Surgery can wait for Missouri forward as Tigers prepare for NCAA tourney match with Clemson

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Missouri forward Bowers postpones wrist surgery

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Injured Missouri forward Laurence Bowers will postpone surgery on two torn wrist ligaments until after the Tigers’ NCAA tournament appearance.

Bowers disclosed the injury’s severity as Missouri, a 10th seed in the East region, prepares for a first-round NCAA matchup Friday against seventh-seeded Clemson in Buffalo, N.Y. He originally called the injury a sprained wrist and wore a splint in Missouri’s first-round loss to Nebraska in the Big 12 tournament last week.

Bowers spent most of the season as a reserve. He has started the past four games in place of injured forward Justin Safford, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and faces offseason surgery.