Kansas coach Bill Self will not be on the bench for the team’s NCAA tournament game against Howard.
The school said Thursday morning that Self “continues to progress well” after a heart catheterization and two stents inserted last week. Self was ruled out of the Big 12 Tournament due to a heart procedure.
In Self’s absence, Kansas assistant coach Norm Roberts will serve as the team’s acting head coach. He was the acting head coach during the Big 12 Tournament and earlier that year while Self served his suspension. Roberts spoke to the media in a head coach capacity on Wednesday as Kansas practiced ahead of the tournament.
Self, 60, was released from the hospital on Sunday and traveled to Des Moines, the site of KU’s game, on Thursday. The Jayhawks will play either Arkansas or Illinois on Saturday if they win as expected over the Bison. The defending national champions are the No. 1 seed in the West Region and the No. 2 favorite to win the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas won the Big 12 regular season title with a 27–7 record but lost the Big 12 tournament title to Texas. It was their second loss to the Longhorns in eight days, and those two losses could cost KU an opportunity to play in the Midwest region and an important home-court advantage later in the tournament. The Midwest Regional is in Kansas City. The West Regional is set for Las Vegas.
