A long road to Dayton: ASU seniors laid foundation for team's success
- by Amanda Heroux
- in Science
- — Mar 15, 2018
To hear the NCAA Tournament selection committee tell it, Arizona State and Syracuse made the 68-team field before the calendar turned.
The underrated teams are the real gems.
Texas Southern likes to get up and down the floor and score, averaging 77 points per game and scoring 90 or more in seven games this season. Also in double-figures for Arizona State are Shannon Evans (15.5 PPG), Kodi Justice (12.6 PPG) and Romello White (10.7 PPG; 7.2 RPG).
Behind Battle is Frank Howard.
"This is the beginning hopefully for us in establishing a standard for Arizona State basketball and what we want to do and having young guys in the program now that could get to the tournament", Hurley said. The Sun Devils will try to turn things around this Wednesday night when they take on the Syracuse Orange in their First Four play-in game.
Syracuse is led by a three headed dragon of long, versatile players.
While those two rely on a variation of speed and power, Brissett is more shifty, playing with a sense of misdirection as he attacks the rim and is the craftiest finisher of the group. The game can be seen on TRU TV and heard on 88.3 FM.
If Syracuse wins, a classic coaching rivalry would be renewed between Jim Boeheim and former Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jamie Dixon.
While they're in the bracket of doom in the Midwest, they could still make a sneaky run.
Earlier I said that the committee favors mediocre teams in major conferences over good teams in more inferior ones, and Syracuse is the best at being mediocre.
That isn't helped by their lack of 3-point shooting. Many - including sophomore Tyus Battle and freshman Oshae Brissett - have performed quite well in the gauntlet that is the ACC, but facing the pressure of March will be a completely different test.
ASU comes into Wednesday's game with the country's 14th ranked scoring offense, averaging over 80 points per game this season.
But as much as it meant to the coach, it did to the players, as well. Buffalo sports a 26-8 record, enters tournament play on a six-game winning streak dating back to February 20.
As for Syracuse, they're sitting at 20-13 this year. Kelan Martin can go for 30 points on anyone and Kamar Baldwin is one of the best guards in the nation on both ends of the floor. The three perimeter scorers combine to average 4.7 steals a game, using their superior length and athleticism to force deflections and bad looks. Syracuse then stumbled a bit through its ACC slate, losing close games to the likes of Notre Dame, Virginia, Florida State, North Carolina State and North Carolina. Arizona State lives at the free-throw line, checking at 13th in free throw rate and 14th in turnover percentage. You can view them below.
