Bill Self provides the latest update on Kevin McCullar; Talks Houston

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Published Feb 1, 2024

Bill Self provides the latest update on Kevin McCullar; Talks Houston

Shay Wildeboor • JayhawkSlant

Editor

@JayhawkSlant

Heading into Tuesday night's Big 12 contest between No. 8 Kansas and Oklahoma State, Kevin McCullar, Jr., led the Jayhawks with a scoring average of 19.8 points per game. Furthermore, he was averaging 6.4 rebounds per game, dished out 93 assists, and had been credited with 29 steals.

Offensively, in 20 games, McCullar, Jr., had connected on 46.9 percent of his field goals, 35.6 percent of his shots from behind the arc, and 82.4 percent of his free throws.

With a big stretch of games approaching, which includes a showdown against No. 4 Houston on Saturday and at Kansas State on Monday night, Kansas head coach Bill Self ultimately made the decision to hold McCullar, Jr., out of the lineup against the Cowboys on Tuesday night due to a bone bruise.

Without the services of McCullar, Jr., Kansas rolled past Oklahoma, 83-54, as five players, KJ Adams (16), Hunter Dickinson (16), Dajuan Harris (12), Johnny Furphy (11), and Elmarko Jackson (10) scored in double-figures.

Off the bench, Kansas received contributions from Nicolas Timberlake (7), Jamari McDowell (6), Michael Jankovich (3), and Wilder Evers (2).

Now, with a big-time showdown against No. 4 Houston looming at home on Saturday, Self, on Thursday afternoon, provided the very latest update on McCullar, Jr.

“It’s too early (to provide his status for the game on Saturday), but like I said all along, it’s a bone bruise,” said Self. “I’m anticipating him (Kevin McCullar, Jr.) being able to go, but I don’t know to the extent or how much it will bother him or anything like that.

“We’ll know more after today,” he added.

Late on Saturday afternoon, Kansas will play host to a Houston team that is 19-2 overall and 6-2 in conference play. The Cougars have won five straight games and will arrive in Lawrence coming off a big road win over Texas in Austin earlier in the week.

Houston, coached by Kelvin Sampson, is led by LJ Cryer (15.1), Jamal Shead (12.3), and Emanuel Sharp (12.2). The Cougars average almost 40 rebounds per game and own a rebounding margin of 6.5 per game.

Self, on Thursday afternoon, talked about the importance of Saturday's game.

“Oh, yes, this would be huge for us to remain in contact,” said Self when asked about the implications of Saturday's game when looking at the Big 12 race. "If you don’t get this one, you’re still in it, but the distance and the contact and the schedule and things like that, you’d have to really pull a rabbit out of your hat.

“So, if we’re able to take care of business on Saturday, it puts us back in the mix,” he added.

Hunter Dickinson, the 7-foot-2, 260-pound center from Alexandria, Va., has been one of the best players in college basketball this season. Dickinson, who met with the media before Self on Thursday afternoon, is averaging 18.7 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. Dickinson also leads the team with 28 blocks and is third on the team with 25 steals.

Not surprisingly, Dickinson is very much looking forward to Saturday’s home showdown against No. 4 Houston.

“Yeah, I think they are in first place in the league right now,” said Dickinson. “I saw something on Twitter about that. Obviously, it would be big for us, just because of the league standings, but also, they are a really good team, so it would be a great win to put on our resume.

“I think Coach (Self) mentioned it earlier to us about, you know, if we are successful against them (Houston), having beat Houston, Tennessee, Kentucky, and UConn, I don’t know if there’s a school out there that would have four better wins. That would be huge for us, not only for the Big 12 and just for our momentum, but looking forward toward March as well.”