Bill Self was downright curious to see what Kansas would look like in the Big 12 Tournament when injuries to Hunter Dickinson and fellow All-American candidate Kevin McCullar Jr. ruled them out for the games in Kansas City.
Turned out to be game — singular — because the undersized, depth-challenged Jayhawks were blown out by 20 by Cincinnati before they could even unpack their bags. And as curious as Self might have been last week, the game underscored just how little he wants to put a team on the floor without Dickinson and McCullar for the NCAA Tournament this week.
The Jayhawks aren’t the only team fretting their health, though. Whether it’s top-seeded teams such as Purdue and Houston or bubble teams such as Colorado and Northwestern, many of their NCAA tourney hopes could rest with the training room.
•••
NO. 1 SEED SITUATIONS
Houston lost Terrance Arceneaux to a torn Achilles tendon in December, Ramon Walker Jr. to a torn meniscus in February and Joseph Tugler to a broken bone in his foot a week later. So, the Cougars’ front line already was thin even before J’Wan Roberts hurt his right leg in their Big 12 semifinal win over Texas Tech.
•••
MARQUETTE’S MISERY
Tyler Kolek has missed six straight games for Marquette, seeded second in the South Region, since the All-American guard hurt his oblique against Providence on Feb. 28. That includes all three games the Golden Eagles played in the Big East tourney.
•••
BIG 12 BUMMING
Texas Tech, seeded sixth in the South, has been without 7-foot center Warren Washington for a month because of a foot injury, while Darrion Williams hurt his ankle in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tourney against BYU. Williams tried warming before the semifinals but did not play in the lopsided loss to Houston.
Meanwhile, BYU forward Aly Khalifa hurt his ankle in the second half of its loss to the Red Raiders. The Cougars, seeded sixth in the East, already had been without Mark Adams Jr. and Dawson Baker for most of the season.