ASU Basketball: What we’ve learned since first meeting with UA

For the first time under Bobby Hurley, ASU basketball has a chance to sweep Arizona after defeating the Wildcats 95-88 in January.

This has been a season of firsts for Arizona State under Bobby Hurley. The first time the program beat the No. 1 team. The first time Hurley defeated Arizona in his tenure.

Only one game remains in the 2018-19 regular season, but Hurley has the chance to reach another milestone – the first sweep of Arizona in his reign.

And with how Arizona’s performed in Pac-12 play, his chances are relatively high. The Wildcats are 8-9 in league play, losing eight of their last 11 contests.

Their only three wins since Jan. 19 all came in a row. And Arizona followed that three-game winning streak with a 73-47 defeat to Oregon.

A lack of a primary scorer has restrained Arizona from offensive success. The team’s three leading scorers – Brandon Randolph, Brandon Williams and Chase Jeter – are all hovering around 12 points per game.

A freshman guard, Williams has possibly been the most complete of that trio, leading in assists and steals. His presence was missed in his six-game absence. In that span, Arizona went 1-5, losing to Washington State and Colorado, among others.

Since Williams’ return, the Wildcats are 2-1 with wins against Stanford and Oregon State.

Williams wasn’t in the lineup in ASU’s 95-88 overtime win against the Wildcats in January. Having him this time around should add depth and athleticism on both sides of the ball against a talented Sun Devil squad.

In the first matchup between Arizona and Arizona State, Ryan Luther kept the Wildcats close. While ASU successfully limited Randolph and Justin Coleman – who both shot inefficiently – Luther finished with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Five of those field goals were 3-pointers.

Since the Territorial Cup, Luther has played exceptionally, averaging 10.5 points per game and reaching double figures in four outings.

For ASU, Remy Martin was the standout in the first meeting. He scored a game-high 31 points and recorded eight assists. He was guarded by Coleman for the majority of the outing and, frankly, made him look silly.

Tied for the most steals on the team, Coleman is usually a proficient defender. And he’s probably film studied the first matchup religiously. But, likewise, Martin now better understands Coleman’s defensive skillset.

This should, once again, be a crucial battle that holds weight in the game’s result.

Another facet in which the Sun Devils dominated in the first meeting was shooting. Just like most of its signature victories, ASU shot exceptionally from the field, hitting a 55.6 percent clip.

Even against a strong defensive team like Arizona, which is third in the Pac-12 in points allowed per game, the Sun Devils had no issue scoring efficiently.

When Arizona State can shoot, it almost always wins. But that’s not an everyday occurrence. In most of their losses, the Sun Devils shot themselves out of the games, and often, into lopsided deficits.

It truly has been a tale of two teams. The question is, which will show up in the most important leg of the season? The athletic team with prowess on both ends? Or the sloppy team that lost to Princeton and Washington State?