Center Arinze Onuaku is considered a game-time decision, and shooting guard Andy Rautins is expected to play in Wednesday’s basketball game against West Virginia, an athletic department spokesman confirmed Monday.

Onuaku, who is suffering from a sore right knee and saw limited time in last Wednesday’s loss to Providence, is still receiving therapy for the ongoing injury. He practiced Saturday and Monday (the team was off Sunday), but Pete Moore, SU’s athletic communications director, said a decision on Onuaku won’t be made until up to the 7 p.m. tip-off in the Carrier Dome Wednesday.

‘Arinze’s going to be sore all year,’ Moore said.

Rautins, meanwhile, is expected to play Wednesday, after going through full practices on Saturday and Monday. Rautins injured his right ankle against Louisville on Jan. 25 when he crumpled to the ground midway through the second half. He wore a hard boot in the following days, and didn’t make the trip to Providence. Rautins is expected to play Wednesday, although he will not necessarily take over his starting role from fellow guard Eric Devendorf.

Without the services of Rautins and with an ailing Onuaku (who did not attempt a shot against the Friars last Wednesday), Syracuse suffered a six-point loss at Providence – its third consecutive loss. Onuaku participated in drills and some half-court practice Monday, but left practice early. Moore said the SU junior is continuing to receive treatment for the knee.

Yet Onuaku showed improvement in the fact that he could jump – something he was not able to do during Wednesday’s game.

‘I was glad to see him try, but he’s sore, and he couldn’t jump,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said after the Providence loss. ‘I probably should not have left him in. He thought he might be able to get going, but he couldn’t jump. It would have been better to have left him home, probably.’

No sneakers for Boeheim

While coaches around the country wore sneakers on Saturday to support Coaches vs. Cancer, Boeheim and Syracuse sat at home with an off day. Boeheim has historically been a strong supporter of the charity, and has participated in the sneaker promotion in the past, but he will apparently not be donning sneakers at any point this year. Moore said he doesn’t know of any plans Boeheim has to wear sneakers during Wednesday’s game.

SU drops to No. 20

Following the Wednesday loss and the weekend off, Syracuse fell five spots in both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today polls, from No. 15 to No. 20. It’s the Orange’s lowest ranking in the AP poll all season, and the lowest ranking in the coaches’ poll since Dec.1.

Connecticut moved to No. 1 in the country, following Duke’s loss to Wake Forest last Wednesday. It’s UConn’s first appearance in the top spot since 2006. The Big East placed only six teams in the Top 25, the conference’s lowest number all season, after Georgetown and Notre Dame fell out of the rankings.

kbaustin@syr.edu

Published on February 2, 2009 at 12:00 pm