UConn beat Wagner 83-41 and the only number anyone should be chewing on is seven. That is how many minutes Nik Khamenia played before he left the floor for good.
He used them well: 11 points, 3-for-3 from three, in a game he finished watching from the locker room. Then he went down after a rebounding battle, pointed at his foot when the trainer came out, and walked off with UConn’s medical staff.
The Associated Press called it a lower-body injury on Monday night. On Thursday, UConn announced Khamenia will have surgery on his left foot and be reevaluated in 6-8 weeks.
NEWS: Nik Khamenia will have surgery on his left foot and will be reevaluated in 6-8 weeks, UConn announced 👀 pic.twitter.com/Xnh2I575yG
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) November 12, 2026
The release did not say what was broken or damaged, and it said nothing about a return this season. Phil Tortora flagged exactly that on X and told fans not to assume he comes back. Fair warning. Six to eight weeks gets you a reevaluation and no promise past it.
So the depth question that was supposed to be a November luxury problem is now a real one. Rob Dauster called losing Khamenia a major blow on X, if not the worst case scenario, for a stretch that includes Duke, Kansas, Illinois and Virginia, and said the Ross brothers have to step up.
The good news is that UConn’s box score already shows a team that can spread it around. Silas Demary Jr. had 18 points and a career-high six steals. Jayden Ross had 12, Na’jai Hines had 10 points and eight rebounds, and Braylon Mullins added 10. Wagner had 17 first-half turnovers, and UConn led 44-18 at the break.
Wagner is also where Dan Hurley got his first head coaching job. He went 38-23 in two seasons there. Now he gets to find out who in his rotation can cover for a 6-foot-8 forward who made all three of his threes in seven minutes.
Hurley has a lot of arms to choose from. He just lost the one that was hot.
