Arizona State (10-13 overall, 7-10 in conference play) limps into this week’s Pac-12 Tournament having lost two in a row, including an embarrassing 39-point loss in Saturday’s regular season finale at Utah.
As a result of the loss, ASU dropped to the No. 8 seed, and will face No. 9 Washington State on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the conference tournament.
The Sun Devils have only one path to the NCAA Tournament -- they must win the Pac-12 tourney, which will require them to win four games in a four-day span this week in Las Vegas.
It seems like a tall task for a team that has struggled with inconsistent play—as well as many other issues—throughout the season.
“It’s been a very unusual year,” said Bobby Hurley during his weekly radio interview with 98.7 FM’s Doug & Wolf.
“It’s been well-documented all the things that have happened this year whether it’s COVID-related, or injury-related, or just all the adversity we’ve had to deal with…We’ve been in a lot of tough situations.”
As a way to motivate and inspire his squad for the upcoming week, Hurley had ASU’s video department make a highlight reel, which captured many of the team’s memorable moments throughout the 20-21 season, set to the ‘One Shining Moment’ theme song. The video also served as a reminder of how good this group can be when they play to their full potential.
Unfortunately for ASU, they have not been at full-strength for the entire season and the Sun Devils will once again be short-handed this week.
In a Zoom call with the media on Tuesday afternoon, Hurley told reporters that freshman guard Josh Christopher (back) would not play in the Pac-12 Tournament, and that freshman forward Marcus Bagley (ankle) is “unlikely” to play in the tournament as well. Due to their respective injuries, both have missed significant time over the last month.
Junior forward Chris Osten, who sprained his ankle early in Saturday’s game is also questionable for the first-round matchup against Washington State. Hurley said Osten “was struggling a little” in Tuesday’s practice, which means sophomore walk-on Jon Olmsted will likely see action in Wednesday’s game.
The team left for Las Vegas shortly after Tuesday morning’s practice, and underwent a series of COVID-protocols when they arrived inside the Pac-12 Tournament bubble, according to Hurley.
The Sun Devils made the trip without associate head coach Rashon Burno, who recently accepted the head coaching positioning at Northern Illinois. Burno traveled to DeKalb for Monday’s official introduction as NIU’s head coach but was expected to re-join the team on Tuesday night to help ASU’s staff prepare for the Pac-12 Tournament. Burno will continue in his role as ASU’s lead assistant until the end of the season.
With so many questions surrounding the Sun Devil program as it enters this week’s tournament, Hurley will lean heavily on senior guard Remy Martin, who was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team on Tuesday. It is the third consecutive season Martin has earned all-conference honors, and the second straight year, he was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team. (He was named to the Second Team in 2018-19.)
The senior guard, however, had a rough road trip against the Mountain schools last week, averaging only 7 points (on 25 percent shooting) in ASU’s two losses. This, of course, came on the heels of Martin tying a school-record with eight consecutive games of 20 or more points.
Despite all the obvious hurdles, Hurley is still cautiously optimistic about the Sun Devils’ chances of making a miraculous run in Las Vegas.
“I think we know we’re capable of competing in this tournament and winning games,” he said.
“The guys understand where we stand. We’re not a team that’s obviously positioned to be an at-large team (in the NCAA tourney), but we have an opportunity and a clean slate to compete to win a (Pac-12) championship this week. So that’s the mindset we have.
-------------------------------------------
Washington State (14-12 overall, 7-12 conference) enters Wednesday’s contest having lost four of its last six games, including a heartbreaking 77-74 overtime loss to ASU in Tempe on Feb. 27 -- a game that proved to be the Cougars’ regular season finale.
The two teams were supposed to play again on Mar. 1, but the game was canceled due to COVID issues within Washington State’s program.
Although the Cougars stumbled at the end of the regular season, the general sentiment in Pullman is this season has been a resounding success for Washington State, who is poised to have its first winning season since 2011-12.
Led by head coach Kyle Smith, the Cougars quietly had one of the best defensive teams in the Pac-12 this season -- thanks in large part to their size, athleticism, and defensive versatility.
Despite being one of the youngest and least-experienced teams in Division I, Washington State, has a top-50 defense nationally, according to KenPom.
