ASU basketball avoided what could have been crucial losses to Stanford and Cal. Now winners of three straight, have the Sun Devils put old woes behind?
It is often said that experience is life’s greatest teacher. Of the 347 teams in Division 1, nobody knows that better than Arizona State.
The Sun Devils have ascended their sport’s highest plateaus, peaking at the spectacle of a tournament championship in Las Vegas and a program-changing victory over top-ranked Kansas. As one of twenty teams with at least four wins and a positive record against Quadrant 1 opponents, ASU has proven its worth at the top of the mountain.
But like a stuntman treading across a tightrope, the Sun Devils have encountered a fair share of slips and falls. Princeton, Utah and Washington State are Quadrant IV names that have knocked ASU off its harness, demoting the Devils from an NCAA Tournament sleeper to a team that might not be worthy of qualifying.
As the regular season reaches the finish line, coach Bobby Hurley’s squad is seemingly rectifying its past mistakes. ASU picked up its second sweep of the Pac-12 schedule with wins over Stanford and Cal – Q3 and Q4 opponents, respectively – last week, avoiding the bait that could have followed an emotional win over Utah.
With three games remaining, the Sun Devils are likely in control of their Pac-12 and NCAA Tournament destinies. Currently the conference’s second-ranked team and a representative of 98 of 112 bracket projections on bracketmatrix.com, worries from January and earlier this month have taken a backseat to exciting trends.
This week, Oregon State and Oregon will be two fringe-Q1 games that are certain to impact ASU’s postseason standing. A split would suffice, but did the Sun Devils prove they can pick up an elusive Pac-12 road sweep?
Here’s a look at why they might, and why they might not.