Tag: Samford Bulldogs

What stood out from DJ Lagway’s post-Week 2 press conference

Everything that stood out from DJ Lagway’s postgame press conference after the Gators’ Week 2 victory against Samford.

Florida football defeated the Samford Bulldogs, 45-7, in Week 2 as true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway led the offense in a big way. With incumbent starter Graham Mertz sideline in the concussion protocol, it was time for the five-star recruit to shine.

Lagway threw for 456 yards and three touchdowns at a 72% (18-for-25) completion rate. He finished the game with the most single-game passing yards in program history by a true freshman, passing the previous record held by Chris Leak in 2003.

Lagway met with the media after Florida’s win and here’s what stood out from his postgame press conference.

On his mindset and how he felt he performed

“My mindset was just taking advantage of the opportunity. To go out there and compete with some heck of players around me. I feel like the preparation that coach (Ryan) O’Hara or coach (Billy) Napier, even Graham (Mertz), they helped me a lot with just making sure I was prepared so that was good.”

Talks about the deep throw that stood out to him from the game

“I’d say the one to Tank Hawkins. You know, that’s like one of my best friends here. So it was like, that was a surreal moment to get our first touchdown together. So it was pretty cool.”

On what contributed to his big performance

“First off, without God, none of that would have been possible. The performance I had, without my o-linemen blocking for me, without the leaders and the veteran guys being there for me, telling me that they got me, whatever goes good or bad, I feel like it was something big.

“Our receivers making plays, defense, they cleaned their butts off. The first half, even the whole game really, so I feel like this is the whole team aspect. The whole team. Everyone came to play.”

Lagway’s game preparation

“I said it right from the start. I feel like Coach Napier prepared us. He got us prepared. I feel like it’s like that every week. I feel like he prepared us a lot. I just feel like everything that they (Samford) did, we knew what they were going to do before they did it. I feel like it’s just preparation.”

Importance of getting playing time in Week 1

“That definitely helped my confidence. I just wanted to feel how it feels to get tackled in college and just see how it is on the field with, like, crowd noise, you know. 90,000 (people) in the stands. Like, I never had that in high school, so I wanted to see how it was.”

Lagway offers high praise to Mertz

“Man, Graham (Mertz) is the best thing that could ever happen to me. Him being here, just learning from a veteran player as himself, it’s just been amazing to learn and just see how to do things right. He’s a true professional. And that’s what I want to do when I get older.”

Why he chose to play for the Gators

“It’s two things. Coach Napier, of course, and the fan base. The fan base has shown me love since day one, so, you know, I’m a giver through and through.”

Up next for the Gators

Florida will play at home in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against the Texas A&M Aggies (1-1) on Saturday, Sept. 14. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC.

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DJ Lagway shines as Florida football beats Samford Bulldogs

Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway leads the Gators to their first win of the season with a record-breaking performance.

Florida football (1-1) captured a much-needed bounce-back victory as they defeated the Samford Bulldogs (0-2), 45-7.

The action in the game started quickly as the Gators’ defense forced a fumble on Samford’s first possession of the game.

Defensive back Jason Marshall Jr. recorded his first career forced fumble for Florida but unfortunately, the Gators would turn it over on downs in the red zone on their first offensive possession.

But as the game progressed, the Gators were able to find their groove.

Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway was the starter for Florida after Graham Mertz was unavailable to play due to a concussion he sustained last week against Miami.

Lights out is an understatement for the way the five-star true freshman played. He looked cool, calm and collected as he was having his way all night with the Samford defense.

Lagway did suffer a big hit in the head late in the second quarter that gave fans a scare, but he was able to come back in the game on Florida’s next offensive possession.

The first completion of the game came via a 77-yard throw to senior receiver Elijhah Badger. That would lead to a one-yard touchdown run by running back Montrell Johnson Jr. to put the Gators on the board 7-0 and give them their first lead of the season.

