Most of you heard (or watched) that previously unbeaten, number one-ranked Syracuse lost at Notre Dame yesterday. Road losses happen, even to sub-par squads, so that's not a complete shock to me. But there's a bigger issue here for the Orangemen - 7'1" center Fab Melo did not make the trip to South Bend - and since their next game is at Cincy, he won't play there, either - due to some "academic issues." Syracuse would not elaborate, citing "privacy laws" for the student-athlete, but I received a tweet from a follower on Friday informing me that Melo was going to be ruled academically ineligible and miss the next several games. Sure enough, news starts breaking shortly before tip-off yesterday that Melo did not make the trip to South Bend and would not be playing for Syracuse.
As the anchor for that 2-3 zone of Jim Boeheim's, and a much-improved weapon on both ends of the floor, Melo's absence could change quite a bit in college hoops this season. Syracuse was starting to get a little separation from the rest of the pack after jumping out to a 20-0 start, but without Melo, teams like Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio State, Kansas, and North Carolina have to feel more confident about their title chances than they did a week ago. It's still unclear just how many games Melo will miss, or whether he'll even return to the floor for Syracuse this season. Something to keep an eye on, for sure.
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