Kansas senior Ochai Agbaji’s status for Saturday’s game between No. 10 Kansas and No. 8 Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse, remains up in the air, but KU coach Bill Self said the Jayhawks are “optimistic and hopeful” that the Big 12’s leading scorer will be able to play.
Agbaji tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the Jayhawks leaving for Iowa State on Monday and he missed his first game Tuesday night after 97 consecutive starts.
[Kansas won without him, 70-61,][1] but how things go the rest of the week will determine how soon he’s back in the lineup. Prior to Tuesday’s tipoff Self said Agbaji was feeling “OK” and he said after the win over Iowa State that he thought there was a chance Agbaji would be back for Baylor.
“(With) the protocol situation, yes,” Self said. “I still think it depends on how he feels, too. We need him to get back.”
Self said Tuesday that he did not know exactly when Agbaji caught COVID. But he believed it might have been last Saturday night after the Kentucky loss.
According to the latest guidance from the NCAA, “COVID-19 management considerations suggest five days of quarantine after a positive test with isolation ending after five days if there are no symptoms or symptoms are resolving.”
The NCAA also recommends mask wearing around others for five additional days and indicates that “participation in athletic activities without a mask during days six through 10 can be considered following a negative PCR/NAAT test or antigen test.”
The Jayhawks (18-3 overall, 7-1 Big 12) were able to win on Tuesday without Agbaji, but Self said after the victory that there were several times during Tuesday’s game when the Jayhawks came away empty on the offensive end but likely would have scored had Agbaji been in the game.
“It makes a difference when Och is out there,” Self said.
A senior from Kansas City, Missouri, Agbaji currently leads the team and Big 12 Conference in scoring at 20.9 points per game.
“To win without Och, I think speaks volumes of these guys’ character,” Self said Tuesday night.
Doing it again, against a team like Baylor, would speak even louder and KU may not find out until Friday or even Saturday whether Agbaji will be cleared to play.
Self said on his “Hawk Talk” radio show Wednesday night that Agbaji was “actually feeling well.”
According to Self, Agbaji had some symptoms last weekend and he is currently following the guidelines outlined by the Big 12 Conference.
“He is going to have to test out of the protocol with a negative test before he can actually play and participate,” Self said Wednesday night. “The timing of it is such where that can happen before we play Baylor (3 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse). He’s still got to do that. We’re just going along … We’re hoping we get a positive (outcome). Most importantly, we hope he feels like he’s ready. And if he doesn’t, then he can’t be out there. But we’re hopeful he’s back to 100% within a very short period of time.”
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2022/feb/01/ku-basketball-despite-ochai-agbajis-absence-beats-/?mens_basketball
