ASU out to prove that first rivalry matchup was an aberration

This college basketball season has not really compared to any of years past, not just for Arizona State or the Pac-12, but the sport as a whole.

Baylor just became the seventh different team to claim the number one ranking, which ties a record from 1982-83 for most different top-ranked teams in one season. There are still six weeks left of regular season basketball. Teams like Rutgers are reaching new highs, breaking into the AP poll rankings for the first time in four decades.

In short, this means that not only is ASU’s season far from a lost cause despite the inconsistency, but the Sun Devils still have as good of a shot at a memorable and special season as any team in the conference at this point in time.

“I wish that we had two more wins on our record right now,” coach Bobby Hurley said. “I think there would be a different vibe or a different feeling, but that’s not the case, our record is what it is now. But there is potential there, and I’ve been reminding our team that there hasn’t been a team that you absolutely fear out there, and that’s been this season, really, across the board.”

Based on the early results of Pac-12 play, the one team for ASU to fear would be the No. 22 Arizona Wildcats, who smacked the Sun Devils in Tucson for a 28-point victory in the conference opener on January 4.

As one would expect, fear is the least accurate way to describe how the team is feeling about this Saturday’s rivalry rematch at home, set to be played exactly three weeks after that first contest. For junior point guard Remy Martin, the wait has been long enough.

“I want to play them as soon as possible,” Martin said. “As soon as that game ended, I was ready to check back up…if I had a choice, me personally, I would play them tomorrow- today, right now.”

Part of this feeling likely also has to do with ASU only playing one game this week instead of the regular two. Hurley even admitted the feeling is odd, although he knows guys will benefit from a few extra off days.

“Yesterday I felt like we should’ve played,” Hurley said. “My body clock was telling me we should be playing today or tomorrow, so we got after it pretty aggressively the last two days.

“This is a week really to strike a balance between staying sharp and building off what we did on Saturday, and also being able to physically and mentally recover a little bit and take a deep breath.”

Sun Devils feel ready to put up a formidable fight against its rival

If you’ve gotten the sense that anticipation for Saturday night’s Territorial Cup matchup is high, you would be dead accurate, at least based on how Hurley and Martin have presented themselves when talking about the matchup.

In addition to playing at home this time around, a big reason for the optimistic attitude despite the previous scoreline is having a healthy Romello White (10.7 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game- tied for Pac-12 best, 1.2 blocks per game, T-6th Pac-12). The junior forward, who has been the most consistent scorer behind Martin was hampered in that first matchup, which will not be the case on Saturday.

“I’m excited that Romello is at full strength,” Hurley commented. “He’s one of our key players, so any time he’s going well and feeling great, then you feel good about that…hopefully he’ll be who he normally is.”

As a team, the Sun Devils have put together much better showings in the four games since that first matchup, winning two games by a combined 25-point margin and losing two games to ranked teams by single digits.

At the time of that Arizona loss, it was ASU’s second loss in four games by at least 28 points.

“I think so,” Martin said about the team being different than it was three weeks ago. “For me, I always have confidence no matter the ups and downs that we’ve gone through. I’ve always stayed through the course; I’ve always thought the best of my teammates because they show me that they put in the work. So, it’s all about clicking at the right time, and I think we will.”

Another factor ASU will be counting on for its success is the crowd presence, as is true with any given home game, but especially this one, as Hurley explained.

“I think you just got to play defense with great energy, intensity, use the fire from the crowd to really get you to be making second, third-effort plays on that end of the floor,” Hurley said.

“The last two years, the way our crowd has responded and really turned it into a 90/10 (percent ratio), as far as Sun Devils to Wildcats, that wasn’t anything close to what it was my first two years, it was kind of 60/40 for Arizona State. So, you just hope that you have that type of support in a game versus a top-25 team, one of the better teams in the country.”

Hurley continues to praise Taeshon Cherry offers status update on Jaelen House

Over the last couple weeks, Hurley has continued to praise sophomore forward Taeshon Cherry for his effort and energy on the defensive end of the floor. Today was no different.

“I just think he’s more dialed in, he’s been more focused,” Hurley said. “Even in practice this week, he’s practicing harder. He’s not engaging or getting distracted in any way. He’s really shown a lot of maturity over the last two weeks.”

This apparent maturity has been evident in Hurley playing Cherry for over 25 minutes in each of the last two games, after not even playing him for 20 in any of the first three games of Pac-12 play.

The sophomore forward has proven worthy of the increased playing time, setting a new season-high with 11 points in last game’s win over Utah and grabbing a season-high eight rebounds in the loss to Colorado a game prior.

“I just want him to play hard,” Hurley commented, “go to the board, defend—he’s defending with good energy, he’s rebounding, and then let the offense take care of itself as he would get opportunities.”

In less exciting news, freshman guard Jaelen House’s status is up in the air for Saturday after he missed the Utah contest due to injury. Hurley did go into some detail about where he’s at from a physical perspective.

“Jaelen was not a full participant today,” Hurley said. “He did quite a bit non-live, and we’re hoping, again, we got tomorrow and then we’ll know more. It’ll be a game-time decision, but if I had to say I think he’ll play, but again he still has a few hurdles to get through.”

It’s never positive to have a player dealing with physical ailments, but sitting the Utah game may have been a good thing for the burgeoning House. He tied his season-high of three turnovers and missed both of his shots for this third scoreless performance of the season against Colorado, so expect him to come back with a newfound fire if he does suit up against the Wildcats.

Martin talks Sun Devils in the NBA, own draft prospects

Since the title of this section was likely misinterpreted by many, let me start by saying that Martin made it very clear the NBA draft is far from his radar at this time. This is certainly a sigh of relief for Sun Devil fans, who should have high hopes about where he can take the team in his final year of eligibility in addition to this season.

“I don’t think that I’ve done enough to be able to even think about that,” Martin said. “I’m based off wins, I love to win, and I don’t think I’ve been winning as much as I’ve wanted to. All I can do is do my best on the court, but my main priority is to win and I haven’t been winning, so that’s never a thought.”

However, two of Martin’s teammates from his winningest season as a Sun Devil thus far are seeing the floor for their respective teams in the world’s highest level of pro basketball. Center Zylan Cheatham averages 10.3 minutes per game for the Pelicans and has contributed 1.3 points, 2 rebounds, 0.7 assists, and 0.3 blocks per contest.

Guard Luguentz Dort averages 19.3 minutes per game for the Thunder, plus 4.4 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.6 steals per game. Most notably, Dort recently was tasked with guarding the pride of ASU basketball in former league MVP James Harden.

Pitted against Dort, Harden was held to 9-for29 shooting, including 1-for-17 from three, and *only* 29 points, also turning the ball over four times and generating a -2 rating in a five-point Thunder victory.

“I’m not going to speak on shutting down Harden,” Martin said with a laugh. “It’s more of a team defense, I don’t know if anybody can stop Harden. It was probably a bad day for him, but it just happens that Lu (Dort) was on the team.

“But I’m so, so happy for Lu, so so happy, and same with Z (Cheatham). Just being able to play with those guys and being able to have those communications, those conversations off the court, behind closed doors. It’s amazing man like that’s a dream come true and I’m just so happy for them to be able to be living their dreams and they have so much potential to even do more, I think Lu’s in a good position to do something even special.”

Martin also added that he keeps in communication with Dort and that he hopes to see him soon. Time will tell Remy, time will tell.