Syracuse Basketball: Fab Melo Reinstated, to Play Saturday

The second-ranked Syracuse Orange received a boost with the announcement that sophomore center Fab Melo has been reinstated after missing the last three games due to academic issues.

The school released a statement Thursday morning confirming that Melo was back on the team, but did not release specific details about the case.

Sophomore Fab Melo will return to the Syracuse University men's basketball playing roster beginning this Saturday... Given University policy and federal student privacy laws, we are not able to provide any other details about this matter, said the school.

Syracuse (22-1, 9-1 Big East) went 2-1 without Melo in the lineup, suffering its lone loss to Notre Dame on Jan. 21. The Orange fell from the top of the polls two days later.

With Melo active, Syracuse won its first seven Conference games by an average of almost sixteen points.

After a disappointing freshman campaign, Melo has been one of the biggest surprises in the Big East. He leads Syracuse with 5.7 rebounds per game and 60 blocks. He averaged 7.2 points per game.

The Orange have been one of the best teams in the country all season. Many expected them to win a national championship before the season started.

C.J. Fair moved into the starting lineup during Melo's departure, and did a serviceable job in Melo's absence.