Kansas junior Udoka Azubuike needs surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right hand and will miss the remainder of this college basketball season, coach Bill Self announced Sunday night.
"Udoka had an MRI done this morning, and the MRI revealed he tore the same ligament in his right hand that he tore in his left hand his freshman season," Self said. "This occurred in practice on Friday -- and although initial x-rays did not reveal the extent of the injury, the MRI did. It will require season-ending surgery."
Self said Azubuike will resume basketball activities in the summer.
This is obviously a huge blow for the Jayhawks -- who are 9-0 this season with Azubuike in the lineup but just 3-2 without him. The 7-foot-1 center is KU's third-leading scorer (13.4 points per game) and second-leading rebounder (6.8 boards per game). He's a massive asset on the offensive end because he's difficult to guard one-on-one, which leads to double-teams that lead to easier opportunities for others.
Kansas is No. 6 in the Top 25 And 1.
The Jayhawks' next game is Wednesday against TCU.
