After a 22-10 (13-7 Pac-12) season record, ASU basketball will make its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Bobby Hurley.
It’s official – Arizona State is going back to the Big Dance.
After a 22-10 (12-6 Pac-12) regular season, the Sun Devils qualified as a No. 11 seed in the West region of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. This is ASU’s 15th tournament appearance, its second straight under head coach Bobby Hurley and its first time making consecutive appearances since 1980-81.
Of 68 teams in the field, the Sun Devils were part of the ‘Last Four In.’ That means they will be playing in Dayton, Ohio, in a play-in game against fellow No. 11 seed St. John’s on Wednesday at 6:10 p.m. with the winner moving on to face No. 6 Buffalo in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
This will be ASU’s second straight year in the ‘First Four.’ Last season, the Sun Devils faced No. 11 Syracuse at the University of Dayton Arena, falling 60-56. The Orangemen went on to defeat No. 6 TCU and No. 3 Michigan State before losing to No. 2 Duke in the Sweet 16.
Entering Selection Sunday, it was unknown how the 10-member NCAA selection committee would grade ASU. On one hand, the Sun Devils held an impressive 11-6 record against Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 2 opponents. In the same breath, they had a combined four losses against Q3 and Q4 foes.
The committee decided to favor the former. ASU’s seed was higher than NC State, Alabama and TCU, who didn’t have bad losses, but also possessed fewer quality wins. This was much similar to last year’s predicament, where the Sun Devils edged out USC – who finished second in the Pac-12 – despite finishing ninth in the conference standings.
Hurley has maintained this ASU team would peak late, and the observations matched what transpired. His team won six of its final eight contests, advancing to the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament before losing to No. 6 seed Oregon.
The Ducks went on to beat Washington in the tournament championship, stealing a bid while also securing three selections for the Pac-12. Oregon is the No. 12 seed in the South region and the Huskies are the No. 9 seed in the Midwest region.
ASU’s 2018-19 successes were led by senior forward and All-Pac-12 First Team honoree Zylan Cheatham. A fifth-year transfer from Phoenix, Arizona, Cheatham helped the Sun Devils execute an identity overhaul, switching from last year’s mantra of ‘Guard U’ to a physical, deep unit.
The 6-foot-8 forward led the Pac-12 in rebounding with 10.4 per game. As a team, ASU was the nation’s 15th-best rebounding squad, averaging just under 40 per game.
While Cheatham became the vocal leader, sophomore guard Remy Martin emerged as a floor general. He received All-Pac-12 Second Team honors after leading the conference in assists (6.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio.
Martin tweaked his groin in Friday night’s loss to Oregon, keeping him between “60 and 75 percent” in the game, according to coach Hurley. His recovery will be crucial to a potential tournament run.
In terms of scoring output, none did more than freshman Luguentz Dort. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound guard led ASU in scoring with 16.1 points per game, including a 33-point outing against Utah State on Nov. 21.
Along with Cheatham, Dort was named to the All-Pac-12 Defensive Team. He was also recognized as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, the first ASU freshman to receive the award since Jahii Carson in 2013.
Here are the other teams compiling the West region.
No. 1 Gonzaga
No. 2 Michigan
No. 3 Texas Tech
No. 4 Florida State
No. 5 Marquette
No. 7 Nevada
No. 8 Syracuse
No. 9 Baylor
No. 10 Florida
No. 12 Murray St.
No. 13 Vermont
No. 14 N. Kentucky
No. 15 Montana
No. 16 FDU/PView
This was a year of firsts for Hurley’s Sun Devils. They finished with a winning record in Pac-12 play, swept Arizona and beat the nation’s No. 1 team at home. Now, they’ll hope to win their first NCAA Tournament game under their fourth-year coach.