Arizona G Wise out at least four weeks

Feb 7, 2008 - 1:51 AM TUCSON, Arizona (Ticker) -- Arizona guard Nic Wise underwent knee surgery and will be sidelined a minimum of four weeks, the school announced on Wednesday.

The surgery was required after the sophomore guard discovered he had a torn meniscus in his left knee following an MRI on Wednesday morning, the Tucson Citizen reported.

"It's a tough break for Nic," Arizona coach Kevin O'Neill said. "He was playing very well for us. We hope to get him healthy as quickly as possible. Someone is going to have to step up and perform in his absence."

Originally expected to be sidelined three weeks, Wise could be out as many as six.

The fifth-leading scorer for the Wildcats at 8.3 points, Wise injured the knee prior to Thursday's win over Southern California. But he played 36 minutes in that game and 32 minutes at UCLA on Saturday.

Wise had raised his play since the start of Pac-10 Conference play, scoring 11.8 points while shooting 57 percent on 3-pointers (17-of-30). He also leads the league with 1.86 steals.

According to the Citizen, O'Neill will turn to senior Daniel Dillon and freshman Zane Johnson to pick up Wise's minutes.

Arizona (15-7) will look to rebound from a lopsided loss at UCLA when it hosts in-state rival Arizona State on Sunday.