Kansas guard suffers right-knee injury

San Antonio -- Kansas University reserve guard Rodrick Stewart suffered a fractured right kneecap while practicing Friday for a Final Four contest against North Carolina.

The injury occurred when the 6-foot-4 inch senior slipped on a wet spot on the floor of San Antonio's Alamodome.

"I'm having a hard time dealing with it," Coach Bill Self told the Lawrence Journal-World and News. "(Stewart) is a fifth-year senior. He'll never have a chance to run out of the tunnel at the Final Four again. But he'll delay the surgery until next week so he can be with his teammates and support them here."

In his final season with the Big 12 Conference school, Stewart averaged 2.8 points and 11.6 minutes while playing in 33 games.

The Jayhawks (35-3), the top seed in the Midwest Region, will carry an 11-game winning streak into their showdown with the Tar Heels, the No. 1 seed in the East Region and the NCAA Tournament's top overall seed.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.