Weekend preview: Impact of injuries being felt entering March - ESPN

Sure, the best team might win it all in March. But perhaps the healthiest squad might have the edge when it's time to cut down the nets.

The past month of college basketball has been full of injuries that have impacted the depth charts of America's top teams. The effect of some of the developments is obvious. Others may not be as clear on the surface, but the metrics suggest they could have an impact on their respective teams' Final Four hopes if they linger in the weeks ahead.

Auburn's Jaylin Williams missed a game due to a knee injury, but returned for Wednesday's loss at Tennessee. Duke's Caleb Foster suffered an ankle injury during his team's loss at Wake Forest and missed Wednesday's win over Louisville. Foster is expected to return, but the timetable of a possible comeback for other key players has been more uncertain.

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Langston Love (11.1 PPG, 49% 3-pt) was playing some of his best basketball of the season for Baylor when a leg injury derailed his season and forced him to miss most of February's slate and possibly beyond. Tre Mitchell, Kentucky's leading rebounder, has missed six of the past seven games with a shoulder injury. Joshua Jefferson (10.2 PPG) has missed multiple games for Saint Mary's with a knee injury.

And earlier this week, Bill Self said Kansas is not «counting on» the return of Kevin McCullar Jr., a potential All-American and projected first-round pick in this summer's NBA draft.

That's all bad news at the worst possible time for these teams that hope to make noise in the NCAA tournament. It's also the unfortunate reality of a lengthy season. Sometimes the team that avoids