2018 First Four Betting Preview: Arizona State vs. Syracuse

Arizona State and Syracuse enter this First Four play-in with some real questions, as a lot of observers wondered why they were even given slots in the tournament while teams such as Marquette were left out. Arizona State has lost five of six and Syracuse has lost five of eight, with neither team doing all that well in their conference tournament. They’ll play for a #11 seed in the first round. Check out our First Four betting preview for this matchup between the Pac-12 and the ACC.

2018 First Four Betting Preview: Arizona State vs. Syracuse

Squad is in Ohio, ready to get to work 😈 pic.twitter.com/6IZHHTPOAS

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) March 13, 2018

When: Wednesday, March 14, 2018, 9:10pm ET Where: University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, OH TV: truTV Radio: None Live Stream: March Madness Live First Four Betting Odds: Arizona State -1

Why should you bet on the Sun Devils?

While Arizona State has not played particularly well in Pac-12 competition, they have won three of their last four games on a neutral floor. They also have a high-octane offense, putting up 83.5 points per game and shooting 46.4 percent from the floor. Their defense is fairly generous, giving up 75.3 points per game on 43.9 percent field goal percentage. Their leading scorers are Tra Holder (18.4 points and 3.4 assists per game) and Shannon Evans (16.6 points and 3.2 rebounds). Romello White also scores in double figures. There were some who saw Arizona State as a potential Final Four team earlier in the season, but their lack of defense has led to a number of bad losses. Arizona State does have the perimeter shooting to tear apart Syracuse’s trademark 2-3 zone — and they have covered the spread in 10 of their last 11 games outside the Pac-12. However, they have only covered the spread once in their last six games.

Why should you put your money on the Orange?

It seems like Syracuse ekes their way into the tournament just about every year, hopping off the bubble into a lower seed — and then more often than not surprising the opposition. Not many teams play the 2-3 zone that Syracuse uses almost exclusively, which makes preparation to play them challenging. Syracuse scores 67.5 points per game and shoots about 42 percent from the floor, while permitting 64.5 points per game and holding teams under 40 percent from the floor. Their leading scorers are Tyus Battle (19.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game) and Frank Howard (15 points and five assists per game). Oshae Brissett also averages double figures in points, and Paschal Chukwu leads the team in rebounding with 6.8 per game. Syracuse has covered the spread in four of their last five games in the NCAA tournament but in just two of their last eight neutral site games. The problem with Syracuse is that they don’t have a go-to scorer, and in games like this, you need someone like that to take over the contest for you down the stretch. Arizona State does have an iffy defense, but Syracuse doesn’t have the talent on the floor to make them pay.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

Syracuse has a way of hanging around and causing problems for the opposition, but they don’t have an answer for Tra Holder anywhere on their roster. While Syracuse can present some problems with their 2-3 zone, Holder and Company should be able to stretch that zone with their shooting from downtown and make the Orange come out and challenge…which should open up some slots inside. While I’m not that excited about either team, I don’t see Syracuse managing to keep up with the Sun Devils in the scoring department. I predict a final score of Arizona State 76, Syracuse 66.