ASU Basketball: ‘Bubble Watch’ entering Senior Day
By Trevor Booth
Comparison to Other Bubble Teams
When on the bubble, resume arguments are bound to occur. This happened last season when ASU qualified for the NCAA Tournament and USC did not. And if the Sun Devils don’t win the Pac-12 Tournament, those disagreements will continue.
Every day, the NCAA releases ‘Team Sheets’ with updated information about each team’s standing. Here’s how ASU ranked this morning.
Arizona State Sun Devils (18-8, 9-5 Pac-12)
Quadrant 1: 4-2
Quadrant 2: 5-3
Quadrant 3: 3-1
Quadrant 4: 6-2
NET: No. 66
KPI: No. 36
SOR: No. 60
BPI: No. 58
KenPom: No. 54
Sagarin: No. 46
There are plenty of other teams the Sun Devils will match up with in terms of resumes. Here’s a breakdown of where ESPN’s ‘Last Four In’ currently stand.
Temple: The Owls are currently No. 56 in the NET Rankings, tallying a 20-7 record and a 10-4 mark in AAC action. They only have one victory in Quadrant 1, but it was a big one – a 73-69 triumph over No. 9 Houston at home. Earlier today, the Owls avenged a previous loss to Tulsa for its 20th win. Temple is led by its three guards, Shizz Alston Jr., Quinton Rose and Nate Pierre-Louis, who account for 65 percent of the team’s scoring.
Minnesota: Led by Richard Pitino, the Gophers have been on the NCAA Tournament bubble twice since winning the NIT in 2013. This time, Minnesota does hold a difficult schedule, winning three of its 11 Quadrant 1 games while sweeping its nine contests in Quadrant 3 and Quadrant 4. At No. 51 in the NET rankings, each of the Gophers’ four remaining games come against Q1 and Q2 opponents, but three are on the road.
Alabama: The Crimson Tide have a 6-7 record in SEC play, but it does hold a valuable home victory over Kentucky. Like ASU, Alabama also has a win against Mississippi State, and they have three remaining opportunities to collect Q1 wins, with two of those games coming at home. The Tide also beat Ja Morant and Murray State earlier in the year.
Butler: Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack aren’t suiting up in Indianapolis, but junior Kamar Baldwin is a scary Bulldog if let loose in March. Butler has the highest NET rating of these four teams at No. 50, holding two Q1 victories over Florida and Georgetown. However, Marquette and Villanova have dominated in the Big East, and the Bulldogs lost both opportunities to beat those teams at home.
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These are some of the teams to keep an eye on as the end of the season approaches. For now, the Sun Devils will shift focus to tomorrow’s matchup against Cal. The game will tip off at 4 p.m. and can be viewed via Pac-12 Networks.
All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.