OT: Fab Melo ineligible for Syracuse

Damn...too bad they aren't our No. 1 seed instead of UNC

It seems a little early for April Fool's, so I will have to interpret this as bona fide.  Everybody in their region has to be doing backflips right now.  

I had them losing to FSU anyway, but now I have to make some serious changes to my bracket now. Syracuse might get past the first round but anything past that, I don't know. They did lose at Notre Dame when Melo was out. 

I had them getting upset against KState anyways so...

there goes my bracket already...

but not as much as a Hensonless Carolina team would be. I already had Wisky in the 8 regardless of Melo or not. Bo Ryan knows how to win a few games in the tourney and you have to have some upsets. You dont have Henson for the 2nd round matchup and a team like Creighton could shock and awe especially with their ability to score.

They linked to the 'Cuse site.

http://www.suathletics.com/news/2012/3/13/MBB_0313122020.aspx

And so begins another Boheim early exit.

Who are you supposed to trust in the upper half of the East region? Vandy? Wisconsin? Cuse sans Melo? Harvard?

Yeesh.

Don't really like picking Vandy, Wisconsin, or 'Cuse because of past upsets that seem pretty regular but I had to pick Vandy over Syracuse in the end.  Vandy's three point shooting can overcome the Orange's zone.  Melo being out helps with that but I still don't like picking Vandy...

I wonder what is keeping him ineligible?  We know it's not drugs or child molestation.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE IT!

In a Kansas State Wisconsin matchup who do you take? I see Syracuse making it out of the opening round but lose on sunday without Melo.

That totally changes that bracket.  Syracuse was neck-and-neck with Kentucky as the best team in the tourney, and now they are without their defensive anchor (nearly 3 blocks/gm).  OSU's and Vandy's lives just got much easier.

I haven't watched any big east basketball this year, so my first reaction to the thread title was that they were taking away Syracuse's championship, and, "when did they call Carmelo Anthony's freshman class the Fab Melo?"

Everyone is on Vandy's bandwagon because they knocked off Kentucky. Any team can win on any given night. Don't get me wrong, Vandy is a very good team, but it seems that most have written of Syracuse even before this news broke. I think they are a very deep and talented team and when they hit the tournament, they can heat up big time. When they lost to Cincin in the Big East tourney, their best two players (Joseph and Jardine) had an uncharacteristic off night. When those guys are on though, along with the rest of the very talented supporting cast, Syracuse is really one of the top two teams. Sure, losing a big presence like Fab Melo does hurt, but I think Christmas can pick it up. I am not writing them off. They did go from a favorite to a dark horse in light of the news but I am not jumping on the bandwagon and signing them off. Also, FSU, imo, is not as amazing as everyone seems to think. Sure, they had nice two victories against a weak (relatively speaking) Duke team, one victory against a weakened UNC team (UNC was hobbling for a while this season), and one solid victory against a  rising UNC team (later in the season) but I still think that certain teams in that region are getting way more hype than they deserve.

I had no idea who Fab Melo was until I looked him up.  Shows how much I care about college basketball outside of Michigan and B1G.

Are they going to have problems getting past So Miss or KSU?

I live and work in upstate ny and my entire office just committed mass suicide.  Looks like I'm the boss now!

/busy giving myself a raise

I haven't looked at my bracket yet, so I'd have to see who's in that region before totally throwing them under the bus. Maybe thee ol' coin flip bracket is a good idea?!

I hate the world.

Rakeem Christmas can be my new hero.

All isn't lost though, we still roll nine deep (as I talk myself off a ledge).

Too bad.  I really liked Syracuse as a National Title winner since a lot of ppl seemed to be ignoring them and they would be under selected.  Not so much anymore.  I still have them as Sweet 16/Elite 8 team though.  People are going too overboard here writing them off against the 8/9 winner (most likely K-State).  Syracuse has been hailed as the deepest team in the country, that will help them out in this situation.  I could still see them possibly making a Final Four if they can stay tough mentally.  I think this is even more of a mental hurdle than anything.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/syracuses-fab-melo - If I read this correctly, the eligibility issue is related to his academic standing, just as the first one was. Still not a whole lot to go on, of course. 

In any event, I don't know if I'll change my bracket, which has Syracuse facing Vanderbilt  - they are a decently deep team (31-2 would indicate some depth by itself), if I am reading their stat sheet right, and it wouldn't be a horrific loss if they went with Baye Keita at center as a replacement. That being said, my confidence in Vanderbilt winning that matchup, should it occur, did go up markedly. 

New name for my brackets on ESPN/CBS: "Fab Melo's bracket"

I have them losing in Sweet 16.  OSU is the favorite to win the East region even if Syracuse has Fab Melo eligible.  OSU has an easy path to final 4.