Syracuse Basketball’s gut-check win over ASU means tilt with TCU

The Syracuse basketball squad did just enough to conquest Arizona State, resulting in a Friday-evening clash with old friend Jamie Dixon.

Onward, we dance.

On Wednesday night at the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, the SU hoops outfit did battle with Arizona State, two No. 11 seeds in the Midwest Region each looking to make it into the 64-team main bracket.

This slugfest proved ugly throughout, but our beloved boys had some huge plays down the stretch – on both offense and defense – to erase a seven-point deficit and, ultimately, walk away with a four-point triumph.

Big kudos to freshman forward Oshae Brissett for a stellar performance in his NCAA Tournament debut.

No time to celebrate, or rest, however, as the ‘Cuse (21-13) travels to Detroit for a first-round duel with No. 6 seed TCU (21-11), a solid crew that finished fifth in the uber-competitive and talented Big 12 during the 2017-18 regular season.

The Horned Frogs’ head coach is Jamie Dixon, who previously led Pittsburgh for many years. While guiding the Panthers in the Big East and then the Atlantic Coast Conference, Dixon did extremely well against Syracuse and its legendary boss, Jim Boeheim.

So, of course, I’m not a huge Dixon fan, although you have to give him props for getting his guys to execute splendidly versus our vaunted 2-3 zone.

With a RPI of 25, TCU secured a bunch of solid successes in this campaign, over groups such as Baylor, Belmont, Kansas State, Nevada, Oklahoma State, St. Bonaventure (which beat us in the non-conference slate), Texas and West Virginia.

Much like the Sun Devils, the Horned Frogs can really light up the scoreboard, averaging about 83

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points per affair, which is good for second in their conference behind Oklahoma. TCU also connects on 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from downtown.

Um, that’s a tad more proficient than SU is on the offensive side of the equation.

On the flip side, the Horned Frogs allow 76 points a game, which is second from the basement, above only the Sooners, in the Big 12.

With virtually no depth and its starters, as usual, producing a ton of minutes on the court against ASU, the Orange is clearly going to have its hands full with the Horned Frogs.

We certainly have the edge on defense, while TCU has a distinct advantage on offense. Keys include the ‘Cuse controlling the tempo, keeping the Horned Frogs’ shooters at bay, prevailing on the glass, limiting careless turnovers, remaining out of foul trouble, and sinking from the charity stripe at a super clip.

No problem, right?

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I’m so proud that Syracuse got a victory under its belt versus the Sun Devils, and besting former nemesis Dixon would amount to an even sweeter story.

I absolutely expect a close contest, and, hopefully, this is another instance where SU advances!