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Bill Self won’t coach Kansas in Big 12 Tournament

Jayhawks head coach is dealing with an illness and won’t be on the sideline for the game on Thursday.

By Benjamin Zweiman Updated
Head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks stands on the court during the game with the Texas Longhorns at Moody Center on March 04, 2023 in Austin, Texas. Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images

Update 5:35 p.m. Self will not coach the rest of the Big 12 Tournament.

Kansas Jayhawks basketball head coach Bill Self will not be on the sideline for the team’s matchup vs. West Virginia in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET.

The program announced the news and said Self is at Kansas University Health services receiving care. Assistant coach Norm Roberts will serve as head coach for the game. The Jayhawks are favored -4 on the spread against the Mountaineers for the matchup. Normally a head coach not being on the sideline would be a big deal but Self is one of the most prominent head coaches in college basketball.

Despite the Mountaineers being 19-13 and non-ranked while Kansas is 25-6 and expected to get a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, the game should be close. WVU went into Lawrence late in the Big 12 regular season and almost beat the Jayhawks, falling 76-74. On a neutral court without Self on the sideline, the Mountaineers have a shot at the upset.

There’s also the flip side of that with Kansas playing well and wanting to rally around Self’s absence to make another run at a Big 12 title. Before losing to Texas to end the regular season, Kansas had ripped off seven wins in a row in by-far the toughest college basketball conference.

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