Shakeel Moore injury update: Bill Self shares status of Kansas guard for NCAA Tournament

Kansas guard Shakeel Moore could be nearing a return from injury ahead of the NCAA Tournament, according to coach Bill Self. Moore has not played in more than a month as he is dealing with an ankle injury but is considered day-to-day as the Jayhawks prepare for a matchup with Arkansas on Thursday.

Self was hopeful about his status when asked as a press conference Tuesday. He offered the latest update on where Moore has been at during practice throughout the week.

“He practiced a little bit on Friday and Saturday,” Self said. “Today, he practiced less. I’d like to see him get out there. Hopefully he can go some tomorrow and he’ll be available to us at least. We may could have put him in against Arizona (in the Big 12 Tournament), but if you put him in against Arizona and the game doesn’t go well, you’ve lost him for the season just by putting him in there. So I told him I’d rather him play this weekend, but we don’t know how it’s gonna be. It’s day-to-day.”

Kansas could certainly use the veteran presence of Moore, who is a fifth-year senior who transferred from Mississippi State this offseason. He has appeared in 19 games with nine starts for the Jayhawks in 2024-25, averaging 3.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

It’s been a somewhat disappointing season so far by Kansas standards, as the No. 7 seed the Jayhawks earned is their lowest ever under Self. What happened in the regular season would surely be forgiven if they can manage a deep run in the tournament, however.

Getting Moore back could be a big boost in potentially making that happen. He’ll likely play off the bench if at all, but that just makes the rotation that much deeper. Kansas is 12-7 in the games that he played this season.

Coming into the game, Kansas is a 4.5-point favorite over Arkansas, per FanDuel. Those odds would seemingly increase slightly if Shakeel Moore can play.

The Razorbacks are also banged up entering the game, with Adou Thiero out and Boogie Fland set to play after sitting out the past two months. So regardless, whichever team wins will have to do so while dealing with injuries. Tip off between Kansas and Arkansas is set for 6:10 p.m. CT in Providence and will be televised on CBS.