UK Won’t Have PJ Washington for Much Tougher Round Two

UK's sophomore forward PJ Washington, the Cats' leading scorer and rebounder, watched from the sidelines, Thursday, as his teammates rolled Abilene Christian 79-44 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

It's clear that Washington wasn't needed for this game.

Saturday, however, is another story.

I watched Wofford play it pretty evenly with Seton Hall for the first three-quarters of Thursday night's 7-10 game. Then I watched them flip the kind of switch championship-caliber teams can flip when the situation gets dicey.

Next thing you know, the Terriers blitzed the Pirates during a 17-0 run (followed by a too-little-too-late bucket from Seton Hall) and Wofford was headed to the second round to face Kentucky.

No, I don't think Wofford will win the title, but it's a great basketball team that shoots the lights out from three-point range.

And the Terriers' Fletcher Magee, tonight, became the all-time leading three-point shooter in the history of Division I NCAA Basketball.

Wofford is deep and experienced. Kentucky has rounded into the championship contending squad we all thought it would be at the beginning of the season.

But that's WITH Washington available.

And, right now, it doesn't look like Washington will be available.

Of course, Kentucky can totally win that game without PJ Washington, and will probably even open as favorites, but John Calipari will spend time watching video of these Terriers and will then go convince his Wildcats that they CANNOT take their eye off the ball Saturday afternoon in Jacksonsville.

Pardon the pun.

As Big Blue Nation anxiously awaits any and all updates about PJ Washington, the Wildcats must now prepare for an excellent Wofford team without him.