Even as the Hawaii men’s basketball team struggled through its first seven games of Big West play, the Rainbow Warriors had been blessed with an uncommonly healthy 2023-24 season to that point.

That changed leading up to UH’s home game Thursday night against UC Santa Barbara. Backup center Mor Seck will miss the rest of the season with a left ACL injury, UH announced about 45 minutes prior to the game against UCSB.

Spectrum News reported Thursday morning that Seck, according to two people familiar with the situation, went down with an apparent knee injury at a recent practice.

Seck, a 7-foot-1 sophomore from Senegal, is averaging 4.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 12.8 minutes per game. He has converted 25 of 41 field-goal attempts (61%) this year and his 20 total blocks leads the team by a wide margin.

He became a fast fan favorite upon his arrival from the Prolific Prep (Calif.) Academy in 2022-23 and broke out with 14 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots in his first start against UC Irvine last Feb. 25.

With Seck, a raw but active paint presence, out of action for the remaining 13 games of the regular season, UH could play sophomore Harry Rouhliadeff behind senior starter Bernardo da Silva. The 6-9 Rouhliadeff has primarily played behind Justin McKoy at power forward but has filled in at center in emergencies.

UH (10-9, 2-5 Big West) is in a tenuous position, tied for eighth place. UCSB (11-7, 4-4), the BWC coaches’ preseason pick to win the league, features reigning Big West Player of the Year Ajay Mitchell but, like UH, has so far struggled to live up to its preseason billing.

UPDATE: UH coach Eran Ganot told Spectrum News Thursday afternoon that he would decline comment until he got more information on Seck's status.

UPDATE: Story has been updated with Hawaii basketball's announcement that Seck will miss the rest of the season.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.