Syracuse tries to stay positive after Georgetown loss, injury to Arinze Onuaka

BY MIKE VORKUNOV

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT

NEW YORK — In a solemn Syracuse locker room, it was so quiet you could hear the worry in the voices of Orange fans all the way back in Upstate New York let alone a few feet away.

Wesley Johnson spoke in a hushed tone, still struck by the 91-84 loss to Georgetown in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament just moments ago. To add injury to insult, starting center and the muscle behind Syracuse's success Arinze Onuaka went down late in the second half, clutching his right knee and obviously pain stricken.

"It's hard to lose, you can see everybody in the locker room, it's kind of dead in here," said Johnson. "We're just trying to stay positive."

At that point Johnson did not know Onuaka's injury was being reported as a strain and he should be fine to play in the NCAA Tournament, there were more pressing issues at hand. Like the fact that maybe Syracuse has been figured out.

The famed 2-3 zone that surprised and suffocated opponents with its length and quickness, trapped on the wings and took away the lane. That zone has sprung a leak or two.

Johnson admitted that in the back-to-back losses at Louisville and to Georgetown, both teams had figured out the zone. Thursday, the Hoyas willed their way into the lane, scoring 42 points in the paint. They found open alleys to get the ball to open shooters as they rang up 22 assists.

Kris Joseph thought it was a game the Orange should not have lost considering the way they dominated Georgetown (22-9) so thoroughly in their first two matchups, both wins. He felt it would be the same old thing at the Garden.

"Teams in our league at this stage of the year know how to attack us," said coach Jim Boeheim.

The offense is not a worry for Syracuse (28-4); they are perhaps the easiest scoring team in the country. Johnson, springing back from a late-season malaise, scored 24 points. Scoop Jardine and Joseph added 19 and 18 points, respectively. Andy Rautins filled up the stat sheet with 14 points and 10 assists.

But in the three games against Georgetown, you can see the evolution of an ailment. In January the Hoyas could only muster 56 points. In February it was 71. Thursday they put up 91.

If Onuaka misses any games, Syracuse will miss their lane enforcer and bouncer. They will need to go smaller and faster, with Rick Jackson moving to the middle. But that's not worth worrying about right now.

"We'll leave that up to coach," said Johnson. "I think he has an idea if he comes back or he doesn't. We'll just wait and see."

Whether or not it's the league that has caught up to the Orange or just a bump in the road, they think they will bounce back just fine because they still have something to prove.

In spite of the No. 1 ranking they held just four days ago and holding steady at No. 3 right now, the Orange feel unloved. They are unhappy that when national championship contenders are thrown around, their name is not thrown in with Kentucky and Kansas.

"We're still underrated," said Johnson. "I think people are still sleeping on us. We were hot in the very beginning and throughout this whole season and I think people still not taking us seriously. We just got to go out with a chip on our shoulder every night."

Despite the loss and Onuaka's injury, the Orange should still be in line for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But their reputation has taken a hit within the last week.

"That to me doesn't really matter," said Joseph. "We weren't getting any love at the start either. Look where we ended up."

For more Big East Tournament coverage, along with Rutgers and Seton Hall basketball news, follow Mike Vorkunov on Twitter at @Mike_Vorkunov

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