March 21, 2005

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Junior forward Curtis Sumpter (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin H.S.) suffered a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Sunday's win over Florida and will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. An MRI taken this afternoon at Main Line Imaging revealed the tear. Surgery to repair the injury will take place in several weeks, according to Villanova team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Rob Good, who conducted today's examination.

Sumpter fell to the floor under the basket midway through the first half of the Wildcats' 76-65 victory over the Gators in Nashville on Sunday. He was helped from the court and briefly returned to action before falling to the floor again with just over eight minutes left in the first half. Sumpter then watched the balance of the game from the sidelines. He ended the game with eight points and five rebounds in 10 minutes of action. The native of Brooklyn, N.Y. is Villanova's second leading scorer (15.3 ppg) and its leading rebounder (7.2 rpg). He was selected second team All-Big East earlier this month.

In January, Sumpter suffered a sprained right knee that caused him to miss two games. He has worn a brace around that knee since returning against Georgetown on Jan. 15.

"This is unfortunate for Curt," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "I feel for him. He is such a warrior and has played through a lot to get to this point. The good news for Curt is that he will recover and be 100 percent by the time next season rolls around. Curt is very mature and he looks forward to lending his leadership skills to our team through the rest of the NCAA Tournament."