Kansas won’t have head coach Bill Self on the sideline for its Big 12 tournament game vs. West Virginia on Thursday.
The university announced that Self will miss the quarterfinal matchup against the Mountaineers in Kansas City “as he recovers from an illness.” The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. ET tipoff.
“Self is doing well and receiving great care at the University of Kansas Health System,” a university release said.
According to the Lawrence Journal-World, Self’s “long-term prognosis” is “positive,” but it’s unclear when he will be able to return to coaching. Self was with the team for practice and met with reporters on Wednesday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Norm Roberts, an assistant on Self’s staff since 2012, will serve as acting head coach. Roberts took on the role of acting head coach for the first four games of the season while Self served a four-game suspension for recruiting violations.
Self, 60, has been the head coach at Kansas since 2003 and has led the Jayhawks to nine Big 12 tournament titles. The Jayhawks, currently 25-6 overall and ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25, won the Big 12 regular season title for the 17th time during Self’s tenure in Lawrence this season.
Kansas, the defending national champion, is projected as a likely No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.