PITTSBURGH — Syracuse will have to chase a national championship without starting center Fab Melo, who has been declared ineligible for the NCAA Tournament.
The university announced Tuesday that the 7-foot Brazilian, who did not travel with the team to Pittsburgh for the second- and third-round games, won’t take part in the tournament due to an eligibility issue. The school did not elaborate.
Melo missed three games this season — including one of the top-seeded Orange’s two losses — because of an academic issue.
NCAA spokesman Erik Christianson said Syracuse, not the NCAA, declared Melo ineligible.
Coach Jim Boeheim said the Orange will be “ready to play.”
As he left the bus in front of the team hotel Tuesday, Boeheim at first said he had nothing to say. He then said that “all we can do is be ready to play with the guys we have.”
“That’s all we can do,” he said. “There are injuries, things happen during a season. We’ll be ready to play and we’ll go play.”
Melo’s sudden ineligibility made waves in Las Vegas, where Cantor Gaming dropped Syracuse’s chances of winning the title to 12-1 from 10-1 on Tuesday morning, said Mike Colbert, Cantor’s risk management director. Colbert said the region’s No. 2, Ohio State, was lifted to 5-1 from 6-1.
Boeheim has not decided who will start in place of Melo, the Big East defensive player of the year who averaged 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds, when Syracuse (31-2) opens tournament play against UNC-Asheville (24-9) on Thursday. Sophomore Baye Keita or freshman Rakeem Christmas should get the start. The Associated Press
