Liam McNeeley leaves UConn win at DePaul with right ankle injury

CHICAGO (AP) — UConn freshman Liam McNeeley will have an MRI on Thursday on his injured right ankle.

McNeeley got hurt in the second half of the Huskies’ 81-68 victory at DePaul on Wednesday. The 6-foot-7 forward went down after he collided with DePaul guard Layden Blocker while going for the ball on a deflected pass.

“Hopefully it’s just a sprain,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “We don’t know much.”

McNeeley had to be helped off the floor. He finished with nine points and six rebounds in almost 25 1/2 minutes of playing time.

UConn hosts Providence on Sunday and then has road games against Villanova and Georgetown.

The Blue Demons rallied after McNeeley’s injury, but the Huskies got big 3-pointers from Alex Karaban and Solo Ball to help close it out.

“Little bit of a mishap, but it’s just the next man up mentality,” Ball said of McNeeley’s departure. “We know all the work that we put in in practice that everyone is prepared. We make sure that the next man up is always ready.”

McNeeley was a highly touted recruit for UConn coming out of Texas. He is averaging 13.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 14 games for the two-time defending national champions.

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