UCLA's Jaylen Clark to miss rest of season with Achilles injury
The UCLA Bruins finished the regular season strong on Saturday, beating Arizona at Pauley Pavilion to finish the Pac-12 schedule four games ahead of the field. But if the Bruins hope to ride that momentum into the NCAA Tournament, in which they could land a No. 1 seed, they'll have to do it without one of their key players in guard Jaylen Clark.
Clark left the game against Arizona in the second half, returning wearing a walking boot on his right foot. He had an MRI on Sunday and the results brought bad news — Clark is done for the season with an Achilles injury.
Clark, a 6-foot-5 junior from Riverside, California, started 29 games this season. He was a key all-around contributor for the Bruins, averaging 13 points, six rebounds and two assists per game. He was also UCLA's best perimeter defender, leading the team with 2.6 steals per game. Last week he was named a finalist for the Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year award.
UCLA will return to the court Thursday in the team's opening game of the Pac-12 tournament. The Bruins will play the winner of Wednesday's Washington-Colorado matchup.
Read more:
- 2023 NCAA Conference Tournament Tracker: Schedule, automatic bids
- 2023 NCAA Tournament Projections: UCLA grabs a 1-seed; Purdue drops
- Purdue's win over Illinois invites more questions than answers
- Five burning questions as college basketball enters March
- Which struggling blue bloods presents betting value for March Madness title run?
