No. 11 Syracuse helped ease some of the tension around their controversial bid into the NCAA Tournament by defeating No. 11 Arizona State 60-56 in a play-in game.
The Orange finished the regular season 20-13, struggling on offense at times, but they did enough Wednesday outscoring the Sun Devils 30-28 in each half.
Freshman forward Oshae Brissett led Syracuse with 23 points and 12 rebounds, his second straight double-double. Tyus Battle added 15 points, and Frank Howard scored 12. The Orange did not receive any points from the bench.
Kodi Justice led Arizona State with 15 points. The Sun Devils were a top-10 team in the nation early this season, but a poor run in Pac-12 play left their tournament fate in doubt.
Syracuse will now face No. 6 TCU in the first round. Nine No. 11 seeds have reached the Sweet 16 since 2010.
