Arizona State (5-8 overall, 2-5 in conference) finally snapped its six-game losing streak, and in the process, may have found a new rotation in Thursday night’s 72-68 win over Cal.
As he hinted before the game, head coach Bobby Hurley tinkered with the Sun Devils’ starting lineup, electing to re-insert Jalen Graham back into it. That wasn’t a shocker, considering Graham’s play in recent games.
However, Hurley’s decision to start senior forward Kimani Lawrence, in place of senior guard Alonzo Verge, was a bit of a surprise. The move gave the Sun Devils more length and defensive versatility and proved to be the necessary jolt in the arm the team needed.
In contrast to recent weeks, ASU came out of the gate with focus and energy on Thursday night and jumped out to a 17-5 lead to start the game. The Sun Devils would flatline late in the first half but used a solid second-half effort to earn its first victory since Dec. 13.
Remy Martin led the way with 19 points, and Graham tallied 12 – his third consecutive game in double figures.
The unsung hero of the game, however, was an ASU bench player.
It’s not often that a player who records six points, one rebound, one assist, and three steals is the focal point of a postgame presser, but Hurley gushed about House’s performance.
“I thought Jaelen House was most likely the difference-maker,” Hurley said after Thursday’s win. “On defense, he was flying around. I think he had nine deflections himself.”
Hurley lauded the reserve guard for his defensive energy, which he described as “contagious.” According to Hurley, House’s unwavering approach to attack each practice and game day earned him more playing time.
House, who was actually the first Sun Devil off the bench on Thursday night, logged a season-high 23 minutes and made the most of his opportunity.
“He hasn’t always had the opportunities. That’s one of the more crowded positions on our team,” Hurley said. “That’s the thing about life. If you’re presented an opportunity, you want to try to seize it and take advantage of it, and Jaelen showed signs of that how he was fighting and competing in our last Arizona game and he did the exact same thing [on Thursday] and even did a better job.”
As a team, the Sun Devils looked much sharper against Cal, especially on the offensive end. They shot 50 percent from the floor and tallied 14 assists (on 28 made field goals).
It was a perfect performance, however, as they still struggled in some familiar areas: rebounding and three-point shooting. ASU was out-rebounded 43-29 and only connected on 3-of-14 attempts from beyond the arc.
However, after 47 days of not being in the win column, the Sun Devils will gladly take the W. Heading into Saturday’s matchup again Stanford, Hurley hopes his squad can deliver a repeat performance with its newfound rotation.
“It worked out well,” Hurley said of the lineup changes. “Hopefully, there’s some carryover with it.”
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Stanford (10-5 overall, 6-3 conference) enters Saturday’s tilt on the heels of an impressive nine-point win at Arizona on Thursday night. Despite missing three starters—Daejon Davis, Ziarie Williams, and Bryce Wills—the Cardinal held the Wildcats to a season-low 64 points on 41 percent shooting.
It was Stanford’s second straight game—and win—without its trio of starters, who will also not play in Saturday’s matchup against ASU.
Stanford’s latest victory is yet another nod to the team’s stellar defensive play, which has set the tone for the Cardinal this year.
Under fifth-year head coach Jerod Haase, Stanford has quietly become the conference’s most-feared defensive unit over the last two seasons. In fact, during that span, their defensive efficiency has been the best among Pac-12 teams and ranked in the top-10 nationally, according to KenPom.
Stanford has plenty of size, length, and versatility – all of which contribute to the team’s pesky defense.
They do a tremendous job of containing dribble drives and play some of the best help defense in the conference. With their length and active hands, they also get a lot of deflections and steals. In fact, Stanford averages a league-best 6.6 steals per game in Pac-12 play.
The Cardinal are also a solid rebounding team as well. It’s not a surprise considering nine of the team’s 12 scholarship players measure 6-6 or taller.
Offensively, this team isn’t too shabby either.
However, with three of its top five scorers out for Saturday’s game, expect a heavy dose of senior Oscar Da Silva. The all-conference forward has been an absolute stud this season. He is not only the league’s leading scorer (19.6 PPG), but he’s also one of the frontrunners in the Pac-12 POY race.
Also starting in the frontcourt is junior Jaiden Delaire. The athletic and versatile 6-9 forward has enjoyed a breakout season for the Cardinal, averaging almost 12 points and 5 rebounds per game.
With Stanford being short-handed again, look for junior Lukas Kisuans to get the starting nod on Saturday. The bruising 6-10 center, who has started the last two games, adds toughness and low-post defense to the Cardinal front line.
In the backcourt, Stanford is counting on freshman Michael O’Connell to continue his solid play. The savvy floor general has filled in admirably over the last few weeks for Davis, the team’s regular starter at point guard. O’Connell tallied a career-high 14 points in Thursday’s win over Arizona.
Rounding out the starting five is 6-7 wing Spencer Jones, who is one of the better 3-and-D players in the conference. His 3-point percentage (35.9) is down a bit from last season (43.1), but he’s still one of the more dangerous shooters in the Pac-12.
Stanford’s typically-deep bench will be limited on Saturday. With so many key players out, freshmen Noah Taitz and Brandon Angel should factor more prominently into the rotation. Sophomore James Keefe could also see increased playing time.
Probable Starters:
ASU
G Remy Martin, 6-0, Sr. (17.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 4 APG)
G Josh Christopher, 6-5, Fr. (15.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.6 SPG)
F Marcus Bagley, 6-8, Fr. (11.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 36.5% 3PT)
F Kimani Lawrence, 6-8, Sr. ( 5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 50% FG)
F Jalen Graham, 6-9, Jr. (7.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2 BPG)
Stanford
G Michael O’Connell, 6-2, Fr. (4.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.3 APG)
F Spencer Jones, 6-7, So. (7.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.6 SPG)
F Jaiden Delaire, 6-9, Jr. (11.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1 SPG)
F Oscar Da Silva, 6-9, Sr. (19.6 PPG, 7 RPG, 2.5 APG)
F Lukas Kisunas, 6-10, Jr. (1.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.6 APG)
Key Stat: Stanford is a perfect 9-0 this season when it scores at least 73 points. However, they are only 1-5 when they score fewer than 73.
X-Factor: Can ASU take advantage of a depleted Stanford team? The Sun Devils—who were down four key players against UCLA and USC a couple of weeks ago—know firsthand how difficult it is to overcome personnel issues like this.
The second leg of a Pac-12 road trip is always difficult, and since Stanford’s starters logged so many minutes on Thursday, ASU would be wise to push the tempo and force a short-handed Stanford team to expend a lot of energy. The Sun Devils can afford to be the aggressor, knowing they are the deeper team with fresher legs.
Prediction: ASU 75, Stanford 72
Game Info:
When: 6:00 pm MST
Where: Desert Financial Arena – Tempe, Ariz.
TV/Radio: ESPN2 / 620 AM
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