Michael Porter Jr. will not play in Missouri's home finale, the school announced Saturday morning. Missouri hosts Arkansas at 6 p.m. ET.
Porter has missed all but two minutes of this season after injuring his back in the Tigers' opener in early November. He was recently medically cleared to return to play, but Porter and the team are easing him back into the process. He projects as a top-10 NBA pick in the upcoming draft.
"After two more practices since coming home from Nashville, the coaching staff and I feel that it is in the best interest of the team and myself to not play tonight," Porter said in a statement. "Coming back from three months without practicing has been a challenge, but it is a challenge that I am taking on every day. The plan is to keep working, with an eye on potentially playing at the SEC Tournament and helping our squad be successful in the postseason. I'm excited to continue my role of bringing energy on the bench for our Senior Night against Arkansas, as it is a special night for Brett [Rau], Jordan [Barnett] and Kassius [Robertson]."
If, or when, Porter returns to Missouri's lineup, it would not only inject a lot of hope for that team but it also could turn into one of the bigger storylines in the sport in March. Porter is a promising talent and potential postseason-changing player.
Missouri is 19-11 and a bubble team that is comfortably in the field ahead of Saturday's huge slate of games. The Tigers sit on the 9 line in our latest Bracketology forecast.
