It’s been more than two months since Arizona State and Colorado traveled 6,000 miles to open up their respective seasons in Shanghai on November, 8th 2019. Since then, the two program’s season, in some ways, has followed the path of that night.
After their 10-point win to start the season, the Buffalos rattled off six straight wins and climbed into the Top 20 of the polls. Since then, they’ve been steady. But Colorado’s season, to this point, seems to be defined by its unexpected wins (vs. No. 13 Dayton and No. 4 Oregon) and its even more shocking losses (vs. Northern Iowa and Oregon State).
“They’ve established themselves as one of the frontrunners early in conference play, so it’s a real test,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said. “They’re one of the better defensive teams in the country, statistically, so our offense is going to have to be sharp, especially in the half-court, they really are disciplined.”
ASU, on the other hand, as gone through mightier struggles. It’s already suffered losses by 28 and 40 points, respectively, and a shooting slump was passed around the locker room like lice through a kindergarten classroom. To make matters worse, the Sun Devils started conference play against four of the Pac-12’s best teams (Arizona, Oregon State, Oregon, and CU).
Talent-wise, though, Colorado and ASU match up well. That was evident in China. Sure, the Buffs left Asia with an 81-71 victory, but as anyone within the Arizona State program will quickly remind you, forwards Taeshon Cherry and Romello White were suspended.
“It’s a great opportunity,” point guard Remy Martin said. “Us playing them without our bigs I think was kind of hard for us, and now that we’ve got them back, I think that we feel a lot more confident going into the game. I can’t wait to go play them, they’re a great team.”
For the second game in a row, Martin will have his hands full in an epic point guard dual. Last week, he and Oregon’s leading Payton Pritchard each put up 29 points and on Thursday, Martin will face Colorado’s McKinley Wright for the seventh time in his career.
At 19.1 points per game, Martin is fourth in the conference in scoring. The 6-foot Wright is only averaging about 13 points a game, but he’s so active in other aspects of the game, his presence often becomes a burden for opponents.
“We just have to control him, not let him get too many guys into the game,” ASU guard Rob Edwards said. “He’s more so pass-first, which allows the rest of the team to get going and get confidence.”
Why ASU Can Win: In the season’s first contest, the Sun Devils fell to Colorado in China by 10. As mentioned earlier, White and Cherry weren’t playing; and some could argue those two combined would easily make up the 10 points. On top of that, ASU found a semblance of stroke from behind the arc last weekend in the Pacific Northwest. Its lack of confidence should be a hindrance no more, which will likely allow the Devils to play more cohesively. They have the talent, but it hasn’t exactly meshed well in the last few weeks. If that’s fixed if they play to their potential -- nail 3’s and press 94 feet, etc. -- the Buffalos may be in for a long game.
Why Colorado Can Win: As good as Colorado’s offense is and as prolific a point guard as Wright is, the Buffalos are an incredible defensive team. According to KenPom’s defensive efficiency stat, Colorado is 17th -- it gives up just over 61 points a game and opposing teams shoot 40 percent against the Buffs. The Sun Devils’ offense looked better in Oregon but they didn’t exactly put up 100 points. With personnel versatility -- namely Schwartz, Bey, and Siewart -- the Buffalos should be able to throw off ASU’s offense and force it into bad shots. The other thing is, Colorado has already seen what the Sun Devils can do in transition and how lethal their full-court press is. ASU can’t catch them by surprise on Thursday.
Key Figure: 15.6 -- That’s how many points McKinley Wright is averaging in six games against ASU, which is two points higher than his career average. And take away a deuce he had his freshman year, Wright is averaging 18.4 points against the guys in maroon and gold.
X-Factor: Romello White. He’s the biggest force this Colorado team didn’t see in China. That night, the Sun Devils were bullied down low by Battey and Siewert, who combined for 20 points and 17 rebounds. This is the chance for White to prove his worth in an incredibly tangible way, to be the paint presence he was before Christmas and a pesky rim-stopper against the Buffs.
Final Score Prediction: Colorado 78, ASU 74
Game Info:
When: 7:00 P.M. MST
Where: Desert Financial Arena
TV/Radio: ESPN (Jason Benetti/Bill Walton) / KMVP 98.7 (Tim Healey/Kyle Dodd)
