Udoka Azubuike Out For Big 12 Tournament

In a statement released by Bill Self today, Kansas announced Udoka Azubuike will be out for the Big 12 tournament with a grade 1 MCL Sprain.

Azubuike has dominated while on the floor for the Jayhawks this year, and currently leads the nation in effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage.

This should open up a lot of minutes for Silvio de Sousa for KU’s one Big 12 Tournament game, and if he continues his recent improvements, perhaps it can give the Jayhawks a bit of a boost going into the NCAA tournament. Regardless, however, they won’t be going far without the services of possibly their best player.

For the season, Kansas scored about 12 more points per 100 possessions with Azubuike on the floor and allowed around 3 fewer points per 100 possessions with him on the floor.

A Grade 1 MCL Sprain takes roughly a few days to two weeks to heal according to the less than reputable websites I was able to find by Googling.

It should be noted that everyone heals differently; that said, Perry Ellis suffered a similar injury in 2015 and returned 9 days later for limited minutes in the Big 12 Tournament (though clearly not at full strength). Although his production wasn’t horrible, Perry never really looked comfortable in the NCAA Tournament in Omaha, and KU bowed out to Wichita State in the second round. Steph Curry also had a similar injury in 2016, returning after 15 days, but then couldn’t get past Kevin Love for a potential game-winning shot in Game 7 of the Finals.