Louisville C Malik Williams out for Western Kentucky game

If Louisville is able to win at Western Kentucky Saturday afternoon, it will have done so without the services of its best player.

Senior center Malik Williams will miss the game in Bowling Green, a school spokesman told Matt McGavic of Louisville Report. The spokesman did not specify a reason for Williams’ absence, but a source confirms to Card Chronicle that he is currently in Covid protocol. Williams did not make the trip to Bowling Green with the rest of the team.

Williams enters the weekend nearly averaging a double-double at 13.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. The three-time U of L captain has been playing some of the best basketball of his career in recent weeks, posting two double-doubles in Louisville’s last four games, in scoring in double figures in each of those contests.

Obviously, a tall task for the Cards just got even taller, but perhaps more importantly, this is yet another instance of Malik hitting some sort of roadblock right as he’s playing some of the best basketball of his career. It seems to be a yearly occurrence at this point, and it sucks.

Here’s hoping U of L can manage without him for one game, and that Malik is able to get back on the court and back in the flow as soon as possible.