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Johnson would finish the game with 15 attempts for 67 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Lagway recorded his first collegiate touchdown pass early in the third quarter, throwing a 36-yard strike to freshman receiver Tank Hawkins to give the Gators a 21-0 lead.

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In the fourth quarter, Lagway threw a catch-and-run pass to sophomore receiver Eugene Wilson for 85 yards to blow the game open 38-7 and seal the victory for the Gators.

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Wilson had himself a career game as well. The receiver caught six passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. It was Wilson’s first career game with over 100 receiving yards.

Lagway finished the game throwing for 456 yards and three touchdowns at a 72% (18-for-25) completion rate.

“I thought he (Lagway) was pretty clean,” head coach Billy Napier said about Lagway’s performance. “I think he had a mental error in the first drive and outside of that, overall, he managed it well and played pretty clean.”

Lagway finished the game with the most single-game passing yards in program history by a true freshman, passing the previous record held by Chris Leak in 2003.

“My mindset was to take advantage of the opportunity,” Lagway said after the game. “Go out there and compete…I feel like the preparation that coach (Ryan) O’Hara or coach Napier, even Graham (Mertz), they helped me a lot with just making sure I was prepared so that was good.”

The Gators’ defense looked energized and locked in from the opening snap. Despite being without several key players in their secondary because of injuries, it wasn’t a problem for Florida.

Florida held Samford to just seven points. The Bulldogs had just 205 total yards of offense and had to punt a total of nine times.

Redshirt junior edge defender Tyreak Sapp had a great game defensively. Sapp had five total tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and a sack.

It was a great showing all-around for this Florida football team that needed something positive to happen.

Records were broken, the Swamp was rocking and the Gators are now looking to build on their momentum as they head toward Week 3 of the college football season.

Up next for the Gators

Florida will play at home in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against the Texas A&M Aggies (1-1) on Saturday, Sept. 14. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC.

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Three takeaways from Florida’s Week 2 home win over Samford

DJ Lagway was excellent and Florida’s defense improved greatly after a lackluster Week 1 performance, but there’s still a lot to clean up.

Florida took care of business (and covered the spread) against FCS Samford on Saturday, 45-7, but it wasn’t the kind of win the team can afford to celebrate for too long.

True freshman quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] looked the superstar recruiting experts promised him to be and Florida looked better in all three phases of the game compared to last week, but that’s what good SEC teams are supposed to do against lesser opponents.

Florida needed a win badly to change the narrative surrounding the program, and Lagway provided some hope to a fan base that has imploded over the past year — six straight losses will do that to any SEC fandom. But like any good piece of chocolate, this win is bittersweet.

There’s a lot to celebrate, but there’s also a lot to fix over the next week before Texas A&M comes to town.

To keep the candy bar analogy going, Florida needs to make sure this win was simply breaking off a piece rather than downing the whole thing in one go.

In other words, this can’t be the team’s high point.

DJ Lagway is him

With [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] in the concussion protocol, Florida was forced to start Lagway and he looked good with a capital G.

Lagway threw for 456 yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-25 passing in the win. He was near perfect; in fact, it’s hard to find a single blemish in Lagway’s performance against Samford. He set the school record for passing yards by a freshman, clearing Chris Leak’s 268-yard performance in 2003 by almost 200 yards. More importantly, he stepped up when the team needed him to the most.

The first quarter wasn’t pretty for Florida. The first drive of the night resulted in a turnover on downs, and a red-zone fumble in the second quarter kept fans on their toes.

Then, No. 2 settled in. Lagway started making tough throw after tough throw, all while taking a few hard shots from Samford’s defense. There was a scary moment at the end of the first half when he took a big hit and was forced to sit a play, but he returned in the second half and looked fine. All three of Lagway’s passing touchdowns came after halftime.

There is no question that Lagway is the future of this program after a performance like that, but Mertz is still the veteran leader of the team. Billy Napier has a tough decision to make if Mertz is healthy next week. At the very least, he’ll have to script a drive for Lagway against Texas A&M.

