The most significant injury in the country is Ty Lawson’s ankle. Sherron Collins’ knee is a close second.

Kansas coach Bill Self has had Collins at 100 percent for just two games the entire season.

Collins, arguably the toughest player on the Jayhawks, bruised his patella underneath his kneecap a couple weeks ago and has barely practiced since. Collins played 18 minutes in Wednesday’s win at Iowa State and finished with seven points.

"That was the best he’s moved in a while,” Self said. “It’s just a bruised bone, but he feels it every time his knee bends. He seems to be getting better, though.”

Self said Collins couldn’t move prior to Wednesday’s game and doctors have said it’s going to take time.

Self’s team has also had top deal with off-court issues in the last couple weeks. Darnell Jackson’s first cousin died last week of gunshot wounds while he was at an Oklahoma City club. Fellow senior Rodrick Stewart’s adopted brother was murdered and died the same day as Jackson’s cousin.

HACKETT DIFFERENCE-MAKER

The numbers may not have been overly impressive, but USC is a completely different team without Daniel Hackett.

Hackett, who had missed the last three games, played 24 minutes and scored all five of his points in the final seven minutes in USC’s 70-58 road win at Arizona.

Hackett said he felt “weird” in the beginning of the game, but then he felt no effects from the back and hip injury that has forced him to sit since Feb. 9.

"Right now it’s just a matter of keeping my back loose,” Hackett said after the victory. “I just can’t do any crazy moves.”

Hackett, while admitting his athleticism may not be on the same level as Arizona freshman Jerryd Bayless, did a nice job defensively on Thursday night. Trojans coach Tim Floyd went with the triangle-and-two defense to focus on Bayless and Chase Budinger for much of the game.

"The whole nation’s eyes were on us,” Hackett said of the game. “People wanted to see which team was better between us and Arizona. This was a big win for us.”

CAUSEY CONCUSSION

Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said despite Matt Causey being cleared by the trainer to play in the second half against Duke, he never would have played the senior guard had he seen some of the signs that were caught on television:

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Causey suffered a concussion after hitting his head on the floor following a collision with Duke’s Greg Paulus.

"Our medical people still stand by their decision to allow him to play,” Hewitt said. “With that said, I never would have played him had I since some of the things I saw on tape after the game. It looked awful and I was sick to my stomach. When I saw it, I had no idea.”

Causey told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that he fluttered his eyes on purpose and that it wasn’t an involuntary effect from the concussion.

"I got some weird eye movements, anyway,” Causey told the AJC. “I was just trying to get my perception, my vision, back.”

PATTERSON'S INJURY DESTROYS ANY TOURNEY HOPES

With Patrick Patterson, it was going to be difficult for Kentucky to get to the NCAA tournament.

Without him, it'll take a near-miracle from the Wildcats.

Billy Gillispie still needs at least a couple more victories down the stretch and a solid showing in the SEC tournament to make a legitimate case for the Big Dance.

Now he'll have no post presence to do so.

JMU CANDIDATES

James Madison is looking for someone with head coaching experience to replace Dean Keener at the end of the season.

According to sources, Florida assistant and ex-Clemson head coach Larry Shyatt is at or near the top of the list. Other names mentioned are Mike Jarvis, Buzz Peterson and Tom Herrion.

NATIONAL PREP CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

The National Prep Championships, which includes the top eight teams in the country, will be held at Fordham from March 4-6 and will begin Tuesday with four quarterfinal games. The semifinals will be at 6 and 8 p.m. on Wednesday and the championship game is Thursday at 7 p.m. Here are the quarterfinal matchups.

5 p.m. - No. 1 Hargrave vs. No. 8 St. Thomas More
6:30 p.m. – No. 4 Brewster vs. No. 5 American Christian
8 p.m. – No. 3 Patterson vs. No. 6 Notre Dame Prep
9:30 p.m. – No. 2 Findlay Prep vs. No. 7 Harmony School

RANDOM NOTES: St. John’s president, Reverend Donald Harrington, was in favor of giving coach Norm Roberts another season to see how the young talent comes along. Roberts has five freshmen and one sophomore among his top eight players.

Davon Jefferson is making up for lost time.

Two years ago at this time, the 6-foot-8 wing was considered a guy who had a chance to make the jump directly to the NBA.

However, with a dozen or so NBA teams watching in November of 2005, Jefferson flopped and his NBA dreams were put on hold for a while.

Jefferson was kicked out of Patterson School (N.C.) shortly thereafter and he’s basically fallen off the map – until now.

Jefferson took correspondence classes while sitting out the entire 2006 season in an effort to get his academics squared away. He qualified and became the “other” freshman in USC’s class.

Well, after sitting out the first three games due to injury, Jefferson has started to re-establish himself as one of the elite players after putting up 20 points against a stingy Southern Illinois team and going for 23 points and nine boards in a win over Oklahoma last night.

The Trojans seem to be coming together at the right time after their shocking loss to Mercer. They have won six straight games heading into a two-game stretch in which they will face No. 4 Kansas this weekend at home before facing No. 3 Memphis in New York on Tuesday night.

DOUBLE-DIPPING

It’ll be interesting to see if Gonzaga has anything left in the tank for tomorrow’s game against UConn in Boston.

The Zags came back from Alaska last week and traveled to Philadelphia for what turned out to be an overtime win at Saint Joseph’s last night. Mark Few’s team will face UConn at 3:30 ET and that game will be followed by a New England battle between Providence and Boston College.

NIGHTLIGHTS

- George Mason absolutely pasted Drexel, 85-38, in the CAA opener for both teams. Mason is the clear-cut favorite to win the league, especially with VCU struggling (the Rams lost to Hampton last night).

- Freshman Michael Beasley had 24 points and 14 boards, but Kansas State lost at home against Oregon in overtime. Oregon’s 5-foot-6 point guard Tajuan Porter didn’t have his best game, but he made plays down the stretch.

- Vanderbilt needed double-overtime to get past South Alabama. Aussie freshman Andrew Ogilvy continued to produce – with 19 points (7-of-10 shooting) and eight boards.

- UT-Arlington remains unbeaten at 6-0 – it’s best start in school history. Senior big man Jermaine Griffin had 22 points and 13 boards.

RANDOM NOTES: UMass coach Travis Ford said that his starting point guard, Chris Lowe, still isn’t back to 100 percent after an ankle injury he suffered in the preseason. Lowe has missed two games this season. ``Going into the Syracuse game, I thought he was about 75 percent,” Ford said. … Kansas State could get a couple of mid-season additions with wing Dominique Sutton and big man Jahmar Samuels. Both are currently at Notre Dame Prep (Mass.) trying to get qualified. … Word is that it’s going to be difficult for Louisville big man David Padgett to get a sixth-year of eligibility because he transferred from Kansas and sat out a year. If his fifth-year had been a medical hardship, then he’d likely be granted one additional year.