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This is why office pools come with a disclaimer: Once you’re in, you’re in. So if you picked Syracuse to win it all, you can’t get your money back.
Syracuse, the No. 1 seed in the East Region, announced yesterday valuable 7-foot sophomore center Fab Melo has been declared ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. The university did not specify the reason for the ruling.
Melo did not travel with the team to Pittsburgh, where the Orange open tomorrow against No. 16 North Carolina-Asheville.
Melo’s ineligibility could be related to academics: The Brazilian missed three games in January while his records were reviewed.
A call to Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was not immediately returned.
“All we can do is be ready to play with the guys we have,” Boeheim told the Associated Press. “That’s all we can do. There are injuries, things happen during a season. We’ll be ready to play and we’ll go play.”
Melo averaged 7.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocked shots while anchoring the back line of Syracuse’s 2-3 zone as his minutes increased throughout the season.
The setback for Syracuse, which struggled during Melo’s first absence, is a boon for East No. 2 seed Ohio State, which features a top-flight big man in sophomore forward Jared Sullinger. It also gives hope to No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 5 Vanderbilt, potential Sweet 16 opponents next week in Boston.
Freshman Rakeem Christmas replaced Melo as the starting center in January, sliding over from the power forward spot. C.J. Fair, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, was inserted into Christmas’ starting forward spot. Fair, who typically replaced Christmas in the first five minutes and played the bulk of the power-forward minutes, took over Christmas’ starting spot in the Big East Tournament, but played two of his worst games of the season. Fair averages 8.6 points and 5.5 rebounds, second on the Orange.
The 6-foot-9 Christmas, who averages 2.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.3 minutes, tallied a combined six points and 14 rebounds in those three games Melo missed. Sophomore Baye Keita, a 6-foot-10 native of Senegal who averages 2.2 points and 2.3 boards in 11.6 minutes, also is an option. But none can replicate Melo’s length on defense or post presence on offense.
The Orange (31-2) suffered their first loss of the season at Notre Dame in the first of three games without Melo in the middle of the Big East schedule.
Syracuse won its next game, 60-52, at Cincinnati and then edged West Virginia, 63-61, at home with the help of a goaltending non-call in the final seconds. With Melo, the Orange averaged 75.5 points in 30 games. In the three without him, they averaged 63.3.
The possibility of a failed drug test looms over Melo’s mysterious last-minute ineligibility. Many schools test before the postseason to avoid a player testing positive and subjecting the university to penalties.
Syracuse revealed last week it had previously self-reported violations of its internal drug policy after Yahoo! Sports reported the Orange had used ineligible players and at least 10 players had tested positive for recreational substances since 2001. The university said no current players were involved in the report.