PHILADELPHIA — Jim Boeheim had no explanation for the third foul called on Fab Melo.

As the Syracuse center turned to hand the ball off, the whistle blew. The Orange sophomore said after the game the he was told he moved his body into his defender as he gave the ball to a teammate. After the game, he laughed about the call.

‘The one that I don’t know what the ref was calling, I can’t avoid that,’ Melo said.

Even though he may not have been able to avoid that foul, it was still the one that relegated him to the bench for most of the first half of SU’s 79-66 win over Villanova Wednesday. For the second straight game, Melo got into foul trouble early. He picked up two fouls within the first five minutes of action, succumbing to a problem that haunted him throughout his freshman year.

‘Today, I was trying to play aggressive at the beginning of the game,’ Melo said. ‘And I got a few fouls and I had to sit down.’

Melo’s first personal came after Villanova center Mouphtaou Yarou grabbed an offensive rebound under the basket and Melo hacked him on the putback attempt. Just 40 seconds later, the Orange center was called for a block as Yarou tried to maneuver past him in the post.

That forced him to the bench for the next five minutes before he returned to the court, but it wasn’t long before the questionable call gave him three fouls in just seven minutes of action.

This marked Melo’s second game in a row dealing with foul trouble after he fouled out against Marquette last weekend.

Melo said he believes the fouls are coming because teams are attacking him more in the middle of the zone and trying to force him to the bench.

‘They know how I affect the zone,’ Melo said. ‘They know if I’m out of the game in foul trouble, they have more of a chance to go inside.’

Melo did play 14 minutes in the second half and fortunately for the Orange, sophomore Baye Keita filled in nicely at the center position when Melo was out with seven rebounds and two blocks in 19 minutes.

‘Baye did a great job and then Fab came back and played a lot of minutes,’ Boeheim said. ‘Big guys get in foul trouble. You’ve just got to learn how to play through it. And we’re fortunate that we have Baye and (freshman Rakeem Christmas) who can play in there as well.’

SportsCenter beware

Dion Waiters had two breakaway opportunities Wednesday, and on both occasions he threw down what has become his signature dunk.

He skied off his left foot, fully extended his right arm behind him and viciously slammed the ball through the hoop twice, both times drawing approval from the crowd.

Those dunks likely would have been the highlight of the night for the Orange, but Melo stole the show on the last bucket of the game.

After a Villanova 3-pointer with nine seconds left, the Wildcats frantically tried to steal the ball away from SU in the backcourt. That left Melo all alone at the other end and his teammates got him the ball. He charged toward the hoop and converted a stunning 360 dunk to put the exclamation point on the win.

But for Waiters, that means he’ll have to do something new to top it the next time he gets a breakaway chance.

‘I’m definitely going to change it up,’ Waiters said. ‘Everybody told me to change it up.’

Home away from Dome

As Scoop Jardine ran through the tunnel of teammates during the announcement of starting lineups, he was met with the typical greeting he receives in the Carrier Dome. The Wells Fargo Center was filled with raucous cheers of ‘Scoop!’ as the senior stepped onto the court.

Jardine’s reception seemed to be louder than the cheers most of the Villanova starters got despite the game being played in Philadelphia. About half the crowd was pro-Syracuse Wednesday.

But for the SU players, that did not come as a shock.

‘Our Cuse nation is really deep,’ Jardine said. ‘We’re in every arena. And being able to do that and play in front of fans that really appreciate you and appreciate your entertainment, I’m happy to be a part of that.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

Published on January 11, 2012 at 12:00 pm