PITTSBURGH — Kansas State senior forward Jamar  Samuels was not in uniform against Syracuse in the third round of the East Regional of the NCAA tournament on Saturday because of an eligibility concern.

The school released a statement about 20 minutes before Saturday's game that the team's second-leading scorer (10.0) and leading rebounder (6.6) would not be available for the eighth-seeded Wildcats.

"This is a situation that has developed rapidly over the last 24 hours," athletic director John Currie said.

Samuels, 6-foot-7 forward, had one point, eight rebounds and three assists in Kansas State's 70-64 second-round win over Southern Mississippi. He sat on the Kansas State bench wearing a black sweatsuit while his teammates tried to advance to the regional semifinals The Wildcats started freshman Thomas Gipson in place of Samuels against the Orange.

The top-seeded Orange are playing the tournament without starting center Fab Melo, who was ruled ineligible by the school earlier in the week.

Currie said the school is hoping to have a resolution as quickly as possible but wasn't sure about Samuels’ availability if the Wildcats extend their season.

"Jamar Samuels has worked extremely hard both academically and athletically throughout his career and we are certainly going to do everything we can do advocate for him," Currie said.