Kevon Looney Is A Game Time Decision Vs Arizona In The Pac-12 Semi-Finals
Last night in UCLA‘s 96-70 win over USC, freshman phenom Kevon Looney left the game in the first half after sustaining a “facial injury”. The injury was significant enough that it kept him out of the remainder of the game and sent to a nearby hospital for evaluation. Speculation on the injury went from just needing stitches to concussion to facial fracture, yet no information has officially been released.
UCLA's Kevon Looney (facial injury) will be a game time decision for tonight's game against Arizona, Steve Alford told @CBSSports.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 13, 2015
Apparently Looney was taken to a nearby hospital to get a CT scan on his face.
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) March 12, 2015
Though we will have to see if Looney is able to play in the Pac-12 Tournament Semi-finals, this is both good and bad news. If Looney is fine, then waiting until the last minute to disclose that information disallows Arizona enough time to game plan both for and against it. Yet if Looney did suffer an injury severe enough to keep him out of the biggest game of the season for UCLA, then that does not bode well for the Bruins.
March 12, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA Bruins forward Kevon Looney (5) sits on the bench against the Southern California Trojans during the first half in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Conference tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
In their only meeting of the year, UCLA had Arizona on the run, but could not finish them off as the Wildcats won 57-47. That included Looney’s 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. On the season, the freshman out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin has been averaging 12.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in nearly 31 minutes of play. Needless to say, if Looney does not make it on the court tonight, UCLA is most likely going to have a bad time.
Though the other option in the front court, Tony Parker, had 12 points last night against USC, he only grabbed two rebounds and was really muscled around by the Trojans. If he is the only option, you can more than likely expect Arizona to completely cut Parker out of this game with their collection of big men.
Still, as it is a game time decision, we do not know what will happen, so let us hope that Looney merely has a flesh wound and is good to go.