Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images. Pictured: David McCormack
The Kansas Jayhawks will be missing one of their most important players in the Big 12 Tournament.
Looking for its ninth conference tournament title since 2006, Kansas will have to do so without David McCormack and reserve Tristan Enaruna due to COVID-19 protocols. The two have been ruled out for the tournament, although their status for the NCAA Tournament is not yet clear.
McCormack is second on the team in scoring with 13.4 points per game while averaging 23 minutes. He’s scored at least 12 points in each of his last four games and has reached at least 20 points four times this year.
His absence, especially his size at 6-foot-10, will be hard to replace for the Jayhawks.
Kansas is +375 to win the Big 12 Tournament at DraftKings, second to Baylor. Oklahoma opened +5000 to win the tournament but was adjusted to +3000. If the Sooners beat Iowa State in the opening round, they’ll meet Kansas in the second round.
Action Network Senior Writer Collin Wilson looks a round beyond that to find value in either Texas or Texas Tech, though. The winner of that game will face a shorthanded Kansas or an Oklahoma or Iowa State team playing its third game in three days.
"The winners of this will probably be the odds on Texas or Texas Tech."@_Collin1 reacts to the news that Kansas will be without David McCormack and Tristan Enaruna for the Big 12 tournament: https://t.co/v8PGy4MPPP pic.twitter.com/OTmTnkVTE8
— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) March 9, 2021
Enaruna, a sophomore guard, averages just over nine minutes per game for a Kansas bench already lacking in depth.
Baylor is the -137 favorite at DraftKings as of Tuesday afternoon.
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