ASU Basketball: 2019 NCAA Tournament Roundtable

What Could Hold the Sun Devils Back?

As good as the Sun Devils are at ‘bully ball,’ they have another style that works in reverse: ‘hero ball.’

It primarily occurs when down or fighting off a run. Whether it’s a player taking a contested shot, not rotating or over-committing on defense, this is where ASU commits self-inflicted damage.

Granted, Hurley has helped reel those plays in recent weeks. But they do happen, like Luguentz Dort’s deep 3-pointer with 16 seconds left in overtime against Oregon last Friday. As guards, Dort, Martin and Rob Edwards will have to balance their scoring and team-centric decisions. – TB

Poor decisions earmarked by ‘hero ball’ have certainly left the Sun Devils questioning who takes their final shot in a close game. But, the Achilles’ heel of this team is its inability to gauge the competitiveness of an opponent.

Princeton. Utah. Washington State. Time after time, ASU has underestimated another team and paid dearly for it. Wins over Kansas, Mississippi State and Washington were nearly overshadowed by the three aforementioned losses.

St. John’s has lost five of seven, including a 32-point drubbing by Marquette at the Big East Tournament. Did I mention that was essentially a home game for the Red Storm in Madison Square Garden?

This slump is the cause of Chris Mullin nearly being denied a bid to the NCAA Tournament, coincidingly it makes St. John’s dangerous against a team like ASU. – ZP

While Dort can be the X-factor for this team, he can also do more harm than good, at times. A freshman, Dort still hasn’t mastered the art of finishing at the rim. And even when he’s not shooting well, he puts up too many shots.

He needs to let the upperclassmen control the game and not force erratic shots like he did against Oregon in the Pac-12 semifinals. Dort essentially shot ASU out of the conference tourney with his near-half-court shot with time running out.

For ASU to make a deep run in the Big Dance, it will need the same Dort that was unstoppable against Utah State, Nevada and Cal to show up. – CF

One major thing can hold the Devils back this tournament season — a lack of in-game adjustments. The Devils have a versatile roster capable of throwing large, small and traditional lineups out on the floor with varying degrees of success.

A healthy dose of a De’Quon Lake, Romello White and Zylan Cheatham on the floor can clog the lane against any opponent. A super small ball lineup of Edwards, Martin, Dort, Elias Valtonen or Taeshon Cherry, and Zylan Cheatham let the Devils push the pace and spread the floor.

And finally their go-to lineup of Edwards, Martin, Cheatham, Dort and White allows the Devils to keep it fresh on both ends of the floor. Hurley must use every tool on his workbench to advance in this tournament. – RG

While at times Arizona State can look unstoppable on the offensive end, there are also times where ASU can’t buy a bucket. This inconsistency has plagued them all season and they will need the team that showed up against Mississippi State and Utah State if they want to make a run deep into March. – BW