Which season-ending loss hurts NCAA tournament hopefuls the most?
The dreaded season-ending knee injury has struck again.
In a tightly contested race for top spot in the Big East, Xavier guard Edmond Sumner became the latest victim of a season-ending injury when it was revealed on Monday that the sophomore had torn his ACL in Sunday's game against St. John's.
Sumner's injury, although devastating for the Musketeers, is not the first instance where a team with high hopes in 2017 suffered a significant blow to its starting lineup. A number of other teams, including one competing with Xavier for conference supremacy, have been victimized by various severe injuries costing them key on-court performances.
The question is, which team is hurt more?
Maurice Watson Jr. (Knee) - Creighton
Irony can be a funny thing at times, seeing as two weeks prior to Sumner's season-ending injury, Xavier was involved in a Jan. 16 game that saw another elite Big East guard suffer the same fate.
Creighton senior Maurice Watson Jr., the team's leader in assists and 3-point shooting at the time, tore his left ACL on a non-contact play after he had re-entered the game with the knee seemingly already hurt. Creighton has not fared well since Watson went down, losing two of its last three games and falling to No. 22 in the nation.
The injury hurts a little bit more for Creighton, as it all but ends Watson's college career in a Bluejays uniform.
OG Anunoby (Knee) - Indiana
Indiana had big hopes for this season, and OG Anunoby was at the center of those hopes.
After proving to be an integral part of the Hoosiers' starting lineup, Anunoby was lost on Jan. 18 against Penn State with what proved to be a season-ending knee injury. Anunoby had missed a three-game stretch earlier in the season because of an ankle injury, but appeared to have turned a corner and regained his productive form.
Indiana has lost two of the last three games without Anunoby on the court, and with a record of 14-8, the Hoosiers do not have much of a security blanket left before they could be on the outside looking in when March rolls around.
Ben Carter/Gavin Schilling (Knee) - Michigan State
Michigan State could be well on its way to only its third season with double-digit losses in the last decade, and part of that reason is because of a lack of size in its frontcourt.
Both Ben Carter and Gavin Schilling were believed to be looked on as contributors for the Spartans under the basket this season, seeing as both are tied for being the team's tallest players at 6-foot-9. Carter suffered a setback to a season-ending injury sustained last year while playing for UNLV, and Schilling suffered a non-contact knee injury in preseason practice.
Both men have not seen the court this season, and Michigan State has felt their absence, as the team has often appeared out-matched around the basket.
Austin Nichols (Dismissal) - Virginia
Memphis transfer Austin Nichols was originally counted on to be a leading producer for Virginia. That ended after only one game.
Nichols sat out last season after transferring from the Tigers following a two-year stint that saw him average 13.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game as a sophomore. Nichols saw the court for 16 minutes in the Cavaliers' second game of the season against St. Francis, but was dismissed from the team shortly after for not living up to team standards.
Virginia has survived the loss of Nichols for the most part, currently sitting with an overall record of 16-4 and second in the ACC. If Nichols had managed to work out for the Cavaliers, however, their performance could have been that much better.