NCAA Tournament 2012: Kendall Marshall Will Not Play vs. Kansas

North Carolina's starting point guard Kendall Marshall will not play today vs. Kansas, according to a team source.  

Marshall fractured a bone in his right wrist in the team's third-round game against Creighton.  The injury kept him on the bench for the Sweet 16 matchup with Ohio.  

Without Marshall, the Tar Heels have clearly struggled.  The 13th-seeded Bobcats took them to overtime and probably would have won if not for their best player, D.J. Cooper, finishing 3-of-20 from the field.  The Bobcats also missed a free throw in the closing minute that would have given them the lead.  

The Marshall-less Tar Heels still had six high school All-Americans and three All-ACC first team members, but Marshall's absence proved that the entire offense runs through the 6'4" sophomore.  

Marshall averaged the second-most assists in the nation during the regular season and averaged 10.5 in his two tournament games.  

The Tar Heels had a final chance to break the tie and win in regulation, but a last-second, off-balance shot by forward Harrison Barnes was blocked.  Barnes finished the game shooting 3-of-16 and was clearly impacted by the loss of his starting point guard and fellow classmate.  

Players such as Barnes will need to step up if the Tar Heels want to defeat the Jayhawks and advance to New Orleans.  Senior forward Tyler Zeller carried the team past Ohio with 20 points and 22 rebounds.  Zeller won't be able to do it all by himself versus a tougher Kansas team.  On top of this, Zeller will most likely be going up against Jeff Withey, who finished with 10 blocks in the Jayhawks' win over North Carolina State.  

Marshall was a limited participant in Saturday's practice and struggled to pass let alone catch the ball. Freshman Stilman White will presumably start in his place for the second straight game.