Arkansas basketball has a massive opportunity on the horizon against undefeated and nationally-ranked Oklahoma this weekend, but the status of star forward Trevon Brazile remains uncertain in the buildup.
Brazile hobbled off the floor in the final minutes of Monday’s 97-83 home victory against Furman with an ankle sprain. Head coach Eric Musselman said after the game that much more would be known over the next 24 hours or so.
Musselman met with media for a press conference on Wednesday, and although there is no change to his longterm prognosis, the latest update did not provide the optimism many hoped in regards to Brazile’s progress ahead of the Crimson & Cardinal Classic on Saturday.
“Severe sprain,” Musselman said. “Will not participate in anything we do today. There’s a possibility of him going on an underwater treadmill to walk tomorrow. So, not a glowing report. It wasn’t something that he just woke up the next day and felt fine. So, we still have some more days before we play, but unable to shoot around or anything today.”
Brazile scored 13 points on another pair of three-pointers with four rebounds and two blocked shots in 28 minutes against Furman. The redshirt sophomore out of Springfield (Mo.) was coming off a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double against Duke that earned him SEC Player of the Week Honors.
On the season, Brazile is averaging 11.3 points on an efficient 50 percent shooting from the field, 46 percent from beyond the arc and 75 percent at the charity strips to go along with a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game and 17 total blocked shots. He has logged three double-doubles through nine games on the season.
The Arkansas Razorbacks (6-3) will head to Tulsa (Okla.) on Saturday to take on the Oklahoma Sooners (8-0) inside the BOK Center in the third installment of the annual Crimson & Cardinal Classic. Tip is set for 3 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on ESPN2.
