Wade officially out against Kansas

Junior forward Dean Wade will not play in tonight’s game against No. 9/9 Kansas in the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship as a precautionary measure.

Wade sustained a foot injury during Thursday’s 66-64 quarterfinal win over TCU at the Big 12 Championship.

“We are obviously disappointed for Dean that he can’t go tonight,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “However, should we advance to Saturday’s championship game, we will re-evaluate his status and going forward into next week’s NCAA Tournament we have every indication he will be able to play.”

An All-Big 12 First Team performer, Wade has put together an impressive all-around effort as a junior in 2017-18, as he ranks first or second in 12 statistical categories, including scoring (16.5 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (28), 20-point games (11), double-doubles (four) and rebounding (6.3 rpg.). He has led the Wildcats in scoring a team-best 13 times, in rebounding 17 times and in assists on eight occasions. Overall, he has averaged 16.5 points on 55 percent shooting (197-of-358), including 44 percent (40-of-91) from 3-point range, and 74.8 percent (95-of-127) from the free throw line to go with 6.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.8 blocks in 33.6 minutes per game.

The Wildcats (22-10) will play the Jayhawks (27-5) for a third time at 6 p.m., CT tonight in the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship with the game airing on ESPN.