Kam Williams injury update: Kentucky forward heads to locker room in 2nd half vs. Texas

Kentucky forward Kam Williams headed back to the locker room with an injury in the second half of Wednesday’s game vs. Texas. He limped off the court with 18:11 to play after pulling up at center court.

Williams hit a free throw with 18:40 left in the game and immediately turned to defend Tramon Mark. As he crossed half court, he came up favoring his left leg. Mark then got a steal and made a layup, prompting a brief stoppage. Williams limped off the court and immediately went toward the locker room for further evaluation.

It’s unclear what exactly happened or if there was any contact. However, the UK Sports Network later confirmed Williams would miss the rest of the game due to a foot injury.

Kam Williams entered Wednesday’s game with 6.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game across 18 appearances. He has been a key depth piece for Kentucky, which has dealt with multiple key injuries this season.

Kentucky went into Wednesday down Jayden Quaintance, who has been dealing with a knee injury, and point guard Jaland Lowe is out for the year due to a shoulder injury. As a result, it’s been a next-man-up mentality for Mark Pope’s group, and he acknowledged the challenges that come with so many players missing.

“It’s been a challenge not unlike every team faces,” Pope said. “So, it’s not a unique challenge in the sense that everyone’s facing it. But it is a challenge in trying to establish an identity. Mostly, because those two pieces are very unique to our team. Jaland Lowe brings something to our team that nobody else brings to our team, and [Jayden Quaintance] brings something to our team that nobody else brings.

“They’re both important parts of it. It’s not like we just move on to the next guy in the same way. We have to retool things and move on to the next guy. That part’s been a challenge, but it’s the same challenge that everyone else faces every single season.”

UK headed into the matchup against Texas with a 12-6 record and three straight victories. The last two wins have come in the final seconds after erasing 17-point deficits. Malachi Moreno hit a buzzer-beater to take down LSU and Denzel Aberdeen made a layup which proved to be the difference in a victory over Tennessee.

Texas, meanwhile, entered with a 11-7 overall record and 2-3 mark in SEC action. The Longhorns got marquee victories over Alabama and Vanderbilt to start conference play, but fell to rival Texas A&M last time out.