Self says KU senior Landen Lucas will play today vs. Stanford

By Matt Tait     Dec 3, 2016

Mike Yoder
Kansas senior center Landen Lucas (33) tries to defend the ball without fouling against a UNC Asheville guard on Friday, Nov. 25, at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks won 95-57.

Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self confirmed to the Journal-World via text message Saturday morning that injured senior forward Landen Lucas would play today vs. Stanford at 2:30 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.

“Yeah, he’s gonna go,” Self wrote.

Lucas, who has been plagued by foul trouble and foot soreness throughout the start of the 2016-17 season, missed Tuesday’s victory over Long Beach State because of an oblique strain that bugged him that day during shoot-around.

Self said Tuesday the oblique injury was something Lucas had tried to play through but that he tweaked it before the game and joined team doctors in believing it was best if he sat out to rest it.

KU won 91-61 without him that night but is still in search of something to get its big men going.

Perhaps Lucas’ return to the lineup today vs. the Cardinal on ESPN will be part of the recipe that gets KU’s bigs producing at a higher level.

It remains to be seen how much Lucas plays, of course, and freshman 7-footer Udoka Azubuike is still expected to start alongside guards Frank Mason III, Devonte’ Graham, Josh Jackson and Lagerald Vick.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.