Despite earning a No. 1 seed in this year's NCAA tournament, Syracuse now faces an uphill battle in its quest for a national title.The Orange (31-2) announced on their website Tuesday that sophomore center Fab Melo will not participate in the tournament due to an "eligibility issue."
"Given University policy and federal student privacy laws, no further details can be provided at this time," the site said.
"This is an academic issue related to the first suspension," a source told ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil. "He was initially cleared after the first suspension but the NCAA has since revisited the case and deemed him ineligible again."
Melo was held out of three games earlier this season while he resolved an academic issue. Syracuse went 2-1 during that absence.
Melo, a 7-footer, was the Big East defensive player of the year and made coach Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone defense a formidable one. He averaged 7.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and registered 88 blocks for the Orange who spent a good portion of the season ranked No. 1 despite multiple off-court distractions.
Syracuse, given the top seed in the East Region, opens play Thursday at 3:10 p.m. in Pittsburgh against UNC-Asheville (24-9), the Big South champion.
