LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas freshman center Udoka Azubuike will miss the remainder of the 2016-17 season due to a left wrist injury, KU head coach Bill Self said Wednesday.

“Udoka tore ligaments to his left wrist in practice Tuesday that will require surgery and he will miss the remainder of the season,” Self said. “Surgery should take place in the next few weeks and doctors are confident he will make a full recovery and be full speed sometime this summer.”

Azubuike has started the last six games for the Jayhawks and averaged 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 2016-17. The 7-foot, 280-pound, Delta, Nigeria, native leads Kansas with 18 blocked shots through 11 games and his 1.6 blocks per game are seventh in the Big 12.

“We all feel bad for Udoka. He has worked so hard and has put himself in a position to have a tremendous impact on this year’s squad,” Self said. “This is a blow to our team but I know that we will rally around this and Udoka will work hard to insure a full recovery.”

No. 3/3 Kansas (10-1) will travel to UNLV (7-5) in its first true road game of the season on Thursday, Dec. 22, at 8 p.m.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – In its fourth overtime game of the season, Kansas women’s basketball prevailed over UC Riverside, 90-84, on Wednesday evening inside Allen Fieldhouse.

The backcourt duo of redshirt sophomore McKenzie Calvert and redshirt junior Jessica Washington each registered career high totals to lead Kansas (6-5) to its third overtime victory of the 2016-17 campaign. The twosome combined for 57 of KU’s 90 points and became the first pair of Jayhawks to each score 20 or more points in game since March 2, 2015 against Iowa State.

Calvert’s career night paced KU’s offense against UC Riverside (5-5). The Schertz, Texas native led all scorers with 30 points, marking the first time a Jayhawk netted 30 since Chelsea Gardner reached the same feat against Alabama in 2014. Washington turned in a career-best night with 27 points, including a perfect 12-for-12 mark from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Kylee Kopatich rounded out KU’s double-digit scorers with 17 points, two shy of her career-high mark.

Senior guard Simone DeCoud led UC Riverside with 29 points, as four Highlanders recorded double-digit scoring efforts against the Jayhawks. Junior guard Lauren Holt netted 20 points behind a 7-for-18 mark from the floor. Senior forward Rejane Verin and sophomore forward Marlou De Kregret also scored double-digits with 16 and 11 points, respectively.

Senior guard Timeka O’Neal got Kansas’ offense started in the opening period with the first of 10 KU 3-pointers on the night. O’Neal’s trey was the first of three-straight possessions that resulted in a KU 3-pointer and sparked an 11-2 run to begin the ballgame. The Jayhawks extended their lead to as many as 10, but a 9-2 run by the Highlanders in the final minutes of the period cut KU’s lead to three. With 15 seconds left on the clock, Calvert sank Kansas’ fourth triple of the quarter. Calvert’s 3-pointer gave Kansas a 21-15 advantage heading into the second period.

UC Riverside outscored the Kansas, 18-13, in the second quarter. Despite the low scoring period, Calvert became the first Jayhawk to reach double figures, her seventh of the season, and ended the first half with 13 points to lead all scorers. KU headed into the intermission with a 34-33 lead over the Highlanders. Kansas has owned an advantage at the half in six contests this season and is 5-1 when leading at the break.

The Highlanders scored first in the second half to take their first lead of the game. UC Riverside started the third quarter with a 6-0 run before Washington halted UCR’s momentum with a pair of free throws. With just under five minutes to play, the Highlanders continued to hold on to the lead, 43-40, after shooting 52 percent from the field through two and a half quarters.

Two more free throws from Washington trimmed UCR’s lead to one with four minutes to play in the third. Calvert swiped a steal and threw ahead to Kopatich for a layup and more importantly regain the lead, 44-43, for the Jayhawks. On the next possession, Kopatich came down the court and sank her third 3-pointer of the night, as the sophomore netted five unanswered points. Despite all its comeback efforts, Kansas headed into the final period trailing UC Riverside, 50-49.

Senior forward Jada Brown scored the first points of the final period of regulation, giving Kansas the advantage once again. With eight minutes to play, KU owned a 54-53 lead over the Highlanders. The two squads traded baskets and the lead for the next three minutes before Washington sparked four unanswered KU points, as the Jayhawks led, 65-61.

With a minute and half to play, UC Riverside took back the lead, 67-66, after Holt sank a 3-pointer. Junior guard Michelle Curry made one of two free throw attempts, increasing UCR’s lead to two with 43 seconds left on the clock. Down by two, Calvert sank her third 3-pointer of the night to regain the lead for Kansas with 36 seconds remaining. After forcing a turnover, Kansas got the ball back and the Highlanders were forced to foul. Washington headed to the free throw line and connected on both attempts, extending KU’s advantage, 71-68.

Down the stretch, Kansas made five of its six free throw tries and held onto a 3-point lead in the final seconds of regulation. However, DeCoud made a last second 3-pointer to tie the game as the clock hit zero, sending the game into overtime.

During overtime, Washington caught fire by scoring 10 points to ensure that Kansas would walk away with its third overtime victory of the season. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native sank her third 3-pointer of extended play to give KU an 84-80 advantage with 37 seconds remaining. Each time it seemed as though the Jayhawks were pulling away, UC Riverside found an answer and kept the game within a possession. Once again as the clock wound closer to zero, the Highlanders began to foul, sending the Jayhawks to the free throw line. Kansas made six of its six attempts from the charity stripe to close out the game, as the Jayhawks held on to win, 90-84.

