Kansas basketball steamrolled Oklahoma State 83-54 last night to move to 5-3 in conference play, but the Jayhawks were without leading scorer and All-American candidate Kevin McCullar.
He is having a breakout year in his final year of eligibility, averaging 19.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.7 assists on the season. But he had been mired in a midseason shooting slump and often moved gingerly on the court.
While KU still won the game, it was concerning to see McCullar added to the injury report considering who the Jayhawks play next. No. 4 Houston is coming into Lawrence this weekend with hopes to give Kansas its first home loss of the season.
Fortunately, it seems that the former Texas Tech Red Raider should be good to go against the Cougars. Here is what Bill Self had to say about his injury, which he mentioned was a bone bruise.
“I think that if it was the end of the season, I think he would have played. But I didn’t think it was the right thing to do to play him, and he didn’t either. So it was good that he was able to rest it and we were able to get by with it."
"I think he’ll do whatever he has to do treatment wise to make sure that he does play (Saturday)," Self continued. "And structurally we don’t think there’s any issues. It’s a bone bruise.”
McCullar had played 32+ minutes in all but two contests prior to his absence, so there might have been some fatigue involved in the reasoning for his absence. He would be needed much more versus a top-five squad than the worst team in the conference.
Therefore, Jayhawk fans can chalk up him missing the game to needing extra rest. Until further notice, we should expect him to lace up his sneakers this weekend when Kansas basketball looks for another marquee win on its resume.