Syracuse’s Arinze Onuaku Won’t Play In Thursday’s Sweet 16 Game Vs. Butler

Syracuse starting center Arinze Onuaku will not play in the Orange’s Sweet 16 matchup with Butler on Thursday because of the quad injury he suffered in the Big East tournament, according to Donna Ditota.

Boeheim was then very cryptic in refusing to speculate if Onuaku would be available should the Orange advance onto the weekend.

While Syracuse earned the No. 1 seed in the East region Sunday night, not all the news concerning the Orange was good news. According to head coach Jim Boeheim, Arinze Onuaku will not practice until later this week, and it is unlikely that the injured center will play against Vermont in Syracuse’s first round game on Friday.

Another report says that Onuaku is “unlikely to play in Syracuse’s first two games of the NCAA Tournament.”

As of right now, it appears the injury might not be as serious as it seemed. SI’s Luke Winn spoke to Onuaku’s mom, who told him the X-Rays were negative and that he should be able to return for the NCAA Tournament. However, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim did not sound so sure, according to Winn.

Winn reports that Onuaku will undergo an MRI tomorrow. Onuaku was reportedly limping around in crutches after the game.