Arizona St. vs Syracuse 3/14/18 - NCAA Tournament Picks & Predictions

Arizona State and Syracuse both struggled down the stretch of the season, and they meet Wednesday in a "First Four" game of the Midwest Regional. Arizona State i 20-11 and Syracuse is 20-13.

Arizona State was among the top teams in the nation at one point this year, but has had trouble in the Pac 12. The Sun Devils started 12-0 with wins over two top-10 teams, and are 8-11 since then. Arizona State has lost its last two and four of the last five games.

Syracuse did not fall so far, but has had its struggles. The Orange are 3-5 over the last eight game, but that includes wins over Miami and Clemson. The Orange also lost to North Carolina by just four in the regular season.

Syracuse has a good defense, holding opponents to 64.5 points, and is 16th in the nation. The Orange average 67.5 on offense.

Arizona State is 14th in the nation on offense, averaging 83.5, and is giving up 75.3. Arizona State has four in double figures. Tra Holder is averaging 18.4, Shannon Evans is at 16.6 and Kodi Justice is averaging 12.6. Evans has 91 three-pointers, Justice has 74 and Holder has 66. The three have 231 of the team's 277 three-pointers.

Tyus Battle lead Syracuse with 19.8 points per game. Frank Howard is at 15 and Brissett is averaging 14.7. Battle has 70 three-pointers, Howard has 64 and Brissett has 51. Syracuse has three 80 percent free throw shooters among its top five.