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks open Big 12 Conference action with Oklahoma on Thursday, Dec. 29. Tipoff against the Sooners is slated for 7 p.m.

— KU Athletics —

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Kansas men’s basketball head coach Bill Self is a first-time nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the ‘Hoop Hall’ announced Wednesday – the 125th Birthday of Basketball.

“I consider this an honor to be nominated,” Self said after hearing the news. “I certainly didn’t expect this. I’m proud, mainly because of the teams’ successes we’ve had in the various stops that put me in a position to be considered.”

A press conference announcing the finalists for the Class of 2017 will be held at NBA All-Star Weekend, which is scheduled for Saturday, February 18th in New Orleans, Louisiana. The entire Class of 2017, including those selected by the direct elect committees, will be unveiled on Monday, April 3rd at the NCAA Final Four in Glendale, Arizona.

In 24 seasons as a head coach, Self has posted a 602-189 record. Earlier this season, he won his 600th game on Dec. 6, 2016, becoming the ninth-fastest coach in NCAA Division I history to reach 600 victories. He is 395-84 in his 14th season at Kansas and his 82.5 winning percentage with the Jayhawks ranks first among the eight KU coaches in the tradition-rich program.

A four-time national coach of the year, Self has guided his teams to 16 of a possible 19 regular-season conference titles, finishing second in two of those non-title seasons and third in the other. Included is Kansas’ current string of 12-straight Big 12 titles, beginning in the 2004-05 season, which ranks second on the NCAA consecutive conference title list. KU’s run is one behind record holder UCLA’s 13 straight from 1967-79, which was under two coaches. Also in his career, Self’s teams have also won eight league tournament titles, including seven at Kansas.

Self, who has guided his teams to 18-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, has led his squads to two Finals Fours, winning the 2008 title while at Kansas in the only Final Four that all four No. 1 seeds reached the elite event. Eleven times his teams have advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 with eight appearances in the Elite Eight.

A six-time conference coach of the year, Self has posted eight 30-win seasons, which ties for third in NCAA history. KU’s four-straight 30-win seasons from 2009-10 to 2012-13 are the most consecutive 30-win seasons in NCAA history.

At Kansas, Self has won more conference titles (12) than lost home games (9) as he is 212-9 (95.9 percent) inside historic Allen Fieldhouse. While at KU, Self has coached 57 all-conference performers and 31 Academic All-Big 12 honorees, which is more than any other league school.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas football head coach David Beaty Tuesday announced the promotion of Garrett Riley to an on-field assistant coaching position, where he will mentor the KU quarterbacks. Riley, who joined the KU staff in the spring of 2016, spent the past season as an offensive analyst for the Jayhawks. Riley replaces Rob Likens as one of KU’s nine full-time assistant coaches; Likens has departed Kansas for a position at Arizona State.

“Garrett has been a tremendous asset to our program since the day he set foot on campus,” said Beaty, who is entering his third year at the helm of the Jayhawk program. “Having played under Mike Leach at Texas Tech and worked closely with his brother, Lincoln Riley, during his time at East Carolina, Garrett has had his hand in some high-powered offenses. His extensive knowledge of the Air Raid offense has been invaluable as we implemented it to our team, and I am looking forward to him having an even greater impact in his new role.”

Riley joined the Kansas staff after spending the 2015 season as the outside receivers coach at East Carolina. During his time coaching the ECU outside receivers, Riley mentored Zay Jones, one of the most decorated receivers in NCAA history. Jones recently became the all-time NCAA FBS career receptions leader with 399 catches.

Riley was on the staff at ECU for three seasons, his first two as an offensive assistant working alongside Lincoln Riley, who is wrapping up his second season as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. As an offensive assistant, he worked primarily with the quarterback position, while coordinating the defensive scout team and conducting video analysis. During his time working with the ECU quarterbacks, Riley assisted Shane Carden, who became the school’s all-time leader in passing yards (11,991) and passing touchdowns (86). Carden was named the 2014 American Athletic Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year.

Riley earned his first collegiate position in 2012 as running backs coach at Augustana (Ill.) College, helping rebuild a Vikings program that was 2-8 a year earlier into a 5-5 squad that improved its rushing total by 500 yards. Prior to his year at Augustana, he spent the 2011 season as a quarterbacks and passing game assistant, where he helped Lubbock’s (Texas) Roosevelt High School set four school quarterback and five receiving records in 2011.

Riley earned a bachelor’s degree in general business from Texas Tech in 2012 and was a quarterback on the Red Raiders’ roster during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. As a quarterback at Texas Tech, Riley was directly mentored by Leach, who was not only the head coach, but also Riley’s position coach. During his time at TTU, the Red Raiders registered 20 wins and pair of bowl appearances. He transferred to Stephen F. Austin in 2010 and helped the Lumberjacks to a Southland Conference title and a No. 1 FCS rank in both passing and total offense.

Likens joined the Kansas program in January 2015 as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach as Beaty was formulating his initial KU coaching staff.

“We appreciate Rob’s many contributions as part of the Jayhawk family,” said Beaty. “We wish him every success as he moves forward to this new chapter of his career.”

— KU Athletics —