PREMIUM
Name Rogers' *10* TOP TOTALS TICKET (Weds) >> MONSTER 31-20-1 NCAAB Run!
(NCAAB) Syracuse vs. Arizona State,
Total: 143.00 | -105.00 Under
Result: Loss
Total: 143.00 | -105.00 Under
Result: Loss
The set-up: To hear the NCAA Tournament selection committee tell it, schools like Arizona State, Oklahoma and Syracuse made the 68-team field before the calendar turned to 2018. That doesn't make sense to me, nor to most people I've talked to, but here we are. Ironically. 20-11 Arizona State, just 8-10 in Pac 12 play before losing a first-round game to Colorado in the conference tourney, will face 20-13 Syracuse in the second of two, First Four games on Wednesday. The Orange were also just 8-10 in league play (the ACC) and own just one win all season against a ranked team, beating Clemson in their last home game of the regular season.
Arizona State: Not much was expected of the Sun Devils this season, coming off a 15-18 season the year before (7-11 in Pac 12 play). However, ASU beat tournament No. 1 seeds Xavier (in Nov.) and Kansas (in Dec.) and rose to No. 3 in the AP top-25 . The Sun Devils reached 12-0 and were the last undefeated team in Division I to lose, before struggling in Pac 12 play. A trio of senior guards have led ASU all season. That group includes Tra Holder (18.4-4.1-3.4), Shannon Evans II (16.6-3,2-3,5) and Kodi Justice (12.6). Freshman guard Martin (9.8) just missed averaging double digits plus the 6-10 Lake (7.3 & 5.3) and the 6-7 Mitchell (5.7 & 5.3) were the team's best frontcourt players. ASU led the Pac-12 with an 83.5 PPG scoring average, finishing 14th in the nation.
Syracuse: Jim Boeheim's in his 42nd-year at Syracuse and will lead his team into the Big Dance for the 33rd time. The Orange were tabbed by NCAA Tournament committee chair Bruce Rasmussen as the last at-large team into the field. They rolled to an 11-2 record during the non-league portion of their schedule but despite finishing in a tie for 10th in its conference, Syracuse proved itself in the eyes of the committee with a top-20 strength of schedule (14th entering Sunday) and four wins against top-50 RPI. Boeheim has three 'iron-man' performers in sophomore guard Tyus Battle (19.8), 6-6 swingman PG Howard (15.0-7.4-5.0) and 6-8 freshman Oshae Brissett (14.7 & 8.8). Battle leads Division I players with an average of 38.5 minutes per game, Howard is second at 38.3 and Brissett is sixth at 38.0. The 7-2 Chukwu (5.4 & 6.8) and the 6-9 Dulezag (5.2 & 4.8) have contributed on and off this season.
The pick: A problem for Syracuse is that the team's top-two scorers, Battle and Howard, come in struggling. Battle has failed to shoot 40 percent from the floor in seven of the last eight contests and Howard has failed to shoot over 30 percent from the floor in four of his last five outings. I favor ASU's trio of senior guards and let's not forget that the Sun Devils not only beat No. 1 seeds Xavier and Kansas but also own victories over NCAA Tournament teams, San Diego State, Kansas State and UCLA. However, how can one really trust ASU after the way it finished? As for Syracuse, Boeheim knows how to win this time of year. Then again, he may just have to beat Bobby Hurley's team at its own game. That means the Over is a 10* play.
Arizona State: Not much was expected of the Sun Devils this season, coming off a 15-18 season the year before (7-11 in Pac 12 play). However, ASU beat tournament No. 1 seeds Xavier (in Nov.) and Kansas (in Dec.) and rose to No. 3 in the AP top-25 . The Sun Devils reached 12-0 and were the last undefeated team in Division I to lose, before struggling in Pac 12 play. A trio of senior guards have led ASU all season. That group includes Tra Holder (18.4-4.1-3.4), Shannon Evans II (16.6-3,2-3,5) and Kodi Justice (12.6). Freshman guard Martin (9.8) just missed averaging double digits plus the 6-10 Lake (7.3 & 5.3) and the 6-7 Mitchell (5.7 & 5.3) were the team's best frontcourt players. ASU led the Pac-12 with an 83.5 PPG scoring average, finishing 14th in the nation.
Syracuse: Jim Boeheim's in his 42nd-year at Syracuse and will lead his team into the Big Dance for the 33rd time. The Orange were tabbed by NCAA Tournament committee chair Bruce Rasmussen as the last at-large team into the field. They rolled to an 11-2 record during the non-league portion of their schedule but despite finishing in a tie for 10th in its conference, Syracuse proved itself in the eyes of the committee with a top-20 strength of schedule (14th entering Sunday) and four wins against top-50 RPI. Boeheim has three 'iron-man' performers in sophomore guard Tyus Battle (19.8), 6-6 swingman PG Howard (15.0-7.4-5.0) and 6-8 freshman Oshae Brissett (14.7 & 8.8). Battle leads Division I players with an average of 38.5 minutes per game, Howard is second at 38.3 and Brissett is sixth at 38.0. The 7-2 Chukwu (5.4 & 6.8) and the 6-9 Dulezag (5.2 & 4.8) have contributed on and off this season.
The pick: A problem for Syracuse is that the team's top-two scorers, Battle and Howard, come in struggling. Battle has failed to shoot 40 percent from the floor in seven of the last eight contests and Howard has failed to shoot over 30 percent from the floor in four of his last five outings. I favor ASU's trio of senior guards and let's not forget that the Sun Devils not only beat No. 1 seeds Xavier and Kansas but also own victories over NCAA Tournament teams, San Diego State, Kansas State and UCLA. However, how can one really trust ASU after the way it finished? As for Syracuse, Boeheim knows how to win this time of year. Then again, he may just have to beat Bobby Hurley's team at its own game. That means the Over is a 10* play.
