Syracuse Basketball: Elijah Hughes will be ‘game-time’ decision vs Florida State

SYRACUSE, NY - DECEMBER 28: Elijah Hughes #33 of the Syracuse Orange pauses on the court during the first half against the Niagara Purple Eagles at the Carrier Dome on December 28, 2019 in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse defeats Niagara 71-57. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY - DECEMBER 28: Elijah Hughes #33 of the Syracuse Orange pauses on the court during the first half against the Niagara Purple Eagles at the Carrier Dome on December 28, 2019 in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse defeats Niagara 71-57. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

Syracuse basketball forward Elijah Hughes will be a ‘game-time’ decision vs Florida State on Saturday. Here are all the latest details.

Syracuse basketball will face its toughest stretch of the 2019-20 season on Saturday when the team travels to the Donald L. Tucker Center to face a top-10 Florida State squad.

Earlier this week the Orange lost its leading scorer Elijah Hughes less than 240 seconds into its game vs NC State. Elijah strained his groin during pre-game warmups and wasn’t able to power through it vs the Wolfpack.

Depending on the severity of a groin strain it could heal in days, a mild strain could take a few weeks, and a severe groin strain could take a month and a half, per the Summit Medical Group.

This week on social media Elijah Hughes simply tweeted, “nothing major” likely in reference to his groin strain.

Although Jim Boeheim and the medical staff will have the final say. So far in all of his media opportunities, Boeheim has indicated that a decision will be made on Saturday pre-game.

That message was reiterated to Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com on Thursday.

Here are some other highlights from Donna’s report:

  • Syracuse had an off day on Wednesday.
  • On Thursday Elijah lightly practiced with the team.

Playing Florida State would be a tall task if Syracuse was at full strength, let alone without possibly having Hughes in the lineup.

Although you have to imagine Syracuse will be a bit more prepared for the Florida State game with several days of practice under their belts. When the Orange played NC State they weren’t prepared to play without Elijah Hughes for the majority of the game, now Jim Boeheim has time to come up with a plan of attack.