Memphis guard Keonte Kennedy punched a wall following the team’s recent loss to Houston and broke his hand, the program revealed Thursday.
Kennedy underwent surgery and will miss the rest of the Tigers’ regular season.
Houston, then No. 2 in the country and now the No. 1 overall team in the AP Top 25 poll, hung on to beat visiting Memphis 72-64 on Sunday. The Tigers (20-7, 10-4 American Athletic Conference) never led but drew within five points with 2:27 to play.
Kennedy, a starter and redshirt senior, finished with just two points on 1-of-5 shooting, plus two rebounds and four steals.
“Following the Tigers’ game in Houston, Kennedy struck a wall out of frustration and broke his hand,” Memphis said in a statement Thursday. “The program is hopeful he will return in the postseason.”
Despite being swept by Houston in the season series, Memphis is in the running for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers could also qualify by winning the AAC tournament.
Kennedy is Memphis’ third-leading scorer at 9.2 points per game behind Kendric Davis (21.3 ppg) and DeAndre Williams (17.3). Kennedy adds 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game across 25 games (12 starts).
Kennedy averaged 14.1 points per game for UTEP last season and has career averages of 8.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 steals over 90 games (52 starts) with Xavier, UTEP and Memphis.
The Tigers visit Wichita State on Thursday night.
–Field Level Media
