Kansas sophomore center Udoka Azubuike played 22 minutes in the Jayhawks' second-round NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional victory over Seton Hall on Saturday after toiling 3 minutes in Thursday's first-round clash versus Penn.
So how many minutes will the 7-footer, who sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee March 6, work Friday in a Sweet 16 contest against Clemson that tips off at 6:07 p.m. at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb.?
"I think it's strictly conditioning," KU coach Bill Self said Tuesday afternoon on Jim Rome's national radio show, meaning the better condition Azubuike's in, the more he'll play.
"He practiced Friday. That was the first time he had done anything. Even on Thursday, when he played in the game, he hadn't practiced. He hadn't broken a sweat. He hadn't done anything. That's one reason why we limited him. We practiced him Friday. He played Saturday. He didn't get that sore (from playing).
"He took yesterday and Sunday off. He'll be full speed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. He'll start on Friday as long as we don't have a setback. Hopefully I'll be more worried about foul situations than health, because we are going to need him."
Self said Azubuike was effective during his time spent guarding 6-10 Seton Hall center Angel Delgado, who had 24 points and 23 boards in KU's 83-79 win over the Pirates.
"He was huge for us because Doke played 22 minutes. Delgado basically got, in the 18 minutes he wasn't in there, 20 points and 15 rebounds. Even though Delgado had a monster game, Doke at least neutralized him some when he was in there, kept him off the glass," Self said.
"We didn't have to help on the post when Doke was in there. When we did (help), they made threes. He was huge for us. He gave our team a lift. He was better defensively than offensively. I think we have to play through him from this point forward. No matter how long it (KU's run) lasts, we have to get some inside baskets."
Of No. 5 seed Clemson (25-9), Self said on Jim Rome's show: "They beat them by 31 but it wasn't that close (84-53 second-round win over Auburn)," Self said. "They had 'em down 40. Brad (Brownell) is a terrific coach. He's getting his due like he deserves. Everybody has known it for a long time, the guy can coach.
"They don't make mistakes. You've got to beat them. They have dealt with some adversity also, losing a key player (senior forward Donte Grantham to injury). They've rallied around that. Their perimeter (including guards Gabe DeVoe, Marcquise Reed, Shelton Mitchell) is as good as we've played against all year and they have a big guy they can play around (Elijah Thomas). We kind of mirror each other that way. They don't give up easy baskets. You've got to make plays against 'em. Certainly they are capable of beating anybody."