Defensive line looking much better

Florida’s defensive line consistently got to Samford’s offense behind the line of scrimmage, racking up 12 tackles for a loss and four sacks in the win.

The sacks belonged to Caleb Banks, George Gumbs Jr., Tyreak Sapp and Ja’Markis Weston. True freshman LJ McCray also recorded two quarterback hurries on the evening.

It was a much better performance from the front seven compared to the Miami game, even if it does come against an FCS club. Creating the same pressure against SEC linemen will be the key to future success on defense for Florida.

Although he’s not a defensive lineman, Cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. also deserves a shoutout for forcing the only turnover on the day. He stripped a Samford player on the first drive of the game to set the tone early. Florida allowed just 205 yards (144 passing, 61 rushing) all night.

There’s still some sloppiness to clean up

It’s easy to get lost in the thrill of a win, but Florida made plenty of mistakes against Samford.

Penalties and an overall lack of discipline remain an issue three years into Napier’s tenure as head coach. It’s something Napier vowed to clean up in Year 1 but has never truly taken in Gainesville. False starts and personal fouls will cost the Gators against an SEC team. So will fumbling within five yards of the end zone in the first half.

This game was the only “freebie” on Florida’s schedule. Week-to-week improvement is always good, but avoidable mistakes chip away at any goodwill earned by the team in this kind of win.

Practice should be grueling this week. To a degree, the missteps should be focused on more than the positives. They can’t happen again if Florida wants to string together a few wins before facing the second-half gauntlet — Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State, in that order without a bye week.

Be happy, but don’t be satisfied.

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Florida’s pregame injury report for Week 2 matchup with Samford

Graham Mertz headlines a group of Gators who are out for Week 2 against Samford.

Florida football goes into Week 2 a bit banged up against the Samford Bulldogs.

The Gators will be without several of their key starters, the most notable being quarterback Graham Mertz who suffered a concussion last week against Miami and was placed in concussion protocol.

Head coach Billy Napier said on Wednesday that Mertz was progressing but it’s just not enough time to be ready for Week 2.

“Graham did not practice today,” Napier said on Wednesday. “He is farther into the protocol, and he’s doing better but he’s not quite — he hasn’t quite passed the final test. He’s doing better, but he’s not quite there yet.”

Five-star freshman DJ Lagway will be taking the place of Mertz and start at quarterback against Samford and will get a chance to show Florida fans his talent.

But a notable injury that hurts the most is redshirt junior wide receiver Kahleil Jackson and his season-ending knee injury.

Napier had plans for Jackson to be a key part of the Gators offense this season.

“Kahleil Jackson needs no motivation,” Napier said about Jackson’s mindset. “He’s self-motivated; he’s a grinder. He’s always been out to prove himself, and he’s done that. He has the respect of myself, our staff, his teammates.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Florida will be without some of their key defenders in the secondary.

Junior cornerback Devin Moore and redshirt-senior safety Asa Turner are out for Week 2. Moore is dealing with a lower-body injury and Turner has a shoulder injury.

Napier said that sophomore Dijon Johnson and redshirt-senior DJ Douglas will see playing time.

“Guys like Didi (Dijon) Johnson, will be in the rotation,” Napier said. “DJ Douglas will get more time. We’ve got some depth there.”

Napier went on to say, “So I mean, I think you just see some of those players that maybe played 12 plays, they’ll play 25 this week. We’ve got confidence in those players. I think it’s an opportunity, and they’ll be ready.”

Who’s out for the Gators vs. Samford

Gators Week 2 Game

Florida (0-1) will go up against the Samford Bulldogs (0-1) on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

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ESPN gives Florida huge chance of winning vs. Samford in Week 2

ESPN Analytics gave the Gators football team, by far, their highest chance of winning against an opponent on their schedule this season.

According to ESPN Analytics, the Florida football team has a 97.7% chance to win against the Samford Bulldogs on Week 2 of the college football season.

That is by far the highest chance of winning a game ESPN gave the Gators this season. With the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country, that comes to no surprise.

