photo by: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Kansas guard Jayden Dawson drives during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, in Lawrence.

Las Vegas — Kansas guard Jayden Dawson had been creeping his way up the Jayhawks’ rotation, to the point that he had become KU’s first guard off the bench.

In fact, in KU’s recent victory over Princeton in Lawrence and loss to Duke in New York, Dawson had drawn a slightly higher share of minutes than one of the Jayhawks’ starters, struggling freshman wing Kohl Rosario.

But a setback on Monday at MGM Grand Garden Arena may have halted Dawson’s momentum. The senior transfer from Loyola-Chicago, who entered the matchup with Notre Dame averaging 5.2 points in 18.6 minutes per game, had to leave after just four minutes. Dawson came in early for Flory Bidunga at the 16-minute, 30-second mark after a tough stretch for the freshman forward. He exited at 12:17, but not long afterward went back up the tunnel to the Jayhawks’ locker room holding his right wrist.

Dawson returned to the bench before the end of the first half, but he didn’t see any further time on the court after his four-minute stint. Following the game, KU coach Bill Self said that the results of X-rays on Dawson were still pending.

“Apparently he hurt it dunking in warmups, his right wrist, so I bet he’s doubtful for the tournament, but I do not know that for a fact,” Self said. “He went in today and obviously said he couldn’t go. That was disappointing because we’re kind of short-handed right now to begin with.”

Indeed, the Jayhawks’ backcourt has long been depleted by the absence of star guard Darryn Peterson, who has not played since the game against North Carolina on Nov. 7. Peterson will not appear in either of KU’s upcoming games at the Players Era tournament, including on Tuesday afternoon against Syracuse. Self said on Monday that KU is planning to reevaluate him every three or four days or so, and that he has to “test out of some things” when the Jayhawks get back to Lawrence.

In the near term, that made Dawson’s presence in the backcourt especially important. Instead, in Monday’s 71-61 victory against Notre Dame, starting point guard Melvin Council Jr. played 38 minutes for the second straight game (not unusual for him as he played at least 38 on 21 separate occasions last season at St. Bonaventure) and returning reserves Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell saw extended time. McDowell’s 18 minutes were his most of the year.

He and Jackson each hit 3-pointers, and McDowell had a big block on Notre Dame’s leading scorer Markus Burton.

“It’s not that they did unbelievable things,” Self said, “but they did things to help our team win, and I think that they’ll both obviously be very important the next two days.”