Syracuse and Arizona State are both riding two-game losing streaks entering Thursday’s consolation bracket game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament at Paradise Island, Bahamas.
The Orange (2-2) are coming off a 100-85 defeat to Colgate on Saturday and a 67-55 setback against VCU in a Battle 4 Atlantis opening-round game Wednesday.
The Sun Devils (2-3) lost 75-63 to No. 6 Baylor in the Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday after falling 65-63 at San Diego State last week.
Syracuse made just 5 of 23 attempts from 3-point range against VCU. Orange starting center Jesse Edwards played only 15 minutes before fouling out and finishing with six points and four rebounds.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim’s sons led his team.
Jimmy Boeheim recorded his second double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Buddy Boeheim led the Orange with 20 points.
“We missed a lot of open shots,” Jim Boeheim said. “They were one of the better defensive pressure teams we’ve seen. When you get open shots against that kind of pressure, you got to make them.”
Syracuse made only 29 percent of its shots from the field.
The Sun Devils trailed by as many as 22 points in the second half against Baylor but played well down the stretch.
DJ Horne made 6 of 9 shots from 3-point range to finish with 20 points, the only Sun Devil to score in double figures.
Arizona State made 35.7 percent of its shots from the field and committed 15 turnovers, 11 in the first half.
The Sun Devils have played the last two games without starting forward Marcus Bagley, who aggravated a knee injury in a win over North Florida last week.
He did not make the trip to the Bahamas.
“We thought it was in his best interest, collectively, just huddling up, that he takes this time to work on his rehab, and just getting on that plane for all this time wasn’t the best thing, smartest thing to do,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said.
The last time Arizona State and Syracuse met was in the First Four of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, when the Orange won 60-56.
–Field Level Media
