SYRACUSE, NY - FEBRUARY 23: Frank Howard #23 of the Syracuse Orange shoots the ball against the defense of Marques Bolden (L) of the Duke Blue Devils during the second half at the Carrier Dome on February 23, 2019 in Syracuse, New York. Duke defeated Syracuse 75-65. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)
The No. 8 seed Syracuse Orange (20-13; ACC at-large) play the No. 9 seed Baylor Bears (19-13; Big 12 at-large) in an East Region Round of 64 matchup at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt lake City, Utah as the NCAA Tournament continues on Thursday evening.
The game is scheduled to start around 9:57 p.m. ET (following conclusion of Gonzaga vs FDU) and will be televised on TruTV. But if you don’t have cable, you can sign up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services that allow you to watch TruTV on your computer, phone or streaming device:
FuboTV
FuboTV
TruTV is one of 85-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports. Also included are TNT, TBS and CBS (live in select markets), allowing you to watch every NCAA tournament game.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the game (and other programs) on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
PlayStation Vue
PlayStation Vue
PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages: All four include TruTV. Also included are TNT, TBS and CBS (live in select markets), allowing you to watch every March Madness game.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PS Vue comes with cloud DVR.
Hulu With Live TV
Hulu
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including TruTV. Also included are TNT, TBS and CBS (live in select markets), meaning you can watch every other NCAA tournament game.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
Syracuse vs Baylor Preview
Major news broke during the week, as Syracuse will have to play without standout point guard Frank Howard, who violated athletic department policy, the school announced on Thursday:
Rumors are Howard failed a drug test, three familiar with the situation say:
BREAKING: Syracuse senior Frank Howard suspended for failed drug test, 3 familiar with situation say: t.co/HZi4RA4UAG
Losing Howard, who averaged 8.9 points and 2.9 assists per game this season, is a tough blow, but not too difficult for the Orange. Head coach Jim Boeheim has accomplished much more with less; case and point, the Orange reached the Final Four in 2016 as a No. 10 seed, rallying to defeat No. 1 seed Virginia in the Elite Eight.
A large part of Boeheim’s continued tournament success is that stories 2-3 zone defense; Syracuse ranks in the top 25 in the nation this season in defensive efficiency.
The Orange’s most important player remains 6-foot-6 junior guard Tyus Battle, who led the team in scoring this season averaging 17.3 PPG. Battle, who despite missing the Orange’s past two games with a bruised hip, practiced during the week, and is likely to play on Thursday.
Baylor coach Scott Drew told reporters during the week.
“I don’t necessarily think we’ve been playing terrible. I think in each game, there’s been areas where we didn’t do enough to win, but there’s no sense of falling apart. They really maximized their ability as far as playing for one another and really bought into serving one another and caring more about the team than themselves.”
Baylor hasn’t actually done itself favors in regard to building momentum heading into Thursday. The Bears have lost four consecutive games, including a 17-point loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament on March 14.
If the Bears pull off the 9-8 “upset,” it will be because transfer senior guard Makai Mason, formerly of Yale, had a strong performance. Mason tied sophomore forward Tristan Clark this season for the team lead in scoring with 14.6 PPG.