Around the same time that KU was learning about the NCAA’s ruling that sophomore forward Silvio De Sousa had declared ineligible for the rest of 2018-19 and all of 2019-20, sophomore guard Marcus Garrett suffered ankle injury toward the end of Friday’s practice.

According to a report from The Athletic, Garrett was initially considered to be questionable for today’s 3 p.m. game against Texas Tech at Allen Fieldhouse.

But KU coach Bill Self told the Journal-World on Saturday morning that Garrett would not play.

“Out today. No chance,” Self wrote in a text message to the Journal-World.

The loss of De Sousa was nothing new. The loss of Garrett, who has been KU’s best defender and started to emerge as both a team leader and offensive contributor, stands to sting much worse.

Without Garrett, the Jayhawks will be down to Devon Dotson, Ochai Agbaji, Quentin Grimes and Lagerald Vick in their backcourt rotation, with Dedric Lawson, Mitch Lightfoot and David McCormack holding down the front court.

That’s seven players and could force Self to go even deeper into his bench for a few spot minutes.

During KU’s most recent win, a home victory over Iowa State on Jan. 21, Dotson, Vick, Garrett and Lawson all played 37 minutes or more and Self has shown that he is not afraid to ride with his top guys as much as possible.

One problem: Garrett often has been one of those top guys.

Reserves Charlie Moore and K.J. Lawson could see an increase in minutes because of Garrett’s injury. Both have played inconsistent minutes throughout the season, but neither brings the type of defensive grit and experience that Garrett provided.

Today’s game is a battle of 5-3 teams in the Big 12 race, with both No. 16 Texas Tech and No. 11 Kansas sitting a half game behind Kansas State and Baylor in the conference standings.

Garrett’s absence likely will give Kansas a starting five of Dotson, Agbaji, Grimes, Vick and Lawson, but Self has hinted this week about potential tweaks to the starting lineup beyond keeping Agbaji in it for the second game in a row.

“I don’t know exactly how I’m going to go with the starters because I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a little bit of a mix-up just to try and create a different mojo,” Self told reporters before Friday’s practice.

As for the magnitude of Saturday’s Big 12 showdown, not only are the Jayhawks trying to stay close to the top in the Big 12 race, but they also are trying to avoid their first 3-game losing streak since the 2012-13 season.

“It’s really big,” Agbaji said Friday. “It’s obviously a statement game. We’ve lost two in a row. We’re back at home where we haven’t lost this season so we’re trying to make a statement for the conference.”