The Florida Gators blew an 18-point second-half lead, losing to Kentucky 71-70 on Kerry Blackshear’s senior night, but Blackshear was limited to just 12 minutes before leaving the game with a left wrist injury.
Blackshear fell awkwardly on his left wrist while battling on the offensive end. He got up slowly and was clearly in pain, holding his wrist as he tried to get back to the other end of the floor to play defense. The graduate senior was subbed out and team doctor Duke Werner looked at the wrist on the bench before taking Blackshear to the locker room before halftime.
Blackshear came out in the second half with his left wrist and hand tapped and he tried to play. He started the half but only lasted a few minutes before being subbed out and wrapped in ice.
“KJ is one of the tougher guys on the team, one of the toughest guys I’ve coached,” Mike White said. “When he walked over a couple of minutes into the second half and said he couldn’t go, I knew.”
While he was in, Blackshear did a good job of defending junior forward Nick Richards.
“He was 1 for 7 at half time from one foot,” John Calipari said of Richards.
Without Blackshear down low Richards was 7-11 and scored 17 points.
It’s unclear immediately after the game how long the injury would keep Blackshear off the court. White was told by Werner that he “believed” it was a sprained wrist, but nothing had been officially diagnosed.
Blackshear came into the game averaging 27.7 minutes, 13.2 points and 7.5 rebounds a game.