Joel Embiid out indefinitely after seeing back specialist

Joel Embiid of Kansas will miss the Big 12 Tournament and will likely miss the first weekend of the NCAA tournament.

Per ESPN, The 7-foot Cameroon native went to Los Angeles for a second opinion on his ailing back on Monday. Jayhawks coach Bill Self told ESPN.com earlier in the day he was confident that Embiid would play in the NCAA tourney, and thought there was a chance he could play in the Big 12 tournament.
However, after Embiid met with a spinal specialist, the initial stress fracture prognosis was confirmed and he was ruled out of the Big 12 tourney and is unlikely to play the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Embiid won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors and is considered the leading candidate to be selected No. 1 in the June NBA Draft -- if he elects to leave school after this season. He averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game this season.
According to Kansas, the injury will not require surgery and Embiid will return to the court in a few weeks. Embiid sat out the final two regular-season games.