With a minute remaining against Alabama on Saturday, sophomore guard Antonio Blakeney fell to the floor after coming down off of a jump shot in a weird fashion on his right ankle.
Blakeney, laid on the floor in pain, but was able to walk off the floor following the game.
After suffering the apparent ankle injury, Blakeney will not practice on Monday and his status remains uncertain until Tuesday afternoon, LSU coach Johnny Jones said.
“Antonio [Blakeney] won’t practice today,” Jones said. “He’ll be re-evaluated this evening and tomorrow. We won’t know about his availability until tomorrow.”
The Tigers travel to Auburn (11-6, 1-4 Southeastern Conference) on Wednesday for a game at 7:30 PM on the SEC Network.
Blakeney, LSU’s leading scorer, is averaging 17.1 points and five rebounds per game in 16 games. He returned to LSU this season after a freshman year of averaging 12.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
While it’s yet to be confirmed if Blakeney will miss any games or playing time, Jones said freshman guard Kieran Hayward and sophomore guard Brandon Sampson will have step up and fill Blakeney’s role if needed.
“Guys have to a great job of sharing the basketball and making sure that one person doesn’t go out there and think they have to get his (Blakeney) 17 or 18 points,” Jones said. “Guys like Kieran Hayward, who probably hasn’t played as many minutes as we would have liked, has a great opportunity if that’s the case. Brandon Sampson playing extensive minutes would also provide him an opportunity to get some things done on the floor.”
Sampson, who was a starter earlier in the season, is averaging 10.9 points per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the field. Hayward has averaged ten minutes per game this season.
Hayward scored a career-high eight points against Mississippi State and shot 2-of-2 from three, grabbing three steals.