SYRACUSE ORANGE PUNCHES ITS TICKET

OHIO» Freshman Oshae DAYTON,

Brissett had a double-double and led Syracuse’s second-half comeback, and the Orange — the last team to make the NCAA Tournament — held on for a 60-56 victory over Arizona State on Wednesday night in the First Four.

The 11th-seeded Orange plays No. 6 seed TCU (21-11) on Friday in Detroit in the Midwest Region.

Syracuse (21-13) had to sweat out Selection Sunday and wound up as the last one to make the bracket, sent to the First Four. The Orange prevailed in a matchup of teams that started fast and then faded onto the tournament bubble.

Arizona State (20-12) opened the season with 12 wins, including victories over tournament No. 1 seeds Xavier and Kansas. The Sun Devils went 8-12 the rest of the way. They also faded at the end of their tournament game.

Brissett overcame a hard fall in the first half, scored 23 points and had 12 rebounds.

He had a three-point play and a step-back jumper as the Orange overcame a seven-point deficit with 7 minutes left.

Tyus Battle’s 3-pointer put Syracuse ahead to stay.

In Wednesday’s first play-in game, Texas Southern got its first ever NCAA Tournament win, a 64-46 rout of North Carolina Central.

NIT highlight.

Markus Howard scored 22 points, and Marquette held on to beat Harvard 67-60 in the first round despite three turnovers in the final minute. The Golden Eagles held a seemingly comfortable nine-point lead with 1:20 left when the Crimson’s pressure defense created three steals.

FOOTNOTES

Memphis fires Tubby Smith.

Tubby Smith was fired as Memphis’ coach after two seasons amid dropping attendance and donations to the athletic department. … Vanderbilt granted releases to reserve guards Payton Willis and Larry Austin Jr., freeing up a couple scholarships for coach Bryce Drew.