The injury report for the South Region of the 2014 NCAA tournament is a lengthy one with the top two teams leading the way.
The Gators enter the tournament as the number one overall seed despite multiple injuries throughout their season. Leading scorer Casey Prather missed time with a bone bruise in his right knee and Scottie Wilbekin played through a lingering ankle injury. Freshmen guard Kasey Hill missed some time early in the season with a high-ankle sprain and a groin strain in late February. Sophomore Dillon Graham was forced to take a medical red shirt after requiring surgery to alleviate pain caused by bone spurs in his hip. Eli Carter, a transfer from Rutgers, will also redshirt after suffering a broken leg, though he did little to impress when he was available.
The second-seed Jayhawks will be without center Joel Embiid for at least two more weeks as the potential number one overall pick in this summer’s NBA draft sits with a stress fracture in his back. His back as been an issue before and the team will proceed with caution moving forward. Kansas guard Tyler Self and son of head coach Bill Self will not play after undergoing surgery in the preseason to help with torn ligaments in his foot.
The suddenly sputtering Syracuse Orange can’t blame their recent swoon entirely on health. The team survived a right knee sprain to senior center Baye-Moussa Keita, winning the two games he missed. However they dropped five of their next seven outings. Three-point specialist Trevor Cooney is nursing a sprained ankle but hasn’t missed any time and hopes to play against Western Michigan, a team that survived a nasty flu bug that lingered amongst the squad in January.
UCLA is led by Jordan Adams who has bounced back nicely from a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot that prematurely ended his 2013 season. Senior Travis Wear needed an early season appendectomy and freshmen reserve Noah Allen will not play due to facial fractures suffered in November. However the primary rotation players are healthy at the right time and will face an equally healthy Tulsa team.
Virginia Commonwealth has cause for concern as the availability of guard Melvin Johnson remains up in the air as the team prepares to face a Stephen F. Austin squad at full–strength. Johnson suffered a left knee sprain against George Washington and did not play in the Atlantic-10 Final against Saint Joseph’s. Johnson is a key offensive weapon off the bench averaging 10.5 points while shooting nearly 40 percent from behind the arc. He is listed as doubtful and could need his team to advance to the Sweet 16 to have a legitimate chance at returning.
Colorado enters as the eight-seed though they could have been higher if not for a torn ACL to leading scorer Spencer Dinwiddle. The junior guard has been out since January 12 and will obviously miss the remainder of the season. The Buffaloes’ opponent is familiar with the injury as the Pitt Panters will be without Durand Johnson. Johnson tore his ACL and his MCL one day before Dinwiddle and will not be available.
Stanford had a rough offseason and preseason losing Christian Sanders (hip surgery) and Andy Brown (torn ACL) before the year ever really started. Guard Aaron Bright was lost to a right shoulder dislocation in early December but his scoring numbers were down prior to the injury.
The remaining teams in the South, including Ohio State, Dayton, and New Mexico are predominantly healthy and hope to remain so moving forward.