Big 12 Basketball

Kansas head coach Bill Self will miss his fifth consecutive game since undergoing a medical procedure on March 8.

The school announced Self won't be on the bench for Saturday's NCAA tournament game against Arkansas.

Self hasn't coached the Jayhawks since their regular-season finale against Texas on March 4. The school announced on March 9 he had a "standard procedure" but added he didn't suffer a heart attack.

Self missed each of the Jayhawks' three games in the Big 12 tournament and their first-round win over Howard in the NCAA tournament on Thursday.

Assistant coach Norm Roberts, who has filled in during Self's absence, told reporters after Friday's practice it's a "a day-to-day situation" for when the 60-year-old might return.

"We will see what happens," Roberts added.

Kansas originally announced on March 9 that Self would miss the team's Big 12 tournament quarterfinal game against West Virginia with an illness.

Per ESPN's Adam Teicher, Self went to the hospital last week complaining of tightness in his chest and balance issues. He had a heart catheterization and had two stents placed for the treatment of blocked arteries before being discharged on Sunday.

The shift from Self to Roberts has been fairly seamless thus far. The Jayhawks have gone 4-1 without their head coach, with the lone defeat coming against Texas in the Big 12 title game.

The Jayhawks and Razorbacks will play at 5:15 p.m. ET at Wells Fargo Arena with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.

Iowa State basketball decided to forego additional warmup time ahead of its first-round matchup against Pittsburgh in the NCAA Tournament after a slight adjustment was made to one of the rims at the Greensboro Coliseum, the NCAA said in a statement.

It is a decision that the Cyclones may have regretted as they had their worst shooting performance of the entire season en route to a 59-41 loss against the Panthers. They shot just 23.3 percent from the field and 9.5 percent from three-point range.

The statement also said that Iowa State asked the NCAA to check the rim levels.

"It definitely wasn't a factor," Cyclones forward Tre King told reporters after the loss. "One thing we always talk about is we know adversity is coming. We have to deal with it."

While Iowa State hasn't been a great offensive team this season, it was much better than what it showed Friday. The Cyclones shot 44.3 percent from the field and a respectable 33.1 percent from beyond the arc for the year.

It wasn't a particularly sloppy game with just eight turnovers, the offensive struggle were obviously the biggest issue for coach T.J. Otzelberger's team. After going into halftime down just seven points, the Cyclones scored 18 in the final 20 minutes.

Pittsburgh didn't exactly light the world on fire either at 34 percent, but it was more than enough to seal the double-digit win. The Panthers were allowed to continue warming up on the other end of the floor during the rim adjustment.

Iowa State was the six seed and a five-point favorite going into the matchup. Prior to Friday its lowest scoring game came in a loss to Oklahoma on Feb. 25 in which it scored 50 points.

The third-seeded Baylor Bears opened their first-round game against No. 14 UC Santa Barbara with a subpar effort that looked like they forgot they were playing in the 2023 NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Thankfully, an unlikely hero emerged in junior forward Caleb Lohner, who kept the Bears afloat before they pulled away for a 74-56 win over the Gauchos. Lohner scored a season-high 13 points off the bench on 5-of-5 shooting while providing excellent energy on the defensive end.

Baylor struggled with its shooting in the first half, and UCSB took advantage to keep the game close. The Gauchos held a 36-35 lead at halftime, but the Bears woke up in the second half on their way to a dominant finish.

Lead guard Adam Flagler took over late and finished with 18 points and five assists. Backcourt mate LJ Cryer added some late baskets and totaled 15 points. But Lohner paved the way for the blowout with his best performance of the year after entering the day averaging just 3.0 points per game.

Fans on Twitter were excited to see Lohner deliver on a major stage to help the Bears stay alive:

Despite not being a No. 1 or No. 2 seed, Baylor has the tools to make the Final Four. Players like Lohner give the Bears the depth they need for a deep run in the tournament.

Baylor will face the winner of No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 11 NC State in the second round.

Watch March Madness Live to stream every tournament game through the Final Four.

The No. 2 Texas Longhorns hit 13 of 23 three-pointers en route to an 81-61 win over the No. 15 Colgate Raiders in the first round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Thursday.

Colgate entered the game as the No. 1 three-point-shooting team in the country (40.8 percent). Texas was 190th at 33.9 percent.

Yet the Longhorns proved nearly unbeatable from deep, making threes whenever a pesky and talented Colgate team tried to get back into the game against a heavy favorite.

Sir'Jabari Rice hit seven of 10 three-pointers en route to 23 points. Marcus Carr scored 17 points and made four of six threes. When they weren't cooking from deep, Dylan Disu was doing work inside with 17 points and nine boards.

