The Arkansas Razorbacks (14-14, 5-10 SEC)) have a good chance to get a pair of contributors back for Saturday's showdown against the Kentucky Wildcats (20-8, 10-5 SEC) on Saturday at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
Forward Jalen Graham has missed four straight games with a shoulder injury that he suffered Feb. 14, and head coach Eric Musselman said Graham will for sure be available Saturday. The Hogs could also have Washington transfer guard Keyon Menifield Jr. back after he's missed three games with a groin injury.
"Graham has done a great job rehabbing," Musselman said. "He for sure will be available against Kentucky. Keyon is still progressing. I’m assuming he could be available as well on Saturday."
Across 20 games appeared in this year, Graham is averaging 7.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest. The former Arizona State Sun Devil scored 12.5 points per game over his last four times out before the injury (including the Tennessee game).
The absence of Graham definitely hasn't helped the Razorbacks, who suffered a bad loss to Vanderbilt on Tuesday at Bud Walton Arena. Graham scored eight points and brought down two rebounds during the 63-57 loss to Kentucky on Jan. 27.
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Menifield was declared eligible in December after initially he was going to redshirt the season. He scored 32 points in a win over UNC Wilmington on Dec. 30, but he's scored in double figures just three times since. Menifield is averaging 7.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game across 14 games appeared in.
The Razorbacks stacked a pair of wins against Texas A&M and Missouri prior to the loss to Vanderbilt. Arkansas recently worked forward Trevon Brazile back into the rotation from a knee injury, and Musselman and his staff might also have to work Graham and Menifield back in if they choose to do so Saturday.
"It’s hard on a team when a player comes back from an injury," Musselman said. "It’s hard on the individual player. It changes rotations and makes that a little bit more complicated for everybody involved"
With Brazile and Graham out for an extended period of time, the Hogs went with four-guard lineups more often than usual. Musselman said that might change with his pair of 6-foot-10 forwards healthy again.
"I think we’ll end up playing a little bit bigger down the stretch than the four guards," Musselman said. "That happened out of necessity. I think we played well in some games. But certainly we went with a little bit bigger lineup when we made that run late game the other night.
"We’ll try to get T.B. more involved in the next few games. So I think we’ll have a little bit more of a traditional look. It doesn’t mean based on the way a game is going, or the matchups, that we won’t go back to four guards. But I do think, at least right now today, we would plan on having a little bit more of a traditional look doing the course of a game."
Arkansas and Kentucky are set for a 12:30 p.m. tipoff inside Rupp Arena on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on CBS.
