KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The plastic jewelry on J’Wan Roberts’ left wrist tells a story. The beads arranged to spell “Beast Mode” resemble those Taylor Swift friendship bracelets. The adornment was a gift a couple of years ago from Autumn Shedd, sister of former teammate Jamal Shedd. Whatever mode Roberts, Houston’s bulky sixth-year forward, is in these days, it certainly isn’t beast. And the most prominent piece of plastic is actually attached to his leg, protecting a sprained right ankle.

“It was fun, actually,” Roberts said of sitting out watching his teammates defeat BYU 74-54 in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals Friday night. “Me not playing, I try to coach them up a lot too.”

Fun, for now. Roberts is the latest key Houston piece to go down with an injury that has impacted the NCAA Tournament the last three years. The Cougars don’t want Roberts’ injury to make it four years in a row.

X-rays on Roberts’ ankle injured Thursday in a quarterfinal win vs. Colorado were negative. After initially talking bravely about playing Friday night, Roberts wisely sat. There was nothing to be gained playing in, basically, a nothing game. He is almost certain to sit out Saturday’s Big 12 championship game and be ready for the NCAA Tournament next week.

The Cougars certainly don’t need him at this point. Friday’s win proved that. Houston has won back-to-back Big 12 regular-season titles going a combined 38-5 since joining the league.

Roberts’ availability for the rest of this month and beyond is the program’s main talking point. He sprained the ankle by stepping on another player’s foot resulting in one of the game’s most common injuries.

That “kid at Duke” is national player of the year candidate Cooper Flagg, whose availability is a question that will resound through the bracket starting next week.

Houston knows the feeling.

In 2022, a year after Marcus Sasser helped lead the program to its first Final Four in 37 years, he and teammate Tramon Mark missed most of the season with injuries. With a chance to go back to the Final Four, the Cougars lost in the Elite Eight to Villanova.

In 2023, Sasser hurt his groin in the American Conference Tournament. The Cougars lost in the Sweet 16.

Last season, Shedd, the Big 12 Player of the Year, famously suffered an ankle injury in a Sweet 16 loss to Duke.

“That one was heart-breaking mostly because of his emotions,” Houston said. “We really felt like we could have pulled that game off … We brought him to the [lockerroom], [the ankle] just kept getting bigger and bigger and then his emotions then started pouring out. He could kind of see he wasn’t going to get back in. He kind of felt like it was the finish line for him.”

No one, especially Beast Mode, wants to hear that story again.

Houston’s defense is legendary. The Cougars once again lead the country in points allowed per game. But they are also more balanced offensively with Baylor transfer L.J. Cryer and Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan. Veteran Emanuel Sharp went for a season-high 26 against BYU.

As for the injuries, well, they happen.

“We play hard, a lot of injuries come with that,” Roberts said.