NCAA News Wire

Kansas C Embiid out with back injury

Updated 1 year ago on October 15, 2021

1 min read

Alan Draper

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Kansas freshman center Joel Embiid will sit out the team’s final two regular-season games because of a back injury.

The No. 8 Jayhawks (22-7, 13-3 Big 12) play Texas Tech on Wednesday and are at West Virginia on Saturday. Kansas already won the regular-season Big 12 title.

“I think he could return for the Big 12 tournament,” coach Bill Self told ESPN.com on Monday. “But it shouldn’t impact the NCAA tournament.”

Embiid missed Kansas’ win over TCU on Feb. 15 after injuring his back. After playing the next three games, he re-injured it in the second half of Saturday’s loss at Oklahoma State.

Embiid, a 7-footer, is averaging 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. He could be the top pick in the NBA draft if he leaves school early.

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