MIAMI – There might be a few reasons why Arizona State plays a matchup zone, but one has nothing to do with defense.

‘The reason they play matchup zone is they’re small,’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘You know it’s a great defense because you can still cover shooters, but you get help back inside. We did a great job early of getting it inside.’

Syracuse used its muscle inside for the second consecutive game to advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, as it moved passed the undersized Sun Devils, 78-67.

Arizona State primarily plays three guards and two forwards. One of the forwards, Rihards Kuksiks, mostly plays outside on the perimeter. In Sunday’s game Kuksiks attempted 13 shots, all of which were from 3-point range. Jeff Pendergraph, the one experienced forward ASU has, is listed as a 6-foot-9, 240-pound player. Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, Pendergraph had to play center against Syracuse’s big men Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson.

‘The game plan was to just push him out of the lane,’ Onuaku said of Pendergraph. ‘Once you push him out of the lane, force him to make a post move from there.’

Jackson has the same measurements as Pendergraph. Onuaku shares the same height, but outweighs ASU’s forward by 35 pounds.

To begin the game, SU took advantage of this matchup by pounding the ball inside, as Jackson scored SU’s first four points. This was similar to the start of Friday’s game against Stephen F. Austin, when SU looked to the post for its first six points.

The domination down low was present throughout the game, as Syracuse overwhelmed the Sun Devils with a 31-8 advantage in points in the paint, 25 of which came in the first half. Onuaku feasted in the first half with 10 points in 15 minutes of play.

Foul trouble held Onuaku to just 10 minutes in the second half, and he finished the game with 12 points. Jackson finished with similar production: 13 points and eight boards in 23 minutes of play.

‘They did that two games in a row,’ SU point guard Jonny Flynn said. ‘This is a usual thing for them now we establish them in the post. Whenever we see a guy not doubling them in the post or not fronting them in the post, it’s going to be a field day for them.’

Because the Sun Devil guards became preoccupied with the threat in the low post, it opened shots from the outside for the Orange. After missing 4-of-5 3’s to begin the second half, SU made 3-of-4 down the stretch that sparked the 15-4 run that carried the Orange to victory.

‘They’re going to focus down there. You want to go inside out, and that’s our goal,’ SU guard Andy Rautins said. ‘Once again they did a good job of getting in there early and getting their big guys in foul trouble, it certainly opened things up outside for us.’

As the offensive options expanded for SU, the size disadvantage for the Sun Devils constricted their choices. Pendergraph struggled throughout the first half, and he did not make a field goal until the final minute. Foul problems also troubled the senior forward. He played 24 minutes and fouled out with 10:19 remaining. Without Pendergraph, the Sun Devils had to jack up a season-high 35 3-pointers.

All this was the result of SU’s dominant low-post presence that ASU may not have recognized before the game, but it certainly did after.

‘That’s the thing about this game. You’ve got to make them respect you,’ Onuaku said. ‘Once you get the ball in the block and show you can make a couple of moves down there, then they’re going to start to respect you.’

mibonner@syr.edu

Published on March 22, 2009 at 12:00 pm