Auburn will be without forward Chuma Okeke for the rest of the NCAA Tournament after he tore the ACL in his left knee late in the Tigers’ Sweet 16 victory over North Carolina on Friday.
The No. 5 Tigers face No. 2 Kentucky on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.
“It’s almost crushing but it’s certainly deflating because Chuma Okeke is an NBA player,” ESPN’s Jay Bilas said on air.
“No one player is going to replace him, everyone’s going to have to do a little more.”
The 6-foot-8 sophomore had already scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds when his knee buckled on the way to the basket. Okeke immediately grabbed it and rolled around on the floor, and his team and several Tar Heels players gathered around him.
Okeke, Auburn’s leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, will have surgery Tuesday with Dr. James Andrews.
(The AP contributed)“We’re going to rally. I’ll go hug on him.”
Bruce Pearl gets emotional discussing Chuma Okeke after @AuburnMBB‘s win over North Carolina. ?#MarchMadness | #Sweet16 pic.twitter.com/sOaD9dtrEz — NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 30, 2019
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