Injuries have been unavoidable for Kentucky throughout Mark Pope’s tenure. On Monday night, we learned that Jaland Lowe is undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. The Cats will be missing more than a point guard in their next SEC road trip.

Jayden Quaintaince is listed as “out” on the SEC Availability Report ahead of Wednesday night’s matchup against LSU. It’s the second straight game the Kentucky center has missed as he deals with swelling in his knee that was surgically repaired this offseason.

“It’s going to be a little start or stop as we go. That’s just the process of coming back from something like this,” Mark Pope said recently.

Quaintance made his debut in December’s CBS Sports Classic. The projected lottery pick tallied 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks in the win over St. John’s. He played double-digit minutes in the first two games of SEC play before spending the Mississippi State game on the sideline.

New Kentucky Starting Lineup

Mark Pope is reshuffling the deck, and he’s rolling out a lineup that should create more space in the middle of the floor. Jack Pilgrim reports that Kam Williams and Andrija Jelavic will be in the starting lineup at LSU.

Williams got hot from three-point land right before SEC play began, knocking down 8-10 three-pointers against Bellarmine. The last time we saw him on the floor, he logged a season-high 30 minutes, tallying 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Jelavic logged double-digit minutes against Mississippi State, the most he’s seen the floor in more than a month, and Pope is rewarding his performance with an even bigger opportunity.

Injury for LSU

Kentucky is not the only one dealing with injuries. Dedan Thomas has been LSU’s best player since he transferred from UNLV. Not only is he the Tigers’ leading scorer — averaging 16.2 points per game — he is the straw that stirs LSU’s drink on offense. The point guard leads the SEC with 7.2 assists per game.

Thomas re-aggravated a previous lower leg injury during practice around New Year’s and has not yet appeared in an SEC game. LSU lost all three contests without Thomas. Thomas is listed as “doubtful” on Tuesday before the Tigers host Kentucky at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Kentucky vs. LSU: How to Watch, Listen

Tipoff: 7:00 p.m. ET

TV: SEC Network (Dave Neal, Rodney Terry)

Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)

AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP

FM: 98.1 WBUL

Online: iHeart Radio

Sirius XM: 383

You can also follow along on the KSR LIVE BLOG, which will start a few hours before tipoff, and join the conversation on KSBoard.