Crunch time for ASU
Sun Devils need to win with 8 games left to secure NCAA spot
The Arizona State men's basketball team is either one of the last few teams in the projected NCAA field or one of the first few out. Either way, it's crunch time for the Sun Devils who have eight games left in the Pac-12 regular season.
Coach Bobby Hurley's squad has an even split of games to come — four at home and four on the road. Next up is a trip to the Bay area where the Sun Devils (15-8, 6-4) will play at Stanford (16-7, 5-5) at 9 p.m. on Thursday and at California (10-13, 4-6) at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
The Sun Devils need to sweep if they want to further their cause for a third straight NCAA bid. Stanford comes in at No. 29 in the NET rankings so a victory by ASU would be a Quad 1 win which is a major component in the postseason selections.
ASU has won five of its last six games but has not fared well historically against the Cardinal which leads the alltime series 51-38. That included an 85-71 loss at Maples Pavilion last season.
But Hurley's squad appears to peaking at the right time.
“I’ve liked what I’ve seen over the last 10 days since Washington State," Hurley said. "Even prior to that, the way we beat Arizona, it was a turning point for our season. It just has brought more hope to what we’re doing. I could tell just how we’ve been practicing leading into that. The guys understand how well we need to practice to prepare.
"I don't think we always did that earlier in the year. After a big win, we had a hard time moving to the next challenge and we’ve done a better job of that recently.”
It has been the effort on the defensive end of the floor that has propelled ASU up the conference standings into a tie for third place. It still ranks 11th in overall field goal percentage (42.2) and last in 3point (31.9) but the Sun Devils have held seven of their last eight opponents to 68 points or less.
ASU is coming off a 66-64 win over USC in which it didn't get a field goal for 11 minutes in the late second half but forged ahead by forcing 24 turnovers. The Sun Devils rank first in the conference in steals and third in rebounding.
"There have been some games where our offense has played at a pretty high level. The Washington game, the UCLA game. But then we just didn’t have our ‘A’ or ‘B,’ I don’t know what letter it was versus USC. But we created 24 turnovers, 18 in the second half," Hurley said, "Our conditioning, our energy, I think the four (power forward) position has really been be productive. And that’s been a difference too."
Players factoring into that equation have included senior forward Mickey Mitchell, sophomore forward, Taeshon Cherry and junior forward Khalid Thomas. However, Cherry will be out for "a few weeks" according to Hurley after rolling his ankle on the last play of the game on Saturday.
Cherry has struggled on offense this season but has been an integral factor at the other end of the floor, particularly against teams with size.
Stanford could be without perhaps its best player as 6-foot-9 junior forward Oscar da Silva (15.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg) sustained a head injury after colliding with Colorado big man Evan Battey in Saturday's game. The Cardinal were ahead by 11 when da Silva got hurt and ended up losing to the Buffaloes by seven.
Sophomore guard Bryce Wills (ankle) missed Saturday's game and is listed as questionable too.
Hurey has been impressed with Stanford, which ranks first in the conference in field goal percentage (47.1). He also singled out freshman point guard Tyrell Terry
“(Terry) has the ability to shoot and very creative guard. (Freshman forward Spencer) Jones is another knockdown shooter. But I think they’ve been hanging their hat just by playing with great energy," he said. "They’re in the right positions on defense. It’s very fundamentally sound defense and they force you to take some tough shots. “We’re going to have to be open to the possibility it may not be a high-scoring, easy game to navigate because of how well they guard.”
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The Sun Devils have won five of their last six games, including a sweep of the Los Angeles schools at home last weekend. The recent run has been sparked by a tenacious showing on defense as the Sun Devils have held seven of the last eight foes to 68 points or fewer. Remy Martin (19.3 ppg, 4 apg) ranks second in the Pac-12 in scoring. Stanford’s leading scorer Oscar da Silva (15.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg) will likely be out with a head injury, while ASU will be without sophomore forward Taeshon Cherry (ankle).
The Wildcats are coming off what coach Sean Miller called a “historically abysmal offensive performance” against UCLA. Arizona shot a McKale-record low 25.4% in the loss with senior guard Dylan Smith going 0 for 7. It could signal a lineup change. Cal has been down, but are 4-1 at home in league play, narrowly losing to No. 11 Oregon last month. Cal last beat UA four years ago, a 1-point victory at Haas on Jan. 23, 2016.
GCU is tied with Seattle for the second seed in the Western Athletic Conference for postseason play with seven games remaining. The Lopes won in Kansas City 69-66 on Jan. 19. They’re coming off their best offensive game in the Dan Majerle seven-year coaching era, scoring 103 points and shooting 62 percent in a 103-98 win at California Baptist. But Majerle still is concerned with the defense giving up 19 3-pointers to Cal Baptist. Kansas City has lost its last two games, including 67-61 to first-place New Mexico State. Senior Jordan Giles is averaging 14.4 points in his last 12 games.