One look at Tuesday’s box score raised a few eyebrows. Sure, Kentucky’s defense struggled again and some of the plus-minus numbers were ugly, Mo Dioubate (-15) and Otega Oweh (-16) being the most glaring. But perhaps the most surprising number was the zero next to Trent Noah’s name.
Noah didn’t play a single minute. The Mountain Mamba was caged all night long.
That’s shocking for a player who started both exhibition games and the season opener before suffering an ankle injury in the first half against Nicholls State. He attempted to return that night, but Mark Pope held him out and later joked Noah was a “liar” because he never admits when he’s hurt.
After the game, Noah was seen wearing a walking boot, but Pope told reporters before the Louisville matchup that Noah had “practiced fully” and was “good to go.”
What is going on with Trent Noah?
So why didn’t he play at all versus Louisville? That seems to be a question that needs to be asked and answered. Going from starter to zero minutes is pretty crazy.
No explanation was given postgame. If it’s still injury-related, the staff hasn’t said. If it’s performance-related, it’s confusing how a player could go from opening-game starter to not seeing the floor at all in two weeks. Especially when he only played 9 minutes.
You could say it was a bad matchup for him defensively, but it was a bad matchup for all of them. And Noah may have even grabbed a couple big rebounds that Louisville got to late in the game.
One way or another, Pope will have to address it before Friday’s matchup with Eastern Illinois, because Noah’s absence has become one of the strangest early-season storylines in Lexington.
Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion