ASU Basketball: 2019 Pac-12 Week 8 Power Rankings

1. No. 17 Arizona State Sun Devils (9-2) LW: 1

The past week has been a roller coaster for Arizona State to say the least. A disheartening loss was followed by a win that will go down as one of the biggest in program history.

First, the Sun Devils were upended in Nashville last Tuesday. The loss came at the hands of Vanderbilt, an underachieving SEC opponent without its top recruit, five-star guard Darius Garland.

Five Commodores finished in double figures, and as a team, they outshot ASU by 11.3 percentage points.

Three-point shooting was also pivotal for Vanderbilt. Connecting on 42.9 percent of its shots from beyond the arc, coach Bryce Drew’s team was able to pull away from the Sun Devils and eventually win 81-65.

The loss seemed like a huge speed bump for the Sun Devils. Before that game, ASU seemed like the clear team-to-beat in the Pac-12.

Fast forward a few days, and there’s an entirely different narrative.

For the second time in school history, ASU defeated a team ranked No. 1 in the nation. This time, it happened to be Kansas.

An all-around team effort helped the Sun Devils mount a comeback and stun the college basketball universe. The Sun Devils shot a solid 41.3 percent from the field while making almost 40 percent of their three-point attempts.

Zylan Cheatham did an exceptional job of halting Lagerald Vick’s production. Vick, who finished with 14 points, was inefficient, shooting 5-of-16 from the field.

The final score in Tempe was 80-76, and as a result, ASU improved to 9-2 on the young season.

Only one game remains before the Sun Devils begin Pac-12 play — a home contest against Princeton. An Ivy League member, Princeton has been up and down to start the season, posting a 6-5 record.