TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
Sun Devils look to prove they are the new favorites
In perhaps the biggest regular-season game in the state’s college basketball history, undefeated and third-ranked ASU takes on 17th-ranked Arizona tonight in Tucson.
The easy prediction is that Arizona rolls Saturday. That faced with a direct challenge to their in-state supremacy, the No. 17 Wildcats finally look like the team everyone envisioned and delivers Arizona State a painful reminder that the Pac-12 still runs through Tucson.
That’s the conditioned response. The result of so many ASU beatdowns at McKale Center – seven in a row – that they all bleed into one another to form one ginormous dreadful memory. Perfectly understandable. It’s hard to predict something people so rarely see.
But this conference opener might be different for one simple reason: This ASU team is different.
The ascension of coach Bobby Hurley’s program has been college basketball’s biggest surprise. Five weeks ago, the Sun Devils left Tempe hoping to get a win or two in a Las Vegas holiday tournament, something that would help their NCAA Tournament resume. Saturday, they take the court as one of three unbeaten teams, ranked third in the country.
“Everything’s happened really fast,” Hurley said. “I kind of talked about us like going 0 to 100. We weren’t a program that many people were talking about, but as we’ve put together this non-conference (run), we’ve put ourselves in a tremendous position.”
Try as you might – analyze the numbers, dissect the schedule – this is no fluke.
ASU (12-0) has beaten 11 opponents by double digits. The Sun Devils scored 102 against a Xavier team that posts defensive efficiency rankings in the locker room to serve as a reminder for how it should play. They went into Kansas and dealt the Jayhawks just their 11th home loss of the past 15 years.
That one caught the attention of Hurley’s former coach, Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski, who called Hurley as the Sun Devils left Lawrence. It also caught the attention of Arizona coach Sean Miller – not so much for what they’ve done, but for how they’ve done it.
“They’re one of the best offensive teams that I’ve faced during my nine years here at Arizona,” Miller said.
“They remind me, just in terms of their numbers, of how UCLA would’ve been a year ago. UCLA didn’t get to the freethrow line last year as much as Arizona State does this year, but they were just as prolific (in) scoring and played at a very fast pace and had a lot of weapons and guys who can make shots on the court. Ditto for Arizona State.”
Throughout his time in this state, Miller pretty much has had the college basketball spotlight to himself. He has positioned Arizona among the sport’s top programs, guiding the Wildcats to the doorstep of the Final Four three times. This season Arizona (10-3) is a popular pick to do even better, even as Miller integrates guard Rawle Alkins – injured for the season’s first nine games – into a lineup that includes future NBA draft picks Deandre Ayton and Allonzo Trier.
It makes for an interesting contrast between favorite and challenger.
Arizona has pro-level talent, ASU has old-school chemistry. Arizona can pound the ball inside, ASU can light it up from deep. Perhaps the biggest difference: The emotion associated with this type of game – the most anticipated between the in-state rivals in years – is nothing new for the Wildcats. They get it every year from nearly every conference opponent, the price of their sustained success.
“I don’t know if you realize this, but this isn’t the first big game we’ve played in,” Miller chided a reporter on this week’s Pac-12 teleconference.
Hurley loves this type of environment. It’s why he’s upgraded ASU’s schedule, taking the Sun Devils into places like Creighton, Kentucky and Kansas, the louder, the better. Perhaps that prepares ASU for what’s about to unfold inside McKale Center, where the Wildcats are 74-2 over the past five seasons. Perhaps it will be enough to leapfrog Arizona in this season’s early Pac-12 pecking order.
Coming off consecutive losing seasons, the Sun Devils are changing the conversation earlier than expected. They’re making it up as they go, so it’s hard to know what happens next.
“I love my team that they’re up for the challenge,” Hurley said. “I’ve felt like we’ve answered the bell every time so far this year, and I wouldn’t expect anything less from our group (other than) to attack and be fearless out there.”