The BYU Cougars entering Allen Fieldhouse to square off with the Kansas Jayhawks has been the biggest story of college basketball this week. While much of the talk after KU’s 90-82 win will revolve around Darryn Peterson and his lack of minutes in the 2nd half, there was a different under-the-radar injury that could impact the Jayhawks bench rotation moving forward.
This game was being hyped up primarily thanks to it being the College Gameday location and because of Peterson and AJ Dybansta facing off with each other as the projected top two picks in the upcoming NBA draft. KU’s freshman guard was dearly missed in the 2nd half as BYU almost made a comeback, but KU’s sophomore guard, Elmarko Jackson, was missed as well.
After Jackson got his legs tangled up with BYU’s Dybansta in the first half, he was seen with a sizable brace on his left knee. Additionally, after that entanglement, he never checked back into the game. With Peterson and Jackson both essentially not being available during the 2nd half, Kansas was down to a 5-man rotation.
With Jackson’s injured knee and Peterson riding the bench for what could be a variety of reasons, Jayhawks' Jamari McDowell saw 26 minutes, and several KU starters played the entire 2nd half of the game. The lone other Jayhawk to see minutes off the bench other than McDowell was Jayden Dawson, who saw 4 total minutes in the contest.
What does this injury to Jackson mean for Kansas’ bench rotation in the upcoming game against Texas Tech?
Jayden Dawson could have a massive opportunity incoming at Texas Tech
The extent of Jackson’s injury is yet to be stated, but with him never returning to the BYU game and the knee brace that was seen, his availability for Texas Tech is questionable at best. The other big question mark is if Peterson will be able to suit up, considering he too did not return to the game after a very brief stint in the 2nd half.
Minutes for McDowell will certainly be there, either as a starter if Peterson is out, or as the first man off the bench if Peterson plays but Jackson is ruled out. In either scenario, the player that benefits most from this situation is Jayden Dawson, the senior transfer from Loyola Chicago. Dawson has not found his footing in a crowded KU backcourt this year, but now is the time.
After Dawson played double-digit minutes in all of the first 5 games of the season for the Jayhawks, he has played double-digit minutes in just 3 of KU’s last 16 games. Perhaps more minutes in competitive Big 12 games will help him find his groove, as he is shooting a mere 31.7% from the field and 25.8% from beyond the arc this season.
Jackson will also be sorely missed if he cannot return against TTU on Monday. He had just been coming off of one of his best games of the season against Kansas State, where he scored 19 points on very efficient shooting and pulled down 5 rebounds. He has been inconsistent at times, but has provided a great spark off the bench many times this year.
The hope is that Dawson can take on the next-man-up mentality if Jackson does indeed need a night off on Monday. Rock Chalk!
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