A big run midway through the second half propelled Georgetown past ‘Cuse, finally cracking the nut after two prior attempts came short. After the intermission, the Hoyas tore the 2-3 zone apart, going off for 54 points on the strength of a 69.2% shooting clip.

Andy Rautins set a career high with ten assists, but the big story, of course, is the status of Arinze Onuaku’s “strained” right knee. With 5:07 remaining in the game, AO tried to block a Greg Monroe shot but landed awkwardly on the floor. Unable to get up on his own power, he was helped by SU trainers and taken to the locker room, followed by his family. X-Rays came out negative and now SU fans sit on pins and needles awaiting results of an MRI to be taken Friday.

Instantaneously, SU fans were reminded of Gerry McNamara’s injury troubles that led to him being ineffective in the 2006′s first round game, and it’s easy to see why. The season takes its toll, nagging injuries become more significant issues with major impact on performance…I get it. But as we speculate on Onuaku, there are a couple of reasons not to be too bogged down:

1. SU is still positioned for a 1 seed, which means that its first opponent will likely be one that SU can defeat handily without Arinze Onuaku. Considering no 16 seed has ever beaten a 1 seed, this will buy AO a couple more days of rest until the second round. Again, without knowing the details, all we can do is speculate, so two days may not turn out to make a lick of difference, but time is always a luxury when dealing with injuries.

2. Whereas Gerry McNamara’s 2006 groin troubles were partially the result of carrying the team on his back for four straight games and having to play five days later, AO will have a full week of rest until the first round game in Buffalo, assuming he can play, which is obviously a variable at the moment, to say the least.

3. There’s also the fact that those opening round games will be in Buffalo, a stone’s throw from campus, which will lighten the load.

For now, all we can really do is wait and hope that nothing is torn, but it’s safe to say that Wes Johnson’s hand is no longer the most scrutinized body part on this team. One could write an epic about Arinze Onuaku’s lower leg troubles, but only now have they become strongly linked with SU’s mortality.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 10:48 pm by Brian G. . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.