UCLA guard Jaylen Clark has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a right achilles injury, according to multiple sources.
Head coach Mick Cronin previously said that Clark would miss the Pac-12 tournament, citing the lower leg injury he sustained in the Bruins’ 82-73 win over Arizona on Saturday night (March 4) in the regular-season finale. Clark exited the game in the second half when he landed awkwardly after a layup, returning to the bench later in the game with crutches and a boot on his right foot.
BREAKING: UCLA’s Jaylen Clark is out for the rest of the season with an Achilles injury, source told @Stadium.
Brutal blow to the Bruins hopes of going deep in the NCAA tourney.
Clark is arguably the best defender in the country, also emerged as a solid third scoring option.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 8, 2023
The No. 2 Bruins (27-4, 18-2 Pac-12) will now be without their second-leading scorer and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, who is averaging 13 points, six rebounds and 2.6 steals a game. A junior out of Riverside, CA, Clark inherited a starting role for the first time in his college career this season and is a big part of a UCLA team with national title aspirations.
Clark was also named to the late-season watch list for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, as his 2.6 steals per game is good for fifth in the nation. Expect UCLA to move senior David Singleton into the starting lineup to replace Clark, as he started nine games earlier this season when Amari Bailey was out injured and he played 31 minutes against Arizona after Clark’s departure.
UCLA currently sits on the No. 1 line for the NCAA Tournament according to Joe Lunardi’s latest projections, but pending a poor performance in the conference tournament that could change once Selection Sunday comes around in a few days. The selection committee has had instances where they lowered a team’s ranking because of a late-season injury, so time will tell if that is the case with UCLA.
The Bruins open the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday (March 9) against Colorado.
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