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Kansas freshman Joel Embiid to miss the next two games with back injury

Joel Embiid

AP

Kansas star freshman Joel Embiid is done for the season!!!

The regular season, that is.

Kansas head coach Bill Self announced on Monday that one of his two star freshmen will miss the final two games of the regular season with a back injury that was aggravated in the second half of Saturday’s loss at Oklahoma State. Embiid initially hurt his back against TCU earlier this season and sat out three games as a result.

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

The Jayhawks have already clinched the Big 12 regular season title, and they shouldn’t have an issue beating Texas Tech at home or West Virginia on the road even with Embiid on the bench. To earn a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday, Kansas will likely need to win the Big 12 tournament, but even if they lose the next three games, the Jayhawks shouldn’t fall below a No. 2 or 3 seed.

Self is worried about winning the NCAA tournament, and the difference between a No. 1 seed and a No. 3 seed, especially this season, isn’t all that much. It’s more important for him to have a healthy Embiid at his disposal, which is precisely the reason that he won’t play for at least a week.

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