Fab Melo, Syracuse University’s starting center and the reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year, has been ruled ineligible for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
 
The university released a statement Tuesday, saying:
 
Syracuse University sophomore men’s basketball center Fab Melo did not travel with the team to Pittsburgh, and will not take part in the NCAA Tournament due to an eligibility issue. Given University policy and federal student privacy laws, no further details can be provided at this time.  
 
Melo previously missed three games in January, reportedly due to academic ineligibility.  The Orange were 2-1 during that stretch, suffering its first loss of the season to Notre Dame and falling from the top ranking in the nation, which it had held for six consecutive weeks.  Syracuse struggled at both ends of the court, and even once Melo returned to the lineup failed to return to early-season form.
 
According to an ESPN report, this suspension is related to Melo’s earlier ineligibility.  ”He was initially cleared after the first suspension but the NCAA has since revisited the case and deemed him ineligible again,” a source told the network.
 
The center’s absence is a huge blow to the Orange’s title hopes.  The No. 1 seed in the East region, and the No. 2 seed overall behind Kentucky, Syracuse finished the season 31-2, its most recent game a loss to Cincinnati in the semifinals of the Big East tournament.
 
While Kentucky is the heavy favorite to win the tournament, the Orange were one of several teams considered to have a realistic shot.
 
In an eerie parallel, the last time Syracuse went into the NCAA tournament as a 1 seed, in 2010, its title hopes were dashed by an injury to starting center Arinze Onuaku.  That undermanned Orange squad lost to 5th-seeded Butler in the round of sixteen.
 
It has been a turbulent season for the Orange.  In November, the university fired longtime assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine after allegations that he sexually abused two ball boys.  A federal investigation is still ongoing, though no charges have been filed.  More recently, a Yahoo! Sports investigation alleged that multiple violations of the university’s internal drug policy had been overlooked in the past decade, and that athletes who should have been ineligible nonetheless played in games.  The university said it was aware of the violations and had self-reported them to the NCAA.
 
Syracuse opens the tournament against 16-ranked UNC-Asheville in Pittsburgh on Thursday.