Mark Pope gave updates on Jaland Lowe and Mo Dioubate's status ahead of Gonzaga

Mo Dioubate will remain out, but Lowe may give it a shot in Nashville.

Nov 21, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Jaland Lowe celebrates from the bench during the first half against the Loyola (MD) Greyhounds at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky has been without its point guard since their game against Eastern Illinois on Nov. 14., whenever he re-injured his shoulder in practice the day before. The since then, Kentucky has suffered two more losses against quality teams, one of those being a full-on embarrassing performance against Michigan State, as well as a collapse down the stretch against North Carolina. On top of that, Kentucky's offense in particular hasn't look the same since Lowe was on the floor.

Mark Pope spoke with media on Thursday, where he discussed an update on Lowe, and Mo Dioubate's status. As for Dioubate, he will remain out with a "high-ankle sprain," adding that "there's a chance maybe next week. ...These things sometimes can be weeks and weeks and weeks, so he’s doing everything he can to get back." The forward has been out since the Michigan State game, and Kentucky fans should hope that this injury doesn't actually last for "weeks and weeks." As for Lowe, he could make his return on Friday, but it's all up to practice.

"He’s been a little bit on the practice floor, he’s gonna try and practice a little bit today. He did some live stuff yesterday, so he’s kind of working his way back in and we’ll see how that goes," Pope said. "I don’t know (about Gonzaga), we’ll see, don’t know. I’m not sure.”

It's really good to see Lowe continuing to make significant progress, and now, it looks like he is just a good put-together practice away from making his very highly-anticipated return. Since he has been out, Kentucky's offense has not had any real flow to it's offense, as in both the Michigan State and North Carolina games, the offense looked totally stagnant, with minimal movement and passing. Getting Lowe back would hopefully patch that up, but it may take a little time once he's back to get the flow going again. As for Dioubate, Kentucky's rebound numbers have taken a hit, and it was clear in their past two games, but especially against the Tarheels. Kentucky allowed a season-high 22 second-chance points as well as a season-high 20 offensive rebounds. Dioubate can help Kentucky in that department.

Getting Lowe back would be MASSIVE for this Kentucky team, one that has mostly struggled on the offensive end in many, many areas, and their lead guard can help try and fix those problems once he returns, which looks to be as soon as Friday in Nashville. It's a must-win for the Wildcats who are still in search of their first top 25 win this season, and getting their point guard back is a good step in making improvements.