Besides their game against Samford, the Gators are not favored in any game remaining on their schedule. Not one.

The next highest percentage they have of winning a game is against the Kentucky Wildcats and that currently sits at 45.4%

The lowest percentage that the Gators have of winning is when they play on the road in Austin, Texas, to face the Texas Longhorns. Their chance of winning that game is just 5.4%.

A long season awaits for Florida and it’s tough to see how this season can turn into something positive, as of now.

Gators chances of winning against their opponents, according to ESPN Analytics

  • Home vs. Texas A&M Aggies (Sept. 14): 40.4%
  • Away at Mississippi State Bulldogs (Sept. 21): 39.9%
  • Home vs. UCF Knights (Oct. 5): 42.1%
  • Away at Tennessee Volunteers (Oct. 12): 12.5%
  • Home vs. Kentucky Wildcats (Oct. 19): 45.4%
  • Neutral site vs. Georgia Bulldogs (Nov. 2): 5.7%
  • Away at Texas Longhorns (Nov. 9): 5.4%
  • Home vs. LSU Tigers (Nov. 16): 39.4%
  • Home vs. Ole Miss Rebels (Nov. 23): 20.4%
  • Away at Florida State Seminoles (Nov. 30): 36.8%

Gators Week 2 Game

Florida (0-1) will go up against the Samford Bulldogs (0-1) on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

How to watch Florida Gators vs. Samford Bulldogs college football Week 2

Everything you need to know in order to watch the Florida Gators take on the Samford Bulldogs in Week 2 on Saturday, Sept. 7.

The Florida Gators host the FCS Samford Bulldogs inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday night in college football’s Week 2, and if you are looking to watch the game live you have come to the right place.

Billy Napier and Co. suffered an “embarrassing” loss to the Miami Hurricanes last weekend, 41-17, in which they lost their starting quarterback to a concussion. This week, five-star true freshman DJ Lagway will be lining up under center for the first start of his nascent career.

Samford and Florida have met just once before back in 2021 when Dan Mullen was still leading the team. The Gators battled the Bulldogs to a 70-52 shootout victory in the Swamp that day.

Florida vs. Samford Week 2 college football game info

Here’s everything you need to watch the Gators against the Bulldogs.

  • When: Saturday, Sept. 7
  • Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
  • TV: SEC Network+
  • Live stream: SEC Network+

What time is Florida vs. Samford?

The Gators take on the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 7.

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Florida football announces Week 2 captains vs. Samford Bulldogs

The Gators announced their three captains earlier today for their Week 2 matchup against Samford.

Florida football has announced their three captains for the game against the Samford Bulldogs this Saturday.

Sophomore EDGE Kamran James, redshirt junior offensive lineman Damieon George Jr. and redshirt junior long snapper Rocco Underwood will hold as the Gators’ Week 2 captains.

James started last week against the Miami Hurricanes and had four tackles including a solo and a quarterback hurry. The 6-foot-5-inch, 267-pound edge defender is in his second season with the Gators. The Orlando native played in all 12 games last season as a freshman, primarily on special teams.

George started last week at right guard against Miami and had a total of 47 offensive snaps. The offensive lineman is in his second season with Florida after transferring from Alabama in 2022.

According to Pro Football Focus, his pass-blocking grade against the Hurricanes was 80.3 out of 100. He didn’t allow a sack or rush. But his run-blocking was graded 56.5 out of 100. So that’s an area that George needs to improve on.

Underwood is a veteran, playing in his fourth season with the Gators and serving as their long snapper. Underwood did record a tackle in Week 1 against Miami and played in every game last season.

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Gators Week 2 Game

Florida (0-1) will go up against the Samford Bulldogs (0-1) next Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida football’s Billy Napier addresses criticisms from fans

Everything you need to know from Gators head coach Billy Napier’s press conference earlier this afternoon.

It’s been a rough start to the season for Billy Napier and the Florida football program. Not only did they get blown out at home 41-17 in their season-opener against the Miami Hurricanes, but they have also received a ton of criticism from the world of college football and their own fans alike.

