Amongst the many things that have been working in the favor of the No. 1 Syracuse Orange is the lack of serious injuries (knock on wood). Against DePaul, both Baye Moussa Keita and James Southerland sat out the second half due to injuries, forcing the extremely-deep Orange to tread slightly more carefully.

In the days leading up to their game against the Providence Friars on Wednesday, all eyes are on Keita's hips and Southerland's ankle.

So far, so good on both accounts.

Keita said the hip "was just a little bit sore." He did not anticipate any problems playing on Wednesday, when the Orange visit Providence for a 9 p.m. date with the Friars.

James Southerland, who twisted an ankle during Sunday's game, appeared to be fine on Monday.

Keita spent a good portion of practice riding a bike, which I wish we had a photo of.

As for the Friars, things aren't looking good lately. They're 11-4 but that's against a schedule ranked 301st overall. Plus, they're already 0-2 in the Big East and ranked dead last by ESPN.

Andy Katz thinks the Friars could give the Orange some trouble. Of course, Andy also thinks Providence beat No. 1 Pittsburgh last year, which they didn't, so...