ASU Basketball: Sun Devils embark on final road trip at Oregon
One week after a gut-wrenching rivalry loss, ASU basketball looks to bounce back at Oregon with the Ducks winning the first meeting 76-72 on Jan. 11.
The Sun Devils are taking on the Ducks for the second time this season hoping to split the Pac-12 season series.
The Ducks traveled to Tempe on Jan. 11 and beat the Sun Devils 76-72. Oregon’s Payton Pritchard and Elijah Brown were the catalyst for the early conference victory, scoring 18 points each and leading the Ducks to a shocking upset
Oregon caught ASU at the right time however. After soaring in the rankings from a prolific non-conference stint, the Sun Devils sat at 1-2 in Pac-12 play with no real identity and the Ducks were able to impose their will on the reeling Sun Devils.
Luckily for head coach Bobby Hurley’s squad, the team seems to be back on track. After winning two of the last three games against the Pac-12’s top three seeds (USC, Arizona, UCLA) Arizona State seems to have their identity back.
Against USC the Sun Devils scored in transition and caused havoc on the defensive end leading to an 80-78 nail-biting victory.
Just two days later the Devils knocked off UCLA in a similar, yet more dominant fashion. While the Devils were defeated in Tempe by Deandre Ayton and the Arizona Wildcats, the final score didn’t indicate just how close the game truly was.
Because of the Ducks immense size and paint patroller Kenny Wooten (2.9 blocks per game) dominating the inside, the keys to victory against the Ducks lie in two specific areas.
The first of which is the senior-laden backcourt that built “Guard-U”. That backcourt features Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate Tra Holder, and the fearless gunner Shannon Evans II. The prolific pairing leads the 15th-best offense in the nation and has carried ASU to benchmark victories this season.
When the dynamic duo scores 40 points or more, the Sun Devils are 6-0. The most impressive of these six wins came against the then-fourth-ranked Xavier Musketeers and the eighth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks.
Each victory saw the Sun Devils win by double digits and solidify their name on the national radar. Against USC and UCLA, Holder and Evans II combined for 43 and 45 points respectively.
The Sun Devils soar when the seniors score. Against the Ducks, the No. 1 priority has to be getting the backcourt going early.
The second key to victory lies on the defensive end, creating havoc and causing turnovers. ASU is currently giving up only 74.9 points per game and is averaging and impressive 6.8 steals per game.
Against the LA schools, ASU was propelled to victory mainly because of defense. The Sun Devils caused 18 USC turnovers that led to 32 points in transition, the Sun Devils won by two points. Against UCLA, the Sun Devils caused 12 turnovers and had nine steals en route to a nine-point win.
The Devils must bring the same level of intensity on defense we have seen in their past three games. Players like Kimani Lawrence, Remy Martin and Mickey Mitchell have spearheaded the late-season jolt of energy that have revitalized ASU on the defensive end. Once again they must provide that essential spark if ASU has any hope to defeat the Ducks.
Against Oregon there is a chance for ASU creep every closer to the upper half of the Pac-12 Standings.
Next: ASU Basketball: 2018 Pac-12 Week 8 Power Rankings
With Selection Sunday less than four weeks away, ASU has to treat every game as a must win. Every late season run starts somewhere. For the Sun Devils that run must start Thursday in Eugene, Oregon.