Onuaku day-to-day after injury, expected to return to practice Monday

Center Arinze Onuaku is day-to-day, according to a press release issue by Syracuse Athletics. The MRI on his right knee showed that he has a right quadriceps injury and he has begun receiving treatment. It's anticipated that Onuaku will make his return to practice Monday, one day after the team learns its NCAA Tournament seeding.

Onuaku injured his right knee in a collision with Georgetown center Greg Monroe late in Syracuse's 91-84 loss to Georgetown in the Big East Quarterfinals Thursday at Madison Square Garden. After coming down following  an attempted block, Onuaku fell to the ground and grabbed his right knee. He writhed around in pain on the floor, while teammates and trainers attended to him. Onuaku did not play the final 5:07 in the game, and was seen on crutches after the game. He previously had surgery on his right knee, along with his left knee.

With Onuaku seeming available for the NCAA Tournament, Syracuse's optimism and outlook will be much brighter. Onuaku is a key cog in the Orange's seven-man rotation and the teams lack depth backcourt. Without Onuaku, Monroe scored nine of his 15 points in the final 5:07 to lead Georgetown to to the upset. If he were to miss a game, it would put pressure on Kris Joseph, Wes Johnson and Rick Jackson to stay out of foul trouble and play close to 40 minutes per game.

mrehalt@syr.edu