Syracuse Players Say They Can Win Without Fab Melo PITTSBURGH - Syracuse guard Scoop Jardine stayed up to watch the N.C.A.A. tournament play-in games Tuesday night. That meant that he enjoyed two furious comebacks - courtesy of Brigham Young and Western Kentucky - but was also forced to endure some harsh criticism of his own team, courtesy of just about every analyst on television. Jardine was not surprised. Once the news broke that Fab Melo, Syracuse's stalwart center, would not play because of an eligibility issue, brackets were shredded all across the country as Syracuse seemingly went from a national champion contender to just another hopeful. As one of the Orange's senior leaders, Jardine said it was impossible not to hear the revised predictions but added that, so far at least, they had been easy to dismiss. "We don't pay it no mind," he said Wednesday, a day before top-seeded Syracuse faces No. 16 North Carolina-Asheville. We believe we're capable of winning the national championship, with or without Fab. We believe in it. Melo's sudden absence - which is reportedly related to the academic issues that kept him out of three games earlier in the season - is the latest off-the-court story to engulf Syracuse. Coach Jim Boeheim has led the Orange to a 31-2 record, but has also been forced to deal with concerns regarding his former assistant, Bernie Fine, who was fired after allegations of sexual abuse surfaced, as well a report by Yahoo Sports regarding an investigation into possible violations of the university's drug-testing policy in the past 10 years. At a news conference here Wednesday, Boeheim initially greeted all questions about Melo with a weary look on his face before ultimately addressing the situation's ramifications without offering any specifics on its cause. Boeheim also took issue with the notion that Melo - who apologized to his teammates on Tuesday before they left to travel here, according to several players - had abandoned the Orange in any way. I will say he didn't let anybody down, in my opinion, all right? Boeheim said. I know that's out there. I don't believe that to be true. In the Syracuse locker room before the team's scheduled practice Wednesday, several players calmly answered questions about losing their top defensive player. "We've gone through a lot this year," said Dion Waiters, a sophomore guard. I was upset a little bit when I first heard. But we can overcome this. HOW B.Y.U. WON B.Y.U."s stunning 25-point comeback against Iona on Tuesday night in the first round, the biggest comeback in tournament history, did not happen by accident. There were two reasons the 14th-seeded Cougars (26-8) rallied to win and will face third-seeded Marquette on Thursday. B.Y.U. forward Noah Hartsock said the Cougars usually send three players to the offensive glass, but with Iona scoring frequently in transition, B.Y.U. dropped a third player back to help with transition defense, slowing the Gaels. The Cougars also started playing more physically on defense. "That's what they did to us in the first half, so we said if they are going to let us play that way, we're going to do it, too," guard Brock Zylstra said. A THIRD TITLE Oregon Institute of Technology won the N.A.I.A. Division II national championship Tuesday night, the program's third title under Coach Danny Miles. He has spent the past 41 seasons on the sideline for the college in Klamath Falls and has become a local icon. The national championship game - a 63-46 victory over Northwood University (Fla.) in Point Lookout, Mo. - was the 971st victory in Miles's career.