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ASU Basketball: Sun Devils secure No. 2 seed, now what?

By Zach Pekale

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 08: Head coach Bobby Hurley (L) and associate head coach Rashon Burno of the Arizona State Sun Devils react during a first-round game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Stanford Cardinal at T-Mobile Arena on March 8, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Arizona State won 98-88 in overtime. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 08: Head coach Bobby Hurley (L) and associate head coach Rashon Burno of the Arizona State Sun Devils react during a first-round game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Stanford Cardinal at T-Mobile Arena on March 8, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Arizona State won 98-88 in overtime. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 08: A Pac-12 basketball logo is displayed on the court after a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament between the Stanford Cardinal and the UCLA Bruins at T-Mobile Arena on March 8, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bruins won 88-77. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 08: A Pac-12 basketball logo is displayed on the court after a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament between the Stanford Cardinal and the UCLA Bruins at T-Mobile Arena on March 8, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bruins won 88-77. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

ASU as the No. 2 Seed

For just the 14th time in 42 seasons with the Pac-10/12, ASU has a winning record (11-6)  in league play. A historically underwhelming year for the conference paved the way for the Sun Devils to clinch the No. 2 seed in the tournament with before the final weekend of the regular season.

A win in Tucson would give the team its third-best finish in program history as a member of the conference. Coincidentally, ASU last won 12 league games and held a top-two seed in 2010; A year in which the Pac-12 had two teams reach the NCAA Tournament.

Known as the Pac-10 at the time, the conference tournament was won by Washington, the No. 3 seed, but the bigger headline was the omission of USC. The Trojans did not participate as part of a self-imposed sanction from the 2007-08 season.

As a result, only the bottom two teams played in the opening round. No. 7 seed Stanford received a ‘bye’ before facing ASU in a quarterfinal matchup. The Cardinal won 70-61, causing ASU to narrowly miss the NCAA Tournament before bowing out in the opening round of the NIT.

Entering the league’s final regular season weekend, ASU remains on the right side of the cut line and will have four days off between its trip to Tucson and the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Tournament.

Next. ASU Basketball: Sun Devils survive Oregon State for win No. 20. dark

With the league’s third and tenth place teams separated by one and a half games, the Sun Devils are unlikely to know their first opponent until Saturday night.

One thing is certain, ASU will not play a team coming off a bye on March 14.

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