MIAMI – The sixth-seeded Sun Devils were denied a bid to the Sweet 16 by No. 3 seed Syracuse, after losing 78-67 on Sunday.

ASU senior forward Jeff Pendergraph fouled out with 10:19 left in the game. At that point, the Sun Devils trailed 57-47.

Instead of taking a step back, ASU actually cut its deficit over the next few minutes. The Sun Devils were finally able to get some lane penetration after having trouble doing so in the first half.

By the time sophomore guard Ty Abbott hit his 3-pointer with 6:37 left, ASU trailed 61-57.

The Orange went on a quick 9-2 run over the next two-plus minutes to extend its lead to 70-59. Syracuse junior guard Andy Rautins hit a three, before junior guard Eric Devendorf nailed a pair of shots from behind the arc to bring the game to its final margin.

From the jump, Syracuse controlled the pace of the first half. The Orange had no problem getting the ball inside to its big men.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim elected to go with a big starting lineup, inserting 6-foot-9-inch, 240 pound Rick Jackson for Rautins. Even though he is listed at the same dimensions as Pendergraph, Jackson looked much bigger.

The Sun Devils trailed 41-32 at the half, in large part because they couldn’t penetrate the lane. ASU sophomore guard Jamelle McMillan was the only one who seemed able to break through and get to the paint. Harden didn’t even try to get inside and was 0-for-4 from the field at the break.

ASU coach Herb Sendek tried something different, putting sophomore guard James Harden in the high post, but it didn’t help ASU to get any more inside looks.

Pendergraph only had one field goal in the first half, a dunk in the period’s final minute.

With the Sun Devils having so much trouble getting inside, they were forced to put up an inordinate amount of 3-pointers.

Twenty of ASU’s 26 first-half field goals came from behind the arc. ASU made eight of them, but looked to be barely hanging on by intermission.

Syracuse shot 64.3 percent in the first half.

Reach the reporter at
Alex.espinoza@asu.edu