Meanwhile, Colgate went uncharacteristically ice cold from beyond the arc (3-of-15). All seven rotation players scored at least five points, led by Ryan Moffatt and Keegan Records with 13 apiece.

It was still a great season for Colgate, which made the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in five years and won the Patriot League.

However, the Longhorns showed why they should be considered national title contenders after coming into March Madness hot on the heels of a Big 12 tournament championship.

Twitter recognized its efforts from the three-point line and otherwise, with a notable hat tip to Rice.

Texas will play the winner of No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 7 Texas A&M in the second round Saturday.

Watch March Madness Live to stream every tournament game through the Final Four.

The Kansas Jayhawks are five wins away from cutting down the nets as national champions for the second straight year.

No. 1 Kansas took its initial step in the 2023 NCAA men's basketball tournament on Thursday with a 96-68 victory over No. 16 Howard in the first round in the West Region. The Big 12 representatives were without head coach Bill Self as he recovers from a heart procedure but still avoided becoming the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in Big Dance history.

The Jayhawks used a balanced attack to handle the underdogs, but it was Gradey Dick who led the way when the game was still hanging in the balance.

Dick finished with a double-double of 19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals behind 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from downtown. The freshman drew plenty of praise on social media in the process:

It was anything but easy out of the gates for the Jayhawks, as the Bison took the lead on an Ose Okojie basket with fewer than seven minutes remaining in the first half. It seemed like the top seed was playing tight with all the pressure on its shoulders.

And then it didn't.

Kansas controlled the rest of the first half to build a double-digit advantage by intermission with Jalen Wilson (20 points and seven rebounds) finding his spots, Dick hitting from the outside, Dajuan Harris Jr. facilitating and Kevin McCullar Jr. doing a little bit of everything.

It was the type of balanced firepower Howard couldn't match, especially after falling further behind as the game progressed into the second half.

All five Jayhawks starters fittingly reached double digits, Dick continued to crash the glass while leading the way on offense for extended stretches and the game was never in doubt. It was the exact type of performance a No. 1 seed is looking for in the first round and did nothing to put doubt into its championship hopes and expectations.

Things will become more challenging for the Jayhawks in the second round on Saturday when they face the winner of the game between No. 8 Arkansas and No. 9 Illinois.

Watch March Madness Live to stream every tournament game through the Final Four.

The Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team will have head coach Bill Self available for the upcoming NCAA tournament.

Self was discharged from the hospital Sunday, with the University of Kansas Health System noting he had "a standard heart catheterization and had two stents placed for the treatment of blocked arteries":

Self added he was "excited" to get back to his team ahead of the NCAA tournament.

Kansas assistant coach Norm Roberts filled in for Self during the Big 12 tournament after the legendary head coach temporarily stepped away because of a health issue. Roberts helped lead the Jayhawks to the conference tournament title game, although they ultimately lost to the Texas Longhorns.

As ESPN's Myron Medcalf noted, Kansas released a statement explaining Self did not suffer a heart attack and rather went to the emergency room to undergo "a standard procedure" with the expectation of a full recovery:

"KU Men's Basketball Coach Bill Self is a patient at The University of Kansas Health System. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Steve Stites wants to clarify that Coach Self did not suffer a heart attack as reported by some media. He arrived at the emergency department last night and underwent a standard procedure that went well. He is expected to make a full recovery. There will be no further medical details released for now."

For his part, Self previously said, "I am very grateful for the overwhelming number of well wishes my family and I have received. I'm excited to get back with my team in the very near future."

His return will be welcome news for the Jayhawks as they attempt to take home back-to-back national titles.

Despite the loss to Texas in the Big 12 tournament championship game, they are positioned to land a No. 1 seed when the bracket is revealed Sunday with a 27-7 record and regular-season title from arguably the best conference in the country.

They also count notable wins over Texas, Baylor, TCU, Kansas State, Kentucky, Indiana and Duke, among others, on their resume.

This season's excellence was more of the same under Self, who has coached Kansas since the 2003-04 season with a list of accomplishments that includes two national titles, four Final Four appearances, 17 Big 12 regular-season titles, nine Big 12 tournament championships and six Big 12 Coach of the Year awards.

Now he will attempt to add to that resume in the Big Dance.

The No. 7 Texas Longhorns are Big 12 champions, upsetting the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks 76-56 on Saturday in the Big 12 Championship Game at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City ahead of Selection Sunday.

The Longhorns were dominant from start to finish, outscoring the Jayhawks 39-33 in the first half before outscoring Bill Self's squad 37-23 in the second half to secure the victory fairly early.

Texas was paced by consistent scoring from senior forward Dylan Disu, senior guard Sir'Jabari Rice and senior guard Marcus Carr. Disu paced the team with 18 points, while Rice and Carr each scored 17 points.

