The Big 12 conference tournament is already under way, but Sun Devil fans are eagerly awaiting (or perhaps dreading) their team's matchup with Kansas State tonight.
The two teams split their regular season series, with the Wildcats winning in Tempe by just one point and Arizona State later returning the favor in Manhattan with a blowout win. Conventional logic from those two games would suggest the Sun Devils should be the favorites in this one.
And yet, they're not. Arizona State finished with the second-worst record in the conference, while Kansas State was a bit better at 15-16, their first losing season under third-year head coach Jerome Tang. The Wildcats are the favorites here, but the head-to-head results suggest it won't be an easy one for Kansas State.
Hurting the Sun Devils' odds is the absence of freshman phenom Jayden Quaintance, who is expected to miss this game with a knee injury. Senior guard Adam Miller will play through a hip injury, but his injury history in the past month casts doubt on how effective he can be.
So what should we expect? Our panel of experts offer up their final predictions just before tip-off in Kansas City.
Austen Bundy
Arizona State had a rough year to put it lightly. However, some of its brightest moments came against Kansas State. If it weren't for some ill-fated free throws by Jayden Quaintance, ASU would've swept the Wildcats.
With nothing left to lose, Hurley should motivate the locker room to finish the season with a bang and not a whimper. This might be the one team Kansas State doesn't want to see in round one.
Prediction: Sun Devils win, 86-82.
Jared Page
Arizona State fans haven’t had much to cheer about during the Big 12 season, and there are few reasons to believe things will be any different in the conference tournament.
The Sun Devils won only four games during Big 12 play, but their most impressive conference win came against their opening-round opponent — Kansas State.
Unfortunately, freshman phenom Jayden Quaintance was injured in that Feb. 23 victory and ASU has gone 0-4 since.
Quaintance won’t play in the Big 12 tournament and didn’t make the trip with the team, but the improved play of fellow freshmen Amier Ali and Joson Sanon in recent weeks offer reasons for optimism.
The Sun Devils haven’t lived up to their early season expectations, but they get a chance to start over in the Big 12 tournament.
Prediction: Arizona State wins 72-69.
David Howman
Well, I don't want to be the grouch of the panel, but I just don't have much confidence in Arizona State right now. They've notched just one win since the start of February and, while it was against this exact Kansas State team, they had the added benefit of the BJ Freeman dismissal happening mere hours before tip-off. The Wildcats simply didn't have time to prepare for the team they actually saw that day.
All in all, I think this Sun Devil team has just endured too much heartbreak to keep fighting. They've put up valiant efforts, even recently, but this team can't find a way to close a game out. Add in Bobby Hurley's recent comments about being haunted by the sounds of the opponent cheering, and this doesn't strike me as a team that has any more tricks up their sleeves.
Prediction: Kansas State wins 78-62.