Senior point guard J.P. Blevins has broken his right wrist and will be out of action for four to six weeks, Kentucky coach Tubby Smith announced Wednesday.

        Blevins suffered the injury during a lay-up attempt in the first half against Indiana on Saturday. X-rays performed Wednesday at the University of Kentucky Hospital confirmed the fracture.

        “This is just a terrible injury for J.P. There's no one on this team that's worked as hard as he did getting ready for the season and now he's been dealt a second significant injury,” Smith said. “At this point, we just hope he can recover quickly, because we'll need his help for our stretch run.”

        Blevins had played in seven of the nine games this season with three starts. He averaged 2.7 points and 1.4 assists a game. He missed the first two games of the season in the NABC Classic with a severely sprained right ankle that he injured during the Athletes in Action exhibition game Nov.11.

        • Tickets remain for the Tulane game to be played at Louisville's Freedom Hall at 8p.m. Wednesday. The tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster (800-487-1212) or the Freedom Hall box office (502-367-5144 or 800-231-8085).

        The seats are $22 each and can be charged with a Visa or MasterCard.

        • Bob Wiggins is not like every UK fan, but his story explains the Kentucky basketball phenomenon. Wiggins had seen 615 consecutive Kentucky games (from 1977 until he had a heart attack before the 1996 Great Alaska Shootout). He missed four games but has been there for the last 186.

        His homecourt streak remains intact. He has not missed a game in 41 years (581 games). The Wildcats are 517-64 in that time.

        According to Wiggins' count, the last game of 2001 — Saturday vs. Louisville at Rupp Arena — will be UK game No.2,001 for him. Maybe, he will even have the heart to cheer for former UK coach Rick Pitino, now with the Cardinals. If he does, he might not have much company.

        Since Pitino was hired at UofL, the Bluegrass State has been in a tizzy. Saturday has been circled in red and blue. Want a ticket in the lower arena? It'll cost you about $700. After being relegated to ESPN and ESPN2 the past few seasons (mainly because of the Cardinals' decline), Saturday's game will be televised regionally on CBS.

        UK's Tubby Smith has a 117-35 record coaching the Wildcats. But he's 0-5 in his coaching career against Pitino. Louisville won nine of its first 10 games this season, mimicking the overachieving effort of Pitino's first team at Kentucky and making Cardinals fans smug with the knowledge that Pitino is now “their” coach.

        “After the first time the game is played, it'll get back to Louisville against Kentucky,” Arizona coach Lute Olson said, “as opposed to Kentucky against Rick.”

Sports Stories

UK's Blevins out 4-6 weeks Louisville 94, Eastern Ky. 77 Issel steps aside in Denver Duncan hangs 53 in loss to Mavs Hurricanes, Leafs slug it out Coming up this week

Second chance yields first place
SULLIVAN: Bengals better? Just barely
Akili Smith has surgery on hamstring
Bettis questionable for Bengals game
Reinard Wilson finally making impact
Bengals notebook: Kitna, Johnson patch things up
NFL notebook: Carter takes Moss' words personally
Record-breaking Bonds AP's Male Athlete of Year
Baseball notebook: Mets trying for Vaughn, Gonzalez
Toledo star at home in dome
Ohio: Hite leads Winton in rally
Kentucky: Scott boys blast Estill Co. 80-49
Area football players catch recruiters' eyes