The Syracuse Orange are taking on the Kansas State Wildcats in Round 3 of the 2012 NCAA Tournament without center Fab Melo, but Kansas State was also surprised with one of their star players being deemed ineligible right before Saturday's game. Senior forward Jamar Samuels was ruled out just prior to the start of the game according to a release by the school.
Breaking: #K-State starting F Jamar Samuels out due to "eligibility concern" according to Kansas State athletics release. #NCAA
— Jerry Micco (@PG_JerryMicco) March 17, 2012
Samuels is K-State's second leading scorer, so it will have an impact on the Wildcats going forward. It evens it out a bit in this matchup, since Syracuse is also missing Fab Melo. At halftime, the Orange lead the Wildcats 25-24. The teams have battled back and forth with 'Cuse taking the early lead, but K-State battled back and brought it within a point by halftime.
Guard Dion Walters leads Syracuse in scoring at halftime with 11 points off the bench while Kris Joseph has added eight points. The Wildcats have out rebounded Syracuse at halftime 25-15, but trail with Jordan Henriquez picking up 11 rebounds and 6 points at halftime. Rodney McGruder leads the way with seven points while Will Spradling has added five points.
For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com's complete scoreboard.
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