UPDATED: Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 7:37 p.m.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tyus Battle’s status has been updated to a game-time decision, according to Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. A previous report listed him as out against Pittsburgh in Syracuse’s ACC tournament-opener. Battle suffered a bruised hip in SU’s loss to Clemson on Saturday.

With about two and a half minutes to play on Saturday, Battle drove, was fouled and fell awkwardly on his hip. He laid on the ground for a minute or two before limping off. He checked back in before subbing himself back out with under a minute to play. After the game, he had ice packs wrapped around his lower back in the locker room.

Battle leads the Orange in scoring at more than 17 points per game. He’s also spent time this year as SU’s backup point guard. Both roles might need to be filled in Syracuse’s third meeting with the Panthers — the Orange are 2-0 this season against Pittsburgh.

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Battle’s possible absence most likely means more playing time for shooting guard Buddy Boeheim. And if starting point guard Frank Howard checks out of the game, it’d probably be for freshman point guard Jalen Carey, who’s fallen out of the lineup in recent weeks. Carey hasn’t played double-digit minutes since January 12, although he showed an ability to score with 40 points across SU’s two games at Madison Square Garden in November.

The Orange tip off with Pittsburgh at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The winner will play Duke in the ACC quarterfinals on Thursday.

This post has been updated with additional reporting.

Published on March 13, 2019 at 5:53 pm

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