DAYTON, Ohio — On Wednesday night in front of a packed crowd at University of Dayton Arena, No. 11 seed Syracuse (21-13, 8-10 Atlantic Coast) edged No. 11 seed Arizona State (20-12, 8-10 Pacific-12), 60-56, to claim a spot in the Midwest Region first round on Friday.

Early in the season, the Sun Devils beat Kansas State, then beat now-No. 1 seeds Xavier and Kansas. ASU ranked as high as No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll, spending four weeks in the top five. But ASU produced mixed results in conference play and lost in the first round of its conference tournament.

Then the Orange beat them, earning a berth in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against sixth-seeded Texas Christian, led by former Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon. The Horned Frogs, who won the NIT last season, had not made the NCAA Tournament since 1998. They await the Orange in Detroit on Friday night for a 9:40 p.m. tip.

Freshman forward Oshae Brissett led the Orange with 23 points and junior center Paschal Chukwu made three of his final four free throws to seal the victory.

Here are three quick takeaways from the game.

Chukwu’s clutch free throws

Chukwu made 3-of-4 free throws to close out the game, a necessity to win in the tight games that occupy March. Earlier, Chukwu missed the front end of a one-and-one. With under one minute to go, Howard found Battle, who dumped off to Chukwu. He drew a foul and made both free throws, pushing SU’s lead to three. Mickey Mitchell completed a nifty move inside to pull ASU within one.

But Chukwu was fouled on the ensuing possession, and he made one of his free throws to send Syracuse fans into a loud “Let’s go Orange” chant.

Alexandra Moreo | Senior Staff Photographer

Glassware

The Orange utilized its size advantage to dominate on the glass. By halftime, SU had eight second-chance points, a key reason why it had a two-point lead. Overall, SU out-rebounded ASU 37-34.

With Syracuse down by four, Chukwu followed a Battle drive with a put-back layup amid a 5-0 run to pull SU within four. It was Chukwu’s first bucket of the game, followed by a quick ASU turnover. Syracuse picked up 10 offensive boards, lengthening possessions for an inconsistent offense to produce just enough points.

At times this season, the Orange ran into trouble when giving teams second-chance opportunities. Not on Wednesday.

Oshae’s growth

Brissett led the Orange with 23 points and 12 rebounds, and he established himself as a versatile playmaker throughout the contest. He confidently stepped into 3-pointers, even when guarded closely. He coupled that with aggressive takes to the basket, and he seemed to take on the role of initiator whenever SU had nothing to show late in the shot clock. And he posted up when he saw the chance.

Down five with 5:28 on the clock, Brissett posted up Vitaliy Shibel and muscled his way against three defenders, two of whom saw Brissett near the basket and converged to help out. Brissett drew a trip to the line and split the free throws.

A minute later, Brissett cut inside to receive a pass from Marek Dolezaj. He wasted no time, jumping into shooting form to complete a three-point play and give SU a one-point lead. Brissett’s versatility shined Wednesday evening, providing a positive indication for SU headed into Friday.

Published on March 14, 2018 at 11:24 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21