Syracuse heads into Sunday night’s meeting with St. John’s already dealing with one absence and sweating out another.
Aiden Tobiason will not be available for the Orange, according to a recent report from Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com. The guard is still sidelined by the hamstring injury he suffered in Syracuse’s first exhibition game against UConn.
There is better news, at least for now, on Mark Morano. The Orange are hoping the freshman sharpshooter can go against the Red Storm while he works through a tweaked ankle.
Morano first hurt the ankle in practice, then suited up for Monday’s 83-80 loss to Indiana. He was limited to five minutes in that game, though, after foul trouble and another roll of the same ankle in the second half. He did not practice with the team on Wednesday and instead received treatment.
Through three games, the 6-foot-6 freshman from Slovenia is averaging 10 points per game. He’s been one of Syracuse’s most important perimeter pieces, the kind of shooter who can stretch a defense and open cleaner looks for the Orange’s interior scorers and driving lanes.
That matters even more with Tobiason out. He’s also expected to be one of Syracuse’s top shooters, and if both players are unavailable, the Orange could be short on outside firepower.
That would make it easier for St. John’s to crowd the lane and force Gerry McNamara’s group into a tougher night.
If Morano can’t play, Syracuse will have to find another way to make the Red Storm respect the arc. Freshman Ryan Moesch could be one answer if he can get going from deep, and Kiyan Anthony is another after knocking down a few three-pointers against Indiana on Monday.
The Orange may also need production inside. Sadiq White Jr. and Luke Wilson could be asked to carry more of the load, while Amarri Monroe, the fifth-year senior from Quinnipiac, brings the kind of physicality that can matter in extended minutes.
One thing this game will not have, beyond the injury uncertainty, is the buzz that would have come with a “Donnie Freeman revenge game.”
Freeman was Syracuse’s best player last season, but after former head coach Adrian Autry was let go, he entered the transfer portal and signed with St. John’s. He tore his Achilles in June and is expected to miss the entire season.
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