Key March Madness Injuries and Absences to Know for First Round
By Robert Duff in College Basketball
Published:
- A number of top contenders for March Madness honors are dealing with key injuries as tip-off for the NCAA Tournament nears
- The Houston Cougars, top seed in the Midwest Region, could be without shooting guard Marcus Sasser
- UCLA, the #2 seed in the West, may be missing two starters
When teams are preparing for March Madness, coaches like to stress that they control what they control. However, when it comes to uncontrollable factors, injuries are at the top of the list of items that can sideline an NCAA Tournament run.
As the opening tip-off for the Round of 64 at the NCAA Tournament nears, some of the leading contenders in the March Madness odds are dealing with injuries to key players.
Let’s look at all the players currently populating the injury lists for tournament teams, and assess how it might affect the way you’ll be betting the tourney.
March Madness Injury Report
| Team | Player | Position | Injury | Game Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | Trevon Brazile | F | knee | out |
| Auburn | Chance Westry | G | knee | out |
| Baylor | Langston Love | G | eye | questionable |
| Boise State | Sadraque NgaNga | G | illness | questionable |
| Gonzaga | Kaden Perry | F | back | out |
| Grand Canyon | Jovan Blacksher Jr | G | knee | out |
| Houston | Marcus Sasser | G | groin | probable |
| Indiana | Xavier Johnson | G | foot | out |
| Indiana | Logan Duncomb | C | sinus | out |
| Indiana | Anthony Leal | G | ankle | questionable |
| Iona | Quinn Slazinski | F | undisclosed | out |
| Iona | Cruz Davis | G | undisclosed | questionable |
| Kansas | Cam Martin | F | shoulder | questionable |
| Kansas | Kevin McCullar | G | back | questionable |
| Kansas State | Keyontae Johnson | F | head | probable |
| Kent State | Giovanni Santiago | G | hand | questionable |
| Kentucky | Sahvir Wheeler | G | ankle | out |
| Marquette | Zach Wrightsil | G/F | knee | out |
| Marquette | Emarion Ellis | F | knee | questionable |
| Memphis | Keonte Kennedy | G | hand | out |
| Miami FL | Norchad Omier | F | ankle | questionable |
| Missouri | Isiaih Mosley | F | personal | out |
| Missouri | Tre Gomillion | G | groin | questionable |
| Missouri | Ronnie DeGray III | F | knee | questionable |
| North Carolina State | Greg Gantt | F | lower body | questionable |
| North Carolina State | Dusan Mahorcic | F | knee | out |
| Northwestern | Julian Roper II | G | ankle | out |
| Northwestern | Luke Hunger | F | foot | out |
| Oral Roberts | Sir Issac Herron | F | hand | out |
| Penn State | Caleb Dorsey | G | undisclosed | out |
| Princeton | Deven Austin | G | undisclosed | questionable |
| TCU | Eddie Lampkin Jr | C | personal | questionable |
| Tennessee | Zakai Zeigler | G | knee | out |
| Texas | Timmy Allen | F | leg | questionable |
| UCLA | Jaylen Clark | G | foot | out |
| UCLA | Adem Bona | F | shoulder | questionable |
| USC | Vincent Iwuchukwu | F | back | questionable |
| Utah State | Rylan Jones | G | concussion | out |
| Virginia | Ben Van Der Plas | F | hand | out |
| West Virginia | Mohamad Wague | F | foot | out |
| West Virginia | Josiah Davis | G | wrist | questionable |
| Xavier | Dieonte Miles | F | personal | questionable |
| Xavier | KyKy Tandy | G | foot | questionable |
| Xavier | Zach Freemantle | F | foot | out |
| Xavier | Kam Craft | G | knee | questionable |
Can Houston Win Without Sasser?
Houston shooting guard Marcus Sasser suffered a strained groin against Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference tournament semifinals on Saturday. He hasn’t played since.
The Cougars are listing Sasser as probable for their Round of 64 game against the #16 Northern Kentucky Norse. Truth be told, the Cougars can take the Norse without Sasser’s help.
Can they make a run without out? Sasser is averaging 17.1 points per game. He’s shooting 43.9% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc.
He also missed Houston’s run to the Elite Eight last year due to a foot injury. He was a starter for the Cougars in 2021 when they reached the Final Four.
Trouble Brewing for Bruins?
The #2 seed in the West Region, there’s high hopes that UCLA basketball tradition can be revived with another strong March Madness performance. However, things are off to an unnerving start.
The Bruins are already without guard Jaylen Clark. Out with a foot injury, he’s eighth in the NCAA in steals. As well, forward Adem Bona, UCLA’s dominant presence in the paint, is questionable due to a shoulder injury.
Mick Cronin said Adem Bona was feeling a lot better today, sounds like a good trajectory.
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) March 12, 2023
Bona leads UCLA with 1.7 blocks per game and is also shooting a team-high 66.9% from the field. UCLA coach Mick Cronin is confident that Bona is trending the right direction and will be able to play as the Bruins face #15 UNC-Asheville.
Self Returning for Jayhawks
It sounds like the coach of the defending national champions will be back on the sideline for March Madness. Bill Self, coach of the Kansas Jayhawks, last year’s tourney winners, missed the Big 12 Tournament.
Norm Roberts tells me it hasn’t been decided if Bill Self will coach Thursday.
Self traveled up separately with family. pic.twitter.com/xIJfStRlDX
— Brandon Zenner (@KWCHBrandon) March 14, 2023
Kansas has since revealed that Self was hospitalized and underwent a heart procedure. In a statement, Self was indicating that he was planning to rejoin the team for tournament play. It’s still undetermined whether he will coach the top-seeded Jayhawks in their West Region opener against the #16 Howard Bison.
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Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
