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Syracuse vs. Arizona State NCAA Tournament betting odds were listed at Syracuse -2 ½ in what was the most bet on game heading into Sunday's tournament play at SBG Global.
"This is definitely a popular game amongst Gambling911.com readers," said reporter Don Shapiro. "We suspect a lot of people had Syracuse in their brackets too."
Third-seeded Syracuse (27-9) got to the second round by beating Stephen F. Austin 59-44; Arizona State (25-9), the sixth seed, advanced with a 66-57 win over Temple. It was Syracuse's first NCAA tournament win in five years, while Arizona State was in a six-year drought.
For Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, Sunday could bring the 799th win of his Hall of Fame career. In classic Boeheim style, he wanted no part of that discussion Saturday.
"You know, we're looking for our second win in this tournament tomorrow, and we're focused on that," Boeheim said. "That's all we're really focused on right now. Those other things, if we ever get there, we'll talk about them, I guess, for about two minutes, and then we'll go on."
Arizona State got a career-best 22 points from point guard Derek Glasser and 22 more from forward Jeff Pendergraph on Friday, while the Orange enjoyed big days from their biggest guys -- 12 points from Arinze Onuaku on 6-for-7 shooting, 12 points from Rick Jackson and 16 rebounds from Paul Harris.
"I really think they're in the mix of teams from the beginning who people who could legitimately point to and say, 'Hey, they're a contender for the national championship," Arizona State coach Herb Sendek said. "Their talent quotient is tremendous. ... We're going to have to play an great all-around game."
Syracuse and Arizona State have met only once, in 1968.
Gambling911.com Staff
