Kansas' Joel Embiid to sit rest of regular season

Joel Embiid will sit out the final two regular-season games for No. 8 Kansas so that he can rest a lower back strain that has already caused him to miss a game, and it's possible the freshman center could be out through the Big 12 tournament.

Jayhawks coach Bill Self said Monday that Embiid re-aggravated the injury and that experts have told the team's training staff that the best remedy is simply rest. An MRI exam taken on his lower back came back negative.

The Jayhawks, who have already wrapped up their 10th straight Big 12 championship, play host to Texas Tech on Wednesday night. They finish the regular season Saturday at West Virginia.

They'll have a first-round bye in the Big 12 tournament, which starts March 12.

"There is no reason why he should not be feeling much better by the NCAA tournament," Self said. "The doctors feel that amount of time off should do him wonders for how he is feeling."

The 7-foot Embiid has been a revelation this season, averaging 11.2 points and 8.1 rebounds despite only playing basketball for a few years. The native of Cameroon is expected to be a lottery pick if he declares for the NBA draft, though he told The Associated Press in a recent interview that he's leaning toward returning to Kansas for his sophomore season.