Kansas hopes to have Udoka Azubuike available Saturday
WICHITA, Kan. -- Kansas coach Bill Self said Thursday that he hopes to have center Udoka Azubuike available Saturday.
Azubuike played just three minutes in the Jayhawks' 76-60 win over Penn in the first round of the NCAA tournament. He missed the three games in the Big 12 tournament with a left knee injury.
"We only had five to six minutes with Dok," Self said after the game. "That's the max we could have. So using three the first half. If you watched him, he didn't move very well. And we would have put him in the second if we would have needed to, but foul situations didn't dictate that.
"So we decided to go ahead, and hopefully we can get him at 80 percent, 85 percent tomorrow for full practice, and then have him available to us on Saturday."
Mitch Lightfoot played an extended role in Azubuike's absence, finishing with nine points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Silvio De Sousa struggled on Thursday after going for 16 points and 10 rebounds in the Big 12 title game, playing just 10 minutes against Penn.
Azubuike, a 7-foot sophomore, is averaging 13.7 points and 7.1 rebounds this season. He's shooting 77.4 percent from the field.
Kansas will play Seton Hall in the second round following the Pirates' 94-83 win over NC State.
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