Bill Self to miss Round of 64 game in NCAA Tournament

Kansas will begin its title defense without head coach Bill Self, the team announced Thursday morning. Self is recovering from an emergency heart procedure that also forced him to miss the Jayhawks' appearance in the Big 12 tournament.

Per ESPN's Jeff Borzello, he "underwent a standard heart catheterization and had two stents placed for the treatment of blocked arteries," and "was discharged from the hospital Sunday [March 12] night."

The university made no indication of Self's status for a potential round-of-32 game against either Arkansas or Illinois on Saturday.

Kansas is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and faces No. 16 Howard at 2:00 p.m. EST on Thursday. Norm Roberts will fill in as head coach while Self remains away from the sideline.

Per Borzello, Roberts explained Self was still around the team while he recovers. "He was at practice [Wednesday], he was at practice last night and all of our meetings. He's doing well," Roberts said.

Prior to the team's first game of the Big 12 tournament, the university announced Self would miss the event after he was admitted to the University of Kansas Health System on March 8 and had the emergency operation.

The Jayhawks went 2-1 in the conference tournament, losing to Texas in the finals, 76-56.

Roberts also filled in as head coach to begin the season -- when Self served a school-imposed four-game suspension stemming from allegations of recruiting violations -- and went 4-0, including a 69-64 win at the State Farm Champions Classic in Indianapolis against Duke.

Per Oddschecker, Kansas is a 22-point favorite against 16-seed Howard and has the third-best odds of winning the national championship.

The Jaywalks will need upperclassmen Dajuan Harris and Jalen Wilson to provide even more leadership on the court, as well as more heroics from star freshman Gradey Dick.

Harris (35.4) and Wilson (34.1) led the team in minutes per game, with Wilson leading the team in points (20.1) and rebounds (8.4) while Harris led the team in assists (6.2). Dick averaged 32.6 minutes per game, third-most on the team, and was second on the Jayhawks with 14.1 points per game, shooting nearly 40 percent from three on 5.8 attempts per game.

There's no shortage of talent for Kansas to make up for Self's absence but it's never ideal to be without a championship-winning head coach on the sideline during the most important time of the year.

With plenty of championship contenders, the slightest disadvantage could be the difference between a deep tournament run and an early exit. Kansas will walk that tightrope beginning on Thursday and possibly longer.