PITTSBURGH (AP) — Syracuse players say the team will be OK without center Fab Melo.
Seniors Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardine said Wednesday the top-seeded Orange will move on without the 7-footer who was declared ineligible for the NCAA tournament by the school over academic issues.
Syracuse faces 16th-seeded UNC-Asheville (24-9), which is playing a top-seeded Big East team for the second straight season, losing 71-47 to Pittsburgh last year.
Jardine says the Orange believe in themselves and will “step it up a notch and we’ll be fine.”
Jardine says the team doesn’t know why Melo was ruled ineligible but he’s their teammate and they are supporting him.
Melo missed three games earlier this season when he was declared ineligible for academic reasons. The Orange (31-2) lost one of those games, at Notre Dame.
