This Syracuse Orange starting guard is suspended ‘indefinitely.’ Watch your bracket

The Syracuse Orange’s first-round assignment of facing No. 9-seed Baylor Bears was already going to be difficult, but now No. 8-seed Syracuse will have to manage Thursday without one of its starting guards.

The Orange will be without Frank Howard for an “indefinite” amount of time in the NCAA Tournament after “a violation of athletic department policy,” Syracuse announced in a release Wednesday.

Although the Orange didn’t delve into specifics of the suspension, Howard will at least by sidelined Thursday when Syracuse tips off against Baylor at 9:57 p.m. in Salt Lake City, Utah.

A senior from Maryland, Howard started 28 games for the Orange this season, averaging 8.9 points per game and a team-high 2.9 assists. Howard also led the team with 1.5 steals per game playing atop coach Jim Boeheim’s vaunted 2-3 zone defense.

Howard missed the first four games of Syracuse’s season because of a lower leg injury. The Orange went 2-2 without its starting point guard, losing games to the Connecticut Huskies and the Oregon Ducks in the 2K Sports Classic.

The suspension for Howard comes just as Syracuse expected to get back to full strength. Star shooting guard Tyus Battle, who averages a team-high 17.2 points per game, is expected to return Thursday after missing the Orange’s last two games, including an 84-72 loss to the Duke Blue Devils in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Thursday. Howard scored a team-high 28 points in Syracuse’s loss.

Without Howard, the Orange could continue to use Buddy Boeheim in the starting lineup. The freshman guard, and son of Boeheim, started in Battle’s place at shooting guard in Charlotte, and scored 15 points and hit three three-pointers.

It also means the assignement of guarding Makai Mason will be a bit more difficult. The Bears’ star point guard averaged 14.6 points and 3.3 assists this season.