Let's get our team together. We've still got good players."
With DJ Wagner out of the lineup, Kentucky has started Reed Sheppard and Ugonna Onyenso in his spot, but the Wildcats have struggled without their guard.
DJ Wagner's college career
DJ Wagner is a freshman and has started all 18 games he has played with Kentucky this season. He's averaging 28.4 minutes per game, 12 PPG, 3.7 assists, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals in his freshman season.
Kentucky looking to return to the win column
The Kentucky Wildcats are 15-6 and ranked 17th in the country but are on a three-game losing streak.
Kentucky plays Vanderbilt on the road on Tuesday before hosting Gonzaga on Saturday. Despite being on a losing streak, assistant coach Bruiser Flint has confidence in the Wildcats.
“We can improve on a lot of things. We have to be more consistent with our details,” Flint said to the team website. “That’s something we have talked the entire season. I thought in the game. They beat us to a lot of 50/50 balls. We talked about that a lot after watching film. We had some breakdowns in our (defensive out of bounds plays). We talked about that a lot. And those are small things that beat you in the game...
“Our morale has been good. We’re not losing to bums. We need to focus in on what we need to do moving forward. This league is really good, so we need to focus in on what we need to. This league is tough. There are no nights off in the SEC.”
Kentucky has 10 games left this season before March Madness begins.