At the 6:27 mark of the first half, Syracuse Orange junior forward and leading scorer Kris Joseph awkwardly fell backwards and slammed his head onto the hard court of the Carrier Dome.
Joseph, who had only netted two points, left the game and never returned. After the game Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim updated the status of the 6-foot-7 forward.
"Kris went down hard; I don’t have any idea what’s going on," said head coach Jim Boeheim after the game. "We won’t know anything for sure, it’s obviously unlikely he won’t be able to turn around, he got banged pretty good when he hit the floor. We really just have to wait and see. Hopefully it won’t be long, we’ll have to wait and see the next couple days."
During the broadcast the sideline reporters said Joseph was suffering from headaches. Now, we're taught in the media world to not speculate about injuries but most fans know that headaches could mean some type of concussion.
(Click here to read post-game reactions about Syracuse winning without Joseph.)
Now, I do not know the rules or what sort of time table are given to college basketball players who suffer head injuries. However, I know that if the case is bad enough it can lead to a decent amount of missed playing time. Of course, if Joseph wakes up tomorrow feeling fine and passes all the medical tests, SU fans will probably see him Monday against the No. 5-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers (16-1, 4-0).
(Will Syracuse's victory help the Big East earn three Top-5 rankings?)
If Joseph is unable to go in the ESPN's Big Monday contest, it would be a big blow to SU all-around. Joseph is easily the Orange's most versatile player. Yes, Syracuse survived without him against the Cincinnati Bearcats but to lose him against the Panthers is another story.