Louisville’s Dieng to Play Against Kentucky (UPDATED)

Louisville big man Gorgui Dieng will play in Saturday’s nationally televised game against Kentucky.

“100 percent,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino told CBSSports.com on Wednesday night.

Dieng practiced Wednesday after being out since Nov. 23 with a broken left wrist suffered against Missouri.

“He’s in great shape. His defensive timing is off, but he looks good offensively,” Pitino told CBSSports.com.

Obviously, having the 6-foot-11 junior in the lineup against freshmen bigs Nerlens Noel and Willie-Cauley Stein will be a plus.

Dieng is averaging 8.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. He set a single-season school record with 128 blocks as a sophomore to lead the Big East.

Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.