ASU Basketball: Devils look to continue winning ways vs. Southern, Colorado State

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil performs during the team's quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Oregon Ducks T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oregon won 80-57. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil performs during the team's quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Oregon Ducks T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oregon won 80-57. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

ASU basketball looks to extend their three-game winning streak as they host Southern Friday and travel to face Colorado State Sunday.

Arizona State wraps up their three-game homestand Friday night when they host the Southern Jaguars.

The Sun Devils are coming off an ASU Classic championship defeating Louisiana Tech and Tulsa to claim the trophy for the third consecutive season.

In the victory over Louisiana Tech, Arizona State held the Lady Techsters to just 33 percent from the field as LTU’s best player, Kierra Anthony, was limited to 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting.

Forward Kianna Ibis, who was named ASU Classic MVP, finished with a game-high 13 points with forward Courtney Ekmark scoring 12 points on four 3-pointers.

Against Tulsa, the Sun Devils once again relied on their stout defense to fend off a pesky Golden Hurricane team.

Tulsa only trailed 21-19 after the first quarter, but ASU upped the defensive intensity in final three quarters to leave with a 70-52 win. Tulsa finished the game shooting 33 percent from the field.

Ibis once again led the team with 14 points and eight rebounds with Ekmark and guard Robbi Ryan scoring 12 points each.

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Arizona State enters Friday’s matchup against Southern University on a three-game winning streak.

Southern enters with a 2-4 record and coming off a 63-61 defeat against NAIA’s Dillard University. The Jaguars have an 0-3 record against Division I schools losing to Kentucky, Baylor and South Alabama.

Against Division I teams, the Jaguars’ leading scorers is forward Briana Thompson (7.3 points per game) and guard Brittany Rose (7.0 points per game).

As a team, Southern averages 46.3 points per game against Division I opponents, ranking as the sixth-lowest mark in the country according to Her Hoop Stats.

Defensively against D-I opponents, the Jaguars allow 79.3 points per game with opponents shooting 52.7 percent from the field.

Arizona State, with the depth and talent, should cruise to a comfortable win against Southern as they’ll face a much tougher test in Colorado State Sunday.

The Rams are 4-3 and is coming off a win over Northern Arizona on Wednesday. CSU’s win have come against Eastern New Mexico, Cornell, North Florida and NAU with defeats against Colorado, Northern Colorado and Gonzaga.

Leading Colorado State is guard Lore Devos, who leads the team averaging 17.6 points per game on 51.5 percent shooting from the field. She’s also the team’s leading rebounder averaging 6.9 boards a game.

Her backcourt sidekick, Mollie Mounsey, is the only other Ram averaging double-digits scoring 10.0 points a game.

Colorado State sports one of the stingiest defenses in the country as D-I opponents shoot 31.5 percent from the field ranking sixth in the nation according to Her Hoop Stats.

Opponents’ 2-point field goal percentage is 34 percent which is good for seventh best in the nation.

Control of the glass will be they key in this game as Colorado State is 44th in defensive rebounds per game. In comparison, Arizona State is 30th.

The Sun Devils will look to pick up a couple of wins this weekend before they head to La Crosse, Wisconsin to face Kansas State on Dec. 16.

Tip off of Friday’s game against Southern is at 6 p.m. MT and it can be seen on the ASU Live Stream. Sunday’s game against Colorado State will tip off at 2 p.m. MT and it can be seen on Stadium.