No. 10 Kansas will be without national player of the year candidate Ochai Agbaji for its game at No. 20 Iowa State on Tuesday. The school announced Agbaji's status just after noon ET, saying he did not make the trip to Ames, Iowa, due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Tipoff between the Jayhawks and Cyclones is set for 7 p.m. at ISU's Hilton Coliseum.
Agbaji is the Big 12's leading scorer at 20.9 points per game and is making 46.4% of his 3-point attempts this season. The 6-5 senior wing has reached double figures in every game this season and jumped into the lottery pick conversation for the 2022 NBA Draft with his play.
His absence comes as Kansas (17-3, 6-1 Big 12) is looking to maintain a narrow edge on Baylor (19-3, 7-2) in the Big 12 standings ahead of their showdown with each other on Saturday. Agbaji's absence will present a golden opportunity for the Cyclones (16-5, 3-5) to reach three consecutive wins for the first time since their 12-0 start ended on Jan. 1.
Agbaji scored 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting during KU's 62-61 home win over Iowa State on Jan. 11, which ended with a miss at the buzzer from ISU's Gabe Kalscheur. Agbaji had 13 points and two rebounds in the Jayhawks' 80-62 loss to Kentucky on Saturday.
His absence for Tuesday's game could mean additional minutes for seventh-year senior wing Jalen Coleman-Lands, who transferred to KU this season after averaging 14.3 points per game for Iowa State last season.
Coleman-Lands is averaging just 9.9 minutes per game for the Jayhawks and has played just 5.4 minutes per game since the last time these teams met on Jan. 11.
