Syracuse Daily Links - The Five Stages Of Fab Melo Grief

Lots of Pulp: The Five Stages of Fab Grief
If you're reading this post, you've probably already been through most, if not all of these stages. I'm probably somewhere between depression and acceptance, and I'm hoping this will help me get there sooner rather than later. Not sure if it's working yet ...

FML (F*%k Melo’s Life). Fab is NCAA Ineligible, Conspiracy Theories Abound : Orange Fizz
The details are incredibly sketchy. What would deem Fab ineligible the eve of the NCAA’s? The Brazilian big man’s academic suspension earlier in the season hangs over this situation like a guillotine. Is it possible SU thought it was out of the woods getting his grades back in order and making him eligible, only to have the knot come undone over the last week? Maybe whatever sanding of the edges Syracuse did to Fab’s transcript over the winter became a target of investigation by either the NCAA or media outlets.

NCAA Tournament – Luke Winn – SI.com " Posts No Fab, No Future For Syracuse? "
Syracuse might be able to keep challenging shots in Melo’s absence, but they’ll be blocking fewer of them, forcing fewer turnovers and sending opponents to the line much more frequently. If they opt for a smaller lineup that doesn’t include Keita, and has a wing forward such as C.J. Fair or James Southerland in the middle, their interior field-goal D is likely to take a big hit. Either option puts their defense in the danger zone, and a potential Sweet 16 exit in their future.

Fab Melo Out, Syracuse Staggering - The Triangle Blog - Grantland
You ever notice how when an institution gets toppled, it's usually in bits and pieces? Very rarely do you see something dramatic, like what happened at Penn State. Instead, it goes slowly, like with 'Cuse. First there were the Bernie Fine accusations, but then it looked like coach Jim Boeheim had weathered that storm. Then came the Yahoo! Sports piece about the drug tests, and now Melo is gone for the NCAA tournament, essentially ending Syracuse's national title hopes.

How Fab Melo's absence impacts Syracuse - College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN
In the three games Syracuse played without Melo, opponents averaged nearly 10 more points per 100 possessions, had a slightly higher field goal percentage and their offensive rebound percentage went from 39.1 to 42.2.

Syracuse Orange Basketball - Syracuse Must Work On Weaknesses To Make A Deep Run
The Orange come into the NCAA tournament as a #1 seed and lofty expectations. However, there have been many analysts and experts questioning this team. If Syracuse is to make a deep run and advance past the sweet 16 for the first time since 2003, they must correct some areas of their game.

Loss of Fab Melo is a game changer for the Syracuse basketball team in the NCAA tournament (Fagan) | syracuse.com
Those sounds you probably heard across the country moments later were brackets being erased, scribbled out or just crumpled up and tossed in the trash can as the No. 1 seed in the East Region lost one of its most indispensable players. This is a game-changer, folks.

Even without Melo, Syracuse won’t lose to UNC-Asheville | CollegeBasketballTalk
The only way Syracuse loses Thursday if it decides to pout and not play hard. The rest of the tournament? That’s another story.

MBB | Q&A with Keith Jarrett, Asheville Citizen-Times - Sports - The Daily Orange
I talked to a couple of the guys before the announcement and they were pretty much like ‘Well, nobody wants to see Kentucky the way they're playing.' And Kentucky did lose. ‘And nobody wants to see Syracuse because of that athleticism and the bad mismatch.' So that certainly wouldn't have been their preference, but this is a veteran team that feels like they're ready to make some noise and I think they are confident.

Already a heck of a story, Syracuse’s arc could become stuff of legends | CollegeBasketballTalk
Based on what has occurred with this program throughout the season, a legitimate opportunity presents itself for this Orange to win some serious hardware and claim the distinction as the most memorable and legendary in the history of this storied program.

One Word of Advice for the Orange - Video | syracuse.com
Over the years, members of the Syracuse University men's basketball team have worshipped at the Tucker Missionary Baptist Church in Syracuse, so we decided to ask the church's choir to offer a word of advice as the team heads into the NCAA tournament.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim: UNC Asheville does 'everything well' | syracuse.com
Watching tape of them yesterday all day, they do everything well. They've got a really good team. Everybody will say that they are small, but they out-rebound the teams they play, they're very quick to the ball and they can shoot it and score points. They scored points against Connecticut, Carolina, North Carolina State all the big teams they've played and in their league it wasn't unusual for them to get 88-90 points a game. We know we're playing a good team. I think you just have to realize this is the NCAA Tournament, there's really not any easy games anymore. Every game is a team that can play well."

Beating the Top Teams - RealGM Articles
While Syracuse has an impressive 12-2 record against tournament teams, the reality is that they haven’t been completely dominant in those games. They’ve escaped with close wins against Georgetown, Connecticut, West Virginia, and others.

Today we are all Macy...

Kenny gives his impressions of Syracuse's POD, talks Jersey Shore and much more...

Jim Boeheim is missing out by not using e-mail: