The three seed Syracuse Orange and the six seed Arizona State Sun Devils will kick start today's round of NCAA Tournament action with a battle in Miami, Florida. The two South Region squads are set for a 12:10pm ET tip off at the American Airlines Arena. The winner will move on to meet the Oklahoma Sooners in Memphis next weekend.
Arizona State vs Syracuse NCAA Tournament Picks at Bodoglife.com have the Orange listed as a -3 against the spread favorite.
Syracuse continued their solid play of late, beating the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 59-44 on Friday in Miami. The win, which was the Orange's eighth in their last nine games, came relatively easy for Jim Boeheim's team and it moved their overall record to 27-9. It was their sixth victory in eight neutral site games this year.
The Cuse had four players in double figures in scoring (actually one below their average) and they shot 45.5 percent from the field. They really got things done on the defensive end though, holding the Lumberjacks to 24.7 percent from the floor and a miserable 2-of-21 from beyond the arc. Offensively Jonny Flynn led the team with 16 points, four rebounds, and seven assists.
Arizona State had difficulty at times in their Friday game, but they went on to win by a fairly comfortable 66-57 margin over Temple. The Sun Devils, who average 69.4 points per game, advanced their neutral site record to 6-2 after beating the Owls. They improved their overall mark to 25-9 in garnering their fourth win in their last five games.
The Sun Devils leading scorer, James Harden, had a lackluster performance on Friday, scoring just nine points on 1-of-8 shooting, but guard Derek Glasser and forward Jeff Pendergraph made up for his poor outing. The two players combined for 44 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in the victory. As a team ASU hit 51.3 percent from the field and an impressive 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from three point range.
Bodoglife.com's Arizona State vs Syracuse NCAA Tournament Picks:
Arizona State Sun Devils +3 (-110), Over 139 (-115), +130 (Moneyline)
Syracuse Orange -3 (-110), Under 139 (-105), -150 (Moneyline)
