MILWAUKEE — Noticeably absent from Syracuse’s 76-70 loss to Marquette were reserves Dion Waiters and James Southerland. Both players traveled with the team to Milwaukee, but for the first time since Big East play began, neither made it off his seat on the bench.

It was evident from the beginning that Waiters would not get onto the court Saturday. Instead of wearing warm-up gear and a jersey, Waiters was the only SU player wearing an orange T-shirt with a pair of shorts during pregame warm-ups.

Rumors swirled during the week that Boeheim suspended Waiters for the Marquette game. They came after Waiters appeared to curse at the SU head coach during the Orange’s 22-point loss to Seton Hall last Tuesday.

Following the game, when asked if there was a particular reason why Waiters didn’t play, Boeheim fired back without hesitation and said it wasn’t disciplinary. Boeheim said it was simply basketball related.

‘Yeah, he’s shooting 30 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and not playing good defense,’ Boeheim said. ‘Other than that, I can’t think of any.’

Both Waiters and Southerland have played a vital role off the bench for the Orange most of the season, so their exclusions from the game were particularly puzzling. Though both players have struggled as of late, they practiced with the team Thursday.

Waiters played only 14 scoreless minutes against Seton Hall last Tuesday, and Southerland scored four points in 19 minutes against the Pirates. Without them, Boeheim played seven players for more than five minutes Saturday against Marquette.

Without Southerland and Waiters, SU’s starters were forced to shoulder a heavier load than usual. The depth that developed in the early portion of the season disappeared.

SU’s veteran core of Scoop Jardine, Brandon Triche, Kris Joseph and Rick Jackson each played at least 33 minutes. And the minutes caught up with the Orange as it tried to mount a comeback.

‘With guys up 11 at halftime,’ SU guard Triche said, ‘it’s just so much tougher to come back and spend that extra energy. And there’s that much pressure just to come back.’

Melo returns to starting lineup

After being briefly removed from the starting lineup, Fab Melo was back Saturday. The Orange started James Southerland in place of Melo against Seton Hall, an experiment that didn’t turn out too well for Syracuse. So Saturday, after tinkering with the lineup, SU head coach Jim Boeheim returned to the lineup that led SU to an 18-0 start.

Melo scored two points and grabbed two boards against Marquette. He was backed up by fellow freshman Baye Moussa Keita, who chipped in four points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots before fouling out.

‘I thought Fab tried and did some good things, and Baye was good,’ Boeheim said. ‘They’re just still learning. … They’ll learn, they’ll get better. We’ve just got to be patient with them.’

SU’s primary issues defensively had to do with allowing Marquette players inside the lane. Early on, that is how the Golden Eagles cracked the Orange’s defense and got out to an early lead. Marquette’s 6-foot-6 forward Jae Crowder carved up the pair in the middle, scoring most of his game-high 25 points inside the middle of SU’s 2-3 zone.

Despite that, Melo and Moussa Keita played a combined 32 minutes — the most they have during SU’s four-game losing streak. And the pair will likely have to continue getting better for Syracuse to stay afloat in the tough Big East.

After all, the center position has been the key weakness among the five positions for SU so far this season.

‘Our big guys in the middle, they’re learning, they’re trying to get better,’ Boeheim said. ‘But a lot of that stuff inside that Crowder got was the center’s responsibility. They’re still learning the position, how to play it. It’s been a struggle for them. They’re getting better. They will get better. I’m just not sure it will be soon enough.’

aljohn@syr.edu

Published on January 30, 2011 at 12:00 pm