At the other end of the floor, however, Washington State has had its fair of issues. In addition to being the worst shooting team in the Pac-12 (41.1 percent), the Cougars also average a league-worst 15 turnovers per game.
In fact, the team has failed to score at least 60 points on seven separate occasions this season. (In comparison, ASU failed to reach that mark only once.)
In spite of their offensive shortcomings, however, Washington State has been able to stay competitive thanks to its stingy defense and rebounding. They average 37.9 rebounds per game, which ranks third in the Pac-12 (only behind USC and Arizona).
Washington State is led by senior Isaac Bonton, who earned All-Pac-12 Second Team honors on Tuesday. The dynamic point guard did not play in the Feb. 27 loss against ASU and has missed four of the last five games due to an ankle injury.
In a Zoom call with reporters on Tuesday, Smith said Bonton is considered “probable” for Wednesday’s contest.
"He's practiced this week,” Smith explained. “I'm anticipating him giving it a go. It's [a matter of] whether he starts or we bring him off the bench, whatever he's comfortable with. I don't know if he's going to be able to play more than 15-20 minutes, but it'll be nice to have him out there."
If Bonton is not at full strength, the offense will likely run thru his backcourt mate, sophomore Noah Williams. The 6-5 combo guard is more than capable of carrying Washington State’s offense, as he showed a few weeks ago with a 40-point performance against Stanford. Wiliams, who is one of the most improved players in the Pac-12 this season, can be streaky at times, though.
The Cougars will also lean on junior Aljaz Kunc for his veteran leadership. The 6-8 wing, who is known for his versatility and high basketball IQ is the most experienced player on Washington State’s young roster. Kunc posted a career-high 15 points in the first meeting of the season.
Washington State’s frontcourt is anchored by Efe Abogidi, named the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team on Tuesday. The 6-10 center is a freak athlete who impacts the game at both ends of the floor. He is averaging 8.9 points per game and is among the league leaders in rebounds (7.3 per game) and blocks (1.3).
Rounding out the starting five is usually freshman Andrej Jakimovski. The 6-8 forward has had a solid rookie season for the Cougs. He doesn’t shoot the ball particularly well (32 percent), but he adds versatility and toughness to Washington State’s frontcourt.
The Cougars have a solid second unit, and coach Smith is comfortable using as many as 10 players on any given night.
Washington State’s bench is led by sophomore wings DJ Rodman (5.6 PPG) and Ryan Rapp (3.8 PPG).
However, the freshman duo of TJ Bamba (4.2 PPG) and Dishon Jackson (7.0 PPG) has come on strong in recent weeks. Bamba, an athletic 6-5 guard is averaging 13 points in his last two games, while Jackson, a sturdy 6-10 center is averaging 11.5 in the last two contests.
Probable Starters:
ASU
G Remy Martin, 6-0, Sr. (19.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.7 APG)
G Holland Woods, 6-1, Sr. (6.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.8 APG)
G Alonzo Verge, 6-2, Sr. (12.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.9 APG)
F Kimani Lawrence, 6-8, Sr. (8.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 0.8 APG)
F Jalen Graham, 6-9, Jr. (8.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.7 BPG)
Washington State
G Isaac Bonton, 6-3, Sr. (17.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.0 APG)
G Noah Williams, 6-5, So. (14.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.6 APG)
F Aljaz Kunc, 6-8, Jr. (6.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 36.8% 3PT)
F Andrej Jakimovski, 6-8, Fr. (5.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.8 APG)
C Efe Abogidi, 6-10, Fr. (8.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.3 BPG)
Key Stat: It’s no secret ASU has struggled in the conference tournament. In fact, since making the finals of the Pac-10 Tournament in 2009, the Sun Devils have a 3-10 record and have advanced past the quarterfinals only once (in 2019).
X-Factor: ASU’s veteran leadership vs. WSU’s youth and inexperience. The Sun Devils may be severely short-handed on Wednesday, but they have the luxury of being able to rely on its senior core of Martin, Alonzo Verge, Kimani Lawrence, and Holland Woods.
That’s a stark contrast to the Cougars, who have only two upperclassmen (Bonton and Kunc) in their regular rotation.
Prediction: ASU 73, Washington State 71
Game Info:
Time: 2:00 pm MST
Where: T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, Nev.
TV/Radio: Pac-12 Networks / 620 AM
