Kansas coach Bill Self to miss Big 12 tourney game with illness

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Selfwill miss the seventh-ranked Jayhawks’ quarterfinal game againstWest Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday with what theschool called an undisclosed illness.

Kansas officials announced the news about five hours beforetipoff between the top-seeded Jayhawks and eighth-seededMountaineers. Assistant Norm Roberts will serve as the actingcoach; he filled the same role earlier in the season when Selfserved a school-imposed four-game suspension.

The Jayhawks are the defending Big 12 Tournament champions andare trying to secure a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, wherethey will attempt to defend the national championship they won lastApril.

“Self is doing well and receiving great care at the Universityof Kansas Health System,” the school said Thursday in a statement.It did not say whether Self would be back should the Jayhawksadvance to the semifinals.

The 60-year-old Hall of Fame coach led Kansas to theregular-season championship in the toughest conference in thenation this season despite losing several key players from the teamthat beat North Carolina the national title.

He was present for a shoot-around at T-Mobile Center onWednesday and appeared to be in normal condition. He met withreporters for about 20 minutes outside the locker room and said histeam was ready for another March run.

“We’ve talked about we’re going to Kansas City to try to putourselves in position to win this thing, but knowing we better takeone game at a time,” he said. “I’ve put the emphasis on let’s goplay our best. What the (Big 12) tournament does, it can validatewhat your regular season’s been. And this is an opportunity tovalidate it.”