DAYTON, Ohio – Three seniors finished Wednesday night in double figures but No. 11-seed Arizona State saw its season come to a close with a tight 60-56 defeat against No. 11-seed Syracuse in the First Four.
The game marked the Sun Devils (20-12) first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014, and was the first trip to the Big Dance in the Bobby Hurley era.
The first half included strong defensive performances from both teams, featuring trips deep into the shot clock on nearly every possession.
No team led by more than five in the opening 20 minutes, and the last Arizona State advantage would come with three minutes remaining when guard Kodi Justice hit a jumper to make the score 23-22. Justice would finish the night with a team-high 15 points and five assists.
That advantage would then ultimately swing back to the Orange (21-13) one more time as Syracuse took a 30-28 lead into the locker rooms.
The lead wouldn't last for long though as the Sun Devils came out white hot to start the second half. An 8-0 run, featuring a pair of triples from seniors Tra Holder and Shannon Evans II, quickly gave their team a lead that wouldn't be relinquished for over 14 minutes.
The game went back-and-forth from there, with Hurley's team eventually pulling within 57-56 on a circus layup by Ohio State transfer Mickey Mitchell with 15 seconds to play.
However, that would be the closest Arizona State would get.
Syracuse hit three of the final four free throws it took down the stretch, stretching the advantage to two possessions and making the final score 60-56.
Despite the defeat, all three Sun Devil seniors that started finished the night in double figures. Evans followed Justice's 15 with 14 points of his own, and Holder peppered the stat sheet with 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Arizona State's reserves shined compared to those of the Orange, outscoring them 12-0 in bench points.
Wednesday's game marked the Sun Devils 14th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and was their seventh postseason trip in the past 11 years.
With the win against Arizona State, Syracuse will travel to Detroit to face No. 6-seed TCU on Friday evening.
QUOTES
ON ATTACKING SYRACUSE'S GUARDS
Coach Hurley: That was kind of part of our plan coming in get after Howard some and try and get some pressure and worked on a little bit of run and jump which we did -- trying to create pace to the game. And we never were able to really truly accomplish that because those guys I thought for the most part handled the pressure very well.
And even for all the minutes they play late in the game, it was battle off the dribble that had the legs under them to make a big shot.
So I mean that's kind of what the game really came down to was just plays like that that were made, and we weren't able to make enough shots. We got good shots. We got some floaters, got some 3s. So we had good chances. I thought it was 49-42 and we weren't able to continue to build on that. Us allowing them back in it really hurt our chances.
ON FREE THROWS DOWN THE STRETCH
Coach Hurley: It was tough across the board. It wasn't one guy. In a game like this, and I said it was a defensive-oriented game, and I thought it could end up going in that direction based on our opponent and their style of play.
And you have to knock down your free throws and open 3s that you get. And there aren't a lot of great looks out there to be had. And these guys did a great job to even move without the ball and find open areas so we were able to get some clean looks late in the game.
ON ATTACKING SYRACUSE'S ZONE
Coach Hurley: There wasn't a real issue with our offense. Syracuse dragged us through possessions and went deep in the clock, and to their credit, the way they defend and how good they are at it, we had to use more time in a possession and be patient and then find a good shot even if that meant that was as the clock was winding down.
I think 19 assists out of 21 made field goals is a great number. Our bread and butter all year has been turnover margin and we've done very well in that category. And we were flat in that today. So we didn't generate enough turnovers. They scored 15.
It was 15-4 points off turnovers and that's something that -- we've dominated that category with most opponents. So again we just weren't able to create enough easy baskets and I'm telling you, when you're in that zone, there's a pass that's open. And if it isn't executed at the right moment, it's going the other way. We had a couple of those work against us as well.
The game marked the Sun Devils (20-12) first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014, and was the first trip to the Big Dance in the Bobby Hurley era.
The first half included strong defensive performances from both teams, featuring trips deep into the shot clock on nearly every possession.
No team led by more than five in the opening 20 minutes, and the last Arizona State advantage would come with three minutes remaining when guard Kodi Justice hit a jumper to make the score 23-22. Justice would finish the night with a team-high 15 points and five assists.
That advantage would then ultimately swing back to the Orange (21-13) one more time as Syracuse took a 30-28 lead into the locker rooms.
Orange with the slight advantage. @hollywood_XI leads the boys with 11 points. Devils tally 10 assists. pic.twitter.com/E4Azk0ea2z
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) March 15, 2018
The lead wouldn't last for long though as the Sun Devils came out white hot to start the second half. An 8-0 run, featuring a pair of triples from seniors Tra Holder and Shannon Evans II, quickly gave their team a lead that wouldn't be relinquished for over 14 minutes.
.@SunDevilHoops is FIRED UP after an 8-0 run to start the second half! ??#MarchMadness #FirstFour pic.twitter.com/JeHXBLc6Ao
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 15, 2018
The game went back-and-forth from there, with Hurley's team eventually pulling within 57-56 on a circus layup by Ohio State transfer Mickey Mitchell with 15 seconds to play.
However, that would be the closest Arizona State would get.
Syracuse hit three of the final four free throws it took down the stretch, stretching the advantage to two possessions and making the final score 60-56.
Despite the defeat, all three Sun Devil seniors that started finished the night in double figures. Evans followed Justice's 15 with 14 points of his own, and Holder peppered the stat sheet with 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Arizona State's reserves shined compared to those of the Orange, outscoring them 12-0 in bench points.
Wednesday's game marked the Sun Devils 14th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and was their seventh postseason trip in the past 11 years.
With the win against Arizona State, Syracuse will travel to Detroit to face No. 6-seed TCU on Friday evening.
QUOTES
ON ATTACKING SYRACUSE'S GUARDS
Coach Hurley: That was kind of part of our plan coming in get after Howard some and try and get some pressure and worked on a little bit of run and jump which we did -- trying to create pace to the game. And we never were able to really truly accomplish that because those guys I thought for the most part handled the pressure very well.
And even for all the minutes they play late in the game, it was battle off the dribble that had the legs under them to make a big shot.
So I mean that's kind of what the game really came down to was just plays like that that were made, and we weren't able to make enough shots. We got good shots. We got some floaters, got some 3s. So we had good chances. I thought it was 49-42 and we weren't able to continue to build on that. Us allowing them back in it really hurt our chances.
ON FREE THROWS DOWN THE STRETCH
Coach Hurley: It was tough across the board. It wasn't one guy. In a game like this, and I said it was a defensive-oriented game, and I thought it could end up going in that direction based on our opponent and their style of play.
And you have to knock down your free throws and open 3s that you get. And there aren't a lot of great looks out there to be had. And these guys did a great job to even move without the ball and find open areas so we were able to get some clean looks late in the game.
ON ATTACKING SYRACUSE'S ZONE
Coach Hurley: There wasn't a real issue with our offense. Syracuse dragged us through possessions and went deep in the clock, and to their credit, the way they defend and how good they are at it, we had to use more time in a possession and be patient and then find a good shot even if that meant that was as the clock was winding down.
I think 19 assists out of 21 made field goals is a great number. Our bread and butter all year has been turnover margin and we've done very well in that category. And we were flat in that today. So we didn't generate enough turnovers. They scored 15.
It was 15-4 points off turnovers and that's something that -- we've dominated that category with most opponents. So again we just weren't able to create enough easy baskets and I'm telling you, when you're in that zone, there's a pass that's open. And if it isn't executed at the right moment, it's going the other way. We had a couple of those work against us as well.