The Longhorns were also impressive on defense. While they allowed junior forward Jalen Wilson to score 24 points, the only other Jayhawk to notch double digits was junior guard Joseph Yesufu, who finished with 11 points.

After the game, Twitter was quick to praise Texas for its dominance against a Kansas team that is still likely to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament:

This is the second time in three years that Texas has won the Big 12 championship. When the Longhorns last did so during the 2020-21 season, they went on to be eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament, losing 53-52 to Abilene Christian.

Texas is projected to be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, though the Longhorns certainly playing better than that. They will find out their fate Sunday.

Watch March Madness Live to stream every tournament game through the Final Four.

The two best teams in the nation's best conference will square off for the third time this season in Saturday's Big 12 tournament final.

The Kansas Jayhawks and Texas Longhorns both won two games inside the Sprint Center in Kansas City to set up a must-see rubber match.

Kansas won the first meeting 88-80 on its home floor, and Texas returned the favor in Austin with a 75-59 win on March 4.

The Jayhawks are the traditional power of the Big 12 tournament. They are 12-3 in their 15 final appearances, and they are the reigning champion of the event.

Texas' triumph in 2021 was its only Big 12 tournament victory. A win on Saturday would complete a tremendous in-conference run led by interim head coach Rodney Terry.

Big 12 Tournament Final Info

Date: Saturday, March 11

Start Time: 6 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: ESPN.com and ESPN app

Make your picks: Play the NCAA March Madness Men's Bracket Challenge and Tournament Run.

Preview

You could not ask for a better ending to the Big 12 season.

Kansas and Texas established themselves as the class of the league, and that showed over the last two days in Kansas City.

Kansas produced two double-digit victories, while Texas held both of its opponents to 60 points or fewer.

The Jayhawks were the more consistent team before the conference's focus shifted to Kansas City. They lost once after February 6.

That one defeat came to Texas, but it also occurred a few days after the Jayhawks secured the Big 12 regular-season title, so they may not have had a full focus in Austin.

Texas needed the win over Kansas to get right ahead of the postseason. The Longhorns held Kansas to 59 points and ended a run of three losses in five games.

Kansas scored under 60 points twice in 20 conference contests, so a different result is expected from Gradey Dick, Jalen Wilson and Co. one week after their loss to Texas.

Dick put up 21 points in the win over Texas. He had four teammates join him in double figures. Wilson was a non-factor with two points.

Wilson comes into Saturday with four straight 20-point games, and if he and Dick are both in terrific shooting form, Texas' defense could be in for a long night.

Marcus Carr and Sir'Jabari Rice will try to provide Texas' counter to Kansas' top scorers. Carr scored 29 points against the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse. Rice has been Texas' top scorer in three of the last four games.

Rice and Tyrese Hunter combined for 43 points in the last meeting with Kansas. Hunter could be Texas' X-factor to countering Kansas' offensive approach. Hunter has five straight double-digit scoring performances.

Saturday's final should be more like the first Kansas-Texas meeting that produced 168 total points.

Kansas will be more focused than it was in Austin, and a win could solidify it as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Texas will probably stay as a No. 2 seed regardless of the result.

Bill Self won the second national championship of his illustrious career last season.

He's now one step closer to winning his second Naismith Coach of the Year award as well.

The 10 semifinalists for the award were announced Friday, and the Kansas Jayhawks leader was joined by Houston's Kelvin Sampson, Purdue's Matt Painter, UCLA's Mick Cronin and six others. The four finalists will be announced on March 20, while the trophy will be awarded on April 2, the day before the national title.

Here is a look at the 10 semifinalists:

• Shaka Smart, Marquette

• Jerome Tang, Kansas State

• Matt Painter, Purdue

• Chris Collins, Northwestern

• Rodney Terry, Texas

• Kelvin Sampson, Houston

• Mick Cronin, UCLA

• Dusty May, Florida Atlantic

• Jeff Capel, Pittsburgh

• Bill Self, Kansas

Self is the headliner, boasting a resume that includes two national titles, a Naismith Coach of the Year, two Associated Press Coach of the Year awards and six Big 12 Coach of the Year awards. However, Houston has been the nation's most dominant college basketball team this season, so Sampson may be positioned to take home the award.

The Cougars are No. 1 in the country with just two losses on the entire campaign, one of which came against a potential No. 1 seed in the Big Dance in Alabama.

They are also the only team in the country in the top 10 in Ken Pomeroy's offensive and defensive efficiency rankings, underscoring how dangerous they can be in the NCAA tournament.

Whether that is enough to get Sampson the Naismith Coach of the Year award remains to be seen, but he would probably rather take home the national championship.