We are less than 36 hours away from the National Championship, and on Sunday, UConn head coach Dan Hurley gave some major news regarding one of his stars.
Huskies’ guard Solo Ball has a foot injury and will not practice Sunday as UConn prepares to face Michigan in the men’s NCAA Tournament Championship on Monday night.
Hurley told reporters in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon that Ball has “some type of a foot sprain” and is in a walking boot. He is currently unable to provide an update on if Ball will play in the title game.
“Health-wise, you’ll see how Silas kind of comes out of that one last night, and then just Solo, you’ll see him, he’s in a boot, took some type of a foot sprain, so (he) won’t participate in anything today and see how he’s feeling tomorrow,” Hurley said. “So, you’ll see the boot anyway, so I might as well tell you the boot is coming.”
Ball told reporters he suffered the injury in the first half of Saturday’s Final Four win over Illinois when he got tangled with teammate Tarris Reed Jr. on a screen. However, he continued to play the rest of the game, running on adrenaline.
“I got through it with adrenaline, but it happened in the first half,” Ball told reporters on Sunday. “I think my foot got caught with (Tarris Reed Jr.) with the screen, and it kind of just happened. But I mean, I’m feeling alright right now. I’m just leaving it up to the medical staff and I’m doing everything I can to prepare for tomorrow.”
Ball is the Huskies’ third-leading scorer this season, averaging 12.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while starting all 38 games for UConn. He was a second-team All Big East selection and just scored 13 points in the 71-62 win over the Illini, shooting 3-of-7 from three-point range.
If Ball is unable to play Monday, senior guard Malachi Smith and junior wing Jayden Ross figure to see increased playing time for the Huskies.
The National Championship Game between Michigan and UConn will be played on Monday night at 8:50 p.m. ET. The game will air live on TBS, truTV and HBO Max.
