When the Syracuse Orange took the floor against the Providence Friars Wednesday night, backup sophomore center Baye Moussa Keita did not play because of a freak injury to his hip. On Thursday, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim was on the local radio show, "On The Block with Brent Axe", and gave a brief injury report on the second-string center.
"We will find out Saturday," said Boeheim who's squad host No. 20-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles at the Carrier Dome (4 p.m. on SNY). "He can't jump and when you can't jump it's hard to play basketball. Just gotta see how he feels and if he can jump he will be playing Saturday.
"...It was just a freak injury that happened walking off the court. I don't think I've had that one before. He's a tough kid. He played all last year with a fracture in his hand. He wanted to play yesterday and Fab told him he couldn't play."
If Keita can't go on Saturday, how will it effect the play of the Orange?
"Defensively, when Fab is out of there," said Boheim, "and we didn't have Baye to protect the middle, and the middle is the key to our (2-3) zone, I think everybody knows we need somebody in the middle that can control the area. (On Wednesday, Gerard) Coleman got some layups and they got some easy shots in there because we didn't have a defensive center."
Ahead by just two points at halftime, the No. 1-ranked Orange (16-0) used a 12-3 run early in the second half to provide a gap that helped them win their 16th straight contest, including three consecutive in the Big East.
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