ASU Basketball: Sun Devils host limping Wildcats at ‘The Bank’

After a split weekend in Los Angeles, ASU basketball returns home for a Territorial Cup matchup with a struggling Arizona squad.

Last weekend’s games in California were representative of what Arizona State’s conference season has been – messy.

After escaping Westwood with a win, the Sun Devils fell the next game to USC. The loss dropped ASU from second to tied for fourth in the Pac-12 standings.

Though Saturday’s loss is a hit to the Sun Devils’ postseason resume, they are seemingly leaving that game in the past.

“We turned the page on it,” forward Zylan Cheatham said. “We learned from those situations.”

This week, Arizona State hosts another squad limping into this week – the Arizona Wildcats.

Without center Chase Jeter, the Wildcats fell to both USC and UCLA and have now dropped three of their last four. According to Arizona coach Sean Miller, Jeter – who is suffering from a back injury – is getting “incrementally better” but is still questionable for Thursday.

If Arizona has to go without Jeter once again, the Sun Devils could pose a tough matchup. Only two others player on the Wildcats’ roster, Ira Lee and Ryan Luther, are 6-foot-8 or taller. ASU, on the other hand, has four regulars in its lineup who are 6-foot-8 or taller.

Averaging 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, Jeter is among Arizona’s most dynamic players. His 62.7 clip from the field is a team-high. Lee and Luther will likely be the Wildcats’ frontcourt starters against Arizona State if Jeter is indeed out.

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Those two have combined for just 10 starts this year and are both averaging fewer than seven points per game. Due to the struggles down low, it will be up to the guards to carry the load.

Enter Brandon Randolph.

Now a sophomore, Randolph has undoubtedly been Arizona’s most improved player this year. A year removed from averaging just 3.7 points per game, Randolph now leads the team in scoring with 14.9 per game.

Since conference play, however, there’s been a decline in his consistency.

In six of Arizona’s eight conference games, Randolph has shot below 40 percent from the field. Most recently, he shot 4-of-16 from the field in Arizona’s 21-point loss to UCLA.

Other significant members of the Wildcat backcourt include Brandon Williams and Justin Coleman. Williams leads the team in assists with 3.7 per contest, while Coleman is Arizona’s most consistent three-point shooter, shown by his 38.8 percentage from deep.

After that, the lineup drops off significantly.

Junior guard Dylan Smith is the only other Wildcat averaging more than 10 minutes per game. And he’s seen a recent dip in his minutes because of shooting woes.

Arizona’s lack of bench production makes it even more imperative that Jeter is able to go Thursday. If he’s unable to play, an already shallow team will face perhaps the Pac-12’s deepest squad from top to bottom.

That said, Arizona poses a different threat from a defensive standpoint. Opposed to the Sun Devils’ recent opponents, Arizona runs a man defense, something ASU looks forward to facing.

“It’s going to be an adjustment,” Cheatham said. “We’ve been practicing man-to-man because we play so much man. I think we’ve prepared ourselves well, and we’re going to continue to do so.”

Looking at the matchup, this could be the year Bobby Hurley gets his revenge. Since taking over in 2015, Hurley has yet to defeat the arch-rival Wildcats.

In fairness, Arizona is typically a top-10 team, year in and year out. This season is the exception. The Wildcats have shown inconsistency on all areas of the floor, and when things are seemingly trending in the right direction, something often counteracts that.

Could this be the year Hurley outcoaches Miller? That’s still unknown. Miller is still among college basketball’s most proven coaches, and even in a down year, the Wildcats are dangerous.

But it won’t be a gentle atmosphere Thursday for Miller’s Wildcats. They will be poured on with boos, possible “FBI” chants and other yet-to-be-seen forms of jeering.

“The crowd is going to be what it is,” Hurley said. “There are a lot of good things that go along with playing a program that has the track record of Arizona’s.”

Let the chaos reign – it’s rivalry week.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.