KU basketball down three scholarship players for Champions Classic game vs. Duke
Kansas basketball players Zach Clemence, MJ Rice and Kyle Cuffe Jr. did not make the trip to Indianapolis for the Jayhawks’ Champions Classic game against Duke on Tuesday night.
A KU official indicated Rice is sick and staying in Lawrence. Clemence, a sophomore forward, took a hard hit to the nose in Thursday’s win over North Dakota State and also was ruled out for Tuesday night.
Cuffe, a redshirt-freshman guard, suffered a torn MCL (medial collateral ligament) and PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) in a knee at practice on Saturday and is expected to miss 10 to 12 weeks of basketball.
Cuffe and Clemence did not score in the first two games. Rice missed the first game of the season because of a lower-back injury. He played in game two, scoring 10 points against North Dakota State.
Super-senior big man Cam Martin also has not played after injuring his shoulder in the preseason.
Tuesday’s KU-Duke game is set for an 8:30 p.m. Central tip at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