These past 48 hours have not been easy for the Gators nation and rightfully so. You can’t really reach a new low point as a fan than to see your team get embarrassed at home like that.

Nonetheless, Napier and his team are trying to turn the page as they prepare for Samford this Saturday.

Napier met with the media earlier this afternoon and here’s what stood out from the press conference.

Napier thanks Gators fans

“(I) want to thank our fans,” he opened. “You know, our fans showed up. And did a great job. We need to do our part. You know, so that they could have been more of a factor in the game. You know, I think certainly we contributed to that.”

Napier talks about Graham Mertz’s availability

“Well, it’s to be determined right now. You know, I mean, I think we’re moving our way. I mean, I think obviously we we are checking boxes in protocol. You know, so regardless of the injury that he (Mertz) has, I don’t have that answer today. But, we’re going to go practice today and obviously DJ (Lagway) will be taking those reps.”

Napier’s confidence in Lagway

“Well, I mean, I think we would play a brand of football that reflects his experience and his strengths. Right. No different than we do each week. But I’ve got a ton of confidence in DJ (Lagway). You know, I think we’ve had him since January. He’s a completely different person and player than he was when he first arrived.

“So he’s got a really good knowledge of our system. I do think coach to player helps a young quarterback. Right. So there’s an advantage there that maybe you wouldn’t have had a year ago.”

Napier on criticism from the fans

“I do think that we have character. We got to go to work on the football part, you know, and I think we got to get more. We got to become a more consistent team, and we have to execute better.

“And if we can focus on those things and not necessarily what some guy in his basement saying in, you know, rural Central Florida on social media, then we got a chance to get better, right?”

“So, I think that’s the key. You know, but, sometimes you deserve criticism, you know, and I think that’s one of those things I would say I have no excuses. Right. So we got to go get it fixed. I know you’re just coach that you saw on film after analyzing the film. That was uncharacteristic from what you’d seen in the fall.”

Napier talks about the team’s mentality after the loss

“I just think we’ve got the group of players that we have. You know, I mean, I think observing them, you know, I think, I mean, we had almost the entire team came to the building yesterday when they were off, right? So, I think that’s a good example of, you know, the type of group that we have here.

“So, yeah, I mean, look, they’re embarrassed. I mean, that’s reality, right? So, you know, I said it postgame. I mean, I think, they know they’re capable of better, and got every opportunity is a lot of football left here.

“And I think that’s what we gotta do. We gotta focus on the next opportunity, the results. Cause you kind of look at any of the specific game prep process, other changes that you think you need to make.”

Napier discusses playing Samford

“Chris Hatcher is a great coach. I think this is year 10 for him. You know, Samford is one of the more competitive FCS programs in the country. He’s (Hatcher) done a good job of building a program. They’ve continued to invest there, and he’s got a good mix of players, and he’s got some portal players, and he’s also got some good high school players.

“And they have a history of being competitive in these games. You know, they played several of these throughout their time. And I’ve got a ton of respect as a former FCA FCS guy. You know, these games are important to programs like Samford.

“So, one thing that we’re going to do this week is we’re going to punt all the injury questions until Wednesday.”

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March Madness Thursday’s best first-round upsets picks and predictions

Beat the Sportsbook: Here’s Thursday’s 3 best underdog bets for the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

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If you’re old enough to remember, you know where you were when Bryce Drew’s shot led 13th-seeded Valparaiso over 4-seed Ole Miss. Every few years, we have big-time moments like that where Cinderella finds perfectly fitting slippers.

As recently as last season, 16-seed Farleigh Dickinson busted many brackets with a win over top-seeded Purdue. It was just the 2nd time in NCAA Tournament history that a 16-seed won a game.

These upset picks are the crucial ingredient to winning parlays, and they make great profit points as standalone bets as well.

After looking at the BetMGM Sportsbook’s NCAA Tournament odds and lines, here are the best 1st-round upsets for Thursday among our expert college basketball picks and predictions.

Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

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NCAA Tournament best Thursday first-round upsets

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 3:04 p.m. ET. All game times ET; ML = moneyline.

OREGON (+100) vs. South Carolina – 4 p.m.

The Ducks won the final installment of the Pac-12 Tournament with a 75-68 W over Colorado. They’ve won 4 straight and have a tournament-tested coach with Dana Altman. In his 14 years in Eugene, he has guided the Ducks to the tournament 8 times. He took them to the Final Four in 2017, when they took North Carolina to the brink in a 77-76 loss. The major cog the Ducks have going for them is C N’Faly Dante. He’s averaging 17.7 points, 9.2 boards, 1.9 steals and 1.9 blocks over his last 10 games. The Gamecocks are undersized, and their top rebounder is averaging a whopping 4.8 boards per game. Dante is going to eat them up.

Potential payout: Bet $100 to profit $100 (payout = $200).

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SAMFORD (+260) vs. Kansas – 10:55 p.m.

This line opened at +280 and has come down, in large part, because KU is without its leading scorer. G Kevin McCullar (knee) will miss the entire tournament, and it’s not going to be easy to replace his 18.3 PPG. Samford had a pretty good chance before that news because they’re the 5th-ranked offense in the country at 86 PPG. They play at a blistering pace, 11th in the nation at 72.8, which could wear down KU’s 7-foot-2 center Hunter Dickinson. The Bulldogs were blown out by Purdue 98-45 early in the season in their only game against a ranked team. They went 29-4 the rest of the way.

Potential payout: Bet $100 to profit $260 (payout = $360).

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NC STATE (+180) vs. Texas Tech – 10:55 p.m.

The 11-seeded Wolfpack take on the 6-seeded Red Raiders in Pittsburgh. The Pack stunned the UNC Tar Heels 84-76 to take the ACC crown. They won 5 games in 5 consecutive days, and they have the size underneath to strike an advantage on anyone. F D.J. Burns Jr., 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds, averaged 16 PPG over the last 7 games, and he was in double figures in 6 of them. F Mohamed Diarra averaged 14 PPG, 14 RPG and 2.3 BPG over his last 4 games. They’re hot, battle-tested, and they could make a run.

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Without Kevin McCullar, Kansas on upset watch against Samford

The shorthanded Kansas Jayhawks will be without star guard Kevin McCullar Jr in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, which could lead to an early exit in March Madness.

The Kansas Jayhawks earned a four seed in the NCAA Tournament after a pedestrian – by their standard – 10-8 record in Big 12 play and an exit in the first round of the conference tournament at the hands of Cincinnati.

Kansas was missing Kevin McCullar Jr and Hunter Dickinson in that contest, their two leading scorers, and while Dickinson will be back for the team’s first round matchup against the No. 13 seed Samford Bulldogs – McCullar is reportedly going to miss the entire NCAA Tournament with a nagging knee injury.

McCullar missed a few regular season games prior to his absence against the Bearcats, but when he was on the floor he was an incredibly dynamic two-way player for the Jayhawks – averaging 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while shooting 45.4% from the field and playing at an elite level defensively.

Beyond the loss of McCullar and his specific skill set, this loss exacerbates what has been an ongoing issue for Kansas this season – a lack of depth.

Self has never been one to play a deep bench, but this year’s Jayhawks have been overly reliant on their big four of McCullar, Dickinson, KJ Adams, and Dajuan Harris to get them through night in and night out.

Kansas tried freshman Elmarko Jackson and Towson transfer Nick Timberlake to start at the two alongside the big four, but both struggled to contribute consistently offensively before the job was eventually given to Australian freshman Johnny Furphy.

Furphy has been far and away the best of the bunch, but now he’ll face even more pressure filling in for McCullar while one of Jackson and Timberlake step into a bigger role against the Bulldogs.

Samford’s press-heavy, constant pressure approach could cause serious issues for this depleted Kansas roster – and it is entirely possible we see the Jayhawks heading home unusually early in this year’s big dance.