When the Arkansas Razorbacks (16-11, 5-9 SEC) face the Texas Longhorns (16-11, 5-9 SEC) at Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday, they may be without their best player.
Third-year forward Adou Thiero exited Saturday's game against Missouri with 6:17 left in regulation, and Arkansas head coach John Calipari said postgame it was a back problem that kept Thiero out.
Calipari said during his radio show Monday night that the staff is still figuring out if Thiero will be able to play against the Longhorns, and that statement was reiterated by assistant coach Chuck Martin on Tuesday.
"Just taking it day by day, taking it day by day and seeing how he improves," Martin told reporters Tuesday. "He's been...taking it slowly, trying to make sure that we put him in the best possible position to continue to improve."
Thiero has been the Razorbacks' best player this season and he leads the team in both scoring (15.6 points) and rebounds (6.0) per game.
There's a possible silver lining that the Razorbacks were able to close out the win against the Tigers without Thiero, but with an NCAA Tournament bid hanging in the balance, the Razorbacks desperately need him to be available for the final four games of the season.
Right now, the Razorbacks have a 63.9% chance to make the Big Dance according to BartTorvik, and ESPN has the Hogs sitting as a 9-seed, but they need as many wins as they can get to close out the season.
Injuries are nothing new to the Razorbacks, who have been plagued by them for most of the season, but this is likely the first game this season Thiero will show up on the SEC Availability report on Tuesday night.
The Razorbacks and Longhorns will tip off at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday from Bud Walton Arena. The game will air on ESPN2.
