After earning a split on the road last week, Arizona State (17-8 overall, 8-5 conference) returns to Tempe to take on the Bay Area schools in its final two home games of the regular season. They kick off this week’s action with a Wednesday night matchup against a surging Stanford team.
The Sun Devils are coming off one of its best offensive performances of the season. They shot 54 percent from the field, sank 10-of-22 three-pointers and converted 20-of-24 from the free-throw line in Saturday’s 98-87 win over Utah.
It was a much-needed victory for the Sun Devils, who got standout performances from a number of players. Zylan Cheatham recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Luguentz Dort added 17 points before fouling out late in the game, and Remy Martin chipped in with 16 points and five assists.
The star of the game, however, was guard Rob Edwards, who pumped in a season-high 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
ASU hopes Saturday’s performance will be a catalyst for Edwards, who has struggled with inconsistent play this season. The redshirt junior, who sat out last season after transferring from Cleveland State, is vitally important to the long-term success of this Sun Devil squad.
When Edwards plays well, it adds a different dimension to ASU’s offense. His outside shooting spaces the floor for his teammates -- making it easier for driving opportunities, as well as providing room for the post players to operate around the basket.
On his weekly radio show with Doug & Wolf on 98.7 FM, ASU coach Bobby Hurley stressed the importance of Edwards’s role in the Sun Devil offense.
“We need his scoring,” Hurley explained. “I thought coming into the season, he would most likely be our leading scorer and he’s shown glimpses of that. His performance was pretty special versus Utah, [and] he took over the game with his perimeter shooting.”
And when Edwards has it going, it typically bodes well for ASU, who has an 8-4 record when he scores in double figures. When he doesn’t reach double figures, however, the Sun Devils have a 3-4 mark.
All things considered, Hurley is happy with the current state of his squad heading into a critical week of action against the Bay Area schools.
“I feel great about where we are right now,” Hurley said, “But we have a tough week ahead of us with Stanford coming in. They’re very hot right now.”
Stanford (14-11, 7-6) is indeed one of the hottest teams in the Pac-12 Conference. They have won two straight, and five of its last six games.
The Cardinal were wildly inconsistent early in the season, but have turned things around in recent weeks behind its red-hot offense. Stanford has shot at least 53 percent in seven of the last 11 games, including Saturday’s 24-point win over UCLA in which they scored a season-high 104 points.
Leading the way for Stanford is sophomore KZ Okpala, who is projected to be a lottery pick in June's NBA draft.
Okpala ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in scoring (17.5 per game) and 15th in rebounding (5.8). Although his 3-point shooting has cooled in conference play, he is still shooting a respectable 37.3 percent from beyond the arc. With an improved outside shot this season, the 6-foot-9 forward is a matchup nightmare for most opponents.
In the first meeting of the season, which Stanford won 85-71, Okpala torched the Sun Devils for 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.
In that game, Stanford also got 21 points and 10 rebounds from starter Oscar Da Silva. The versatile 6-foot-9 forward is enjoying a solid sophomore season, in which he is the team’s third-leading scorer (9.5 per game) and second-leading rebounder (6.0).
Rounding out Stanford’s starting frontcourt is senior Josh Sharma. After being a role player in his first three seasons, Sharma has enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2018-19. The 7-foot center is averaging 9.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game and is among the league leaders in blocks (1.2).
In the backcourt, Stanford has leaned heavily on sophomore Daejon Davis. After an inconsistent non-conference season, Davis has been solid in Pac-12 play, scoring in double-figures in every game except one.
The knock on Davis is that he doesn't take care of the ball—he’s been among the league leaders in turnovers over the last two seasons—but he was tremendous last week against USC and UCLA, committing only two turnovers while dishing out 14 assists.
Freshman Bryce Wills has started alongside Davis in recent weeks. The 6-foot-6 guard provides some size and scoring punch to Stanford’s backcourt. He’s not a very good three-point shooter (only 18 percent this season), but he is one of the team’s best perimeter defenders.
Stanford typically goes nine-to-ten deep with its rotation, with a bulk of the bench minutes going to guards Cormac Ryan and Marcus Sheffield, as well as forward Jordan Delaire.
Ryan was the team’s starting shooting guard at the beginning of the season, but has battled an ankle injury for most of the year, forcing him to miss a total of seven games. When healthy and available, the freshman guard is one of the team’s best perimeter defenders.
Sheffield, a junior, is an athletic wing that provides additional scoring on the perimeter. He’s also one of the team’s best three-point shooters (nearly 39 percent this season). Delaire, a freshman, is a versatile 6-foot-9 forward who can play a number of positions on the court. He adds even more length and athleticism to Stanford’s frontcourt.
Sophomore guard Isaac White and freshman center Lukas Kisunas round out the Cardinal rotation.
Probable Starters:
G – Remy Martin (13 PPG, 5.1 APG) G – Daejon Davis (12.5 PPG, 4.5 APG)
G – Luguentz Dort (16.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG) G – Bryce Wills (6.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG)
G – Rob Edwards (11 PPG, 3.1 RPG) F – KZ Okpala (17.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG)
F – Zylan Cheatham (12 PPG, 11 RPG) F – Oscar Da Silva (9.5 PPG, 6 RPG)
F – Romello White (9.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG) C – Josh Sharma (9.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG)
Why ASU Can Win: The Sun Devils have won five of its past six home games, and should be able to overwhelm a young Stanford team that has struggled on the road this season (4-7 record).
ASU has also kicked its offense into high gear in recent weeks. Over the last five games, they have averaged 82.2 points while shooting 48.5 percent from the field.
On defense, ASU would be wise to apply heavy ball pressure against Stanford, who averages a league-high 15.1 turnovers per contest. The Sun Devils should also force the Cardinal out to the perimeter, where they shoot only 33 percent from beyond the arc.
Why Stanford Can Win: The Cardinal’s offense has been firing on all cylinders in recent weeks, and as a result, Stanford is playing its best basketball of the season. In the last six games, they are averaging 79 points while shooting 49 percent from the field.
Stanford’s defense is not great, but it’s solid, especially by Pac-12 standards. The team’s adjusted defensive efficiency ranks seventh in the conference (and 91st nationally), according to KenPom.
The starting frontcourt of Sharma-Da Silva-Okpala is long, athletic and active. Each player possesses a 7-foot-1 wingspan (or greater), which helps the trio wreak havoc on the defensive end. That could spell bad news for ASU, who has had trouble playing against teams with size and length.
Key Stat: In case you haven’t noticed, Remy Martin has been dishing out dimes left and right in Pac-12 play. In fact, the sophomore point guard is averaging 7.3 assists in the past eight games.
X-Factor: Can ASU slow down Stanford’s red-hot offense? In the first meeting of the season, the Sun Devils didn’t have much success against the Cardinal attack. They allowed Stanford to shoot 53 percent from the field, including 9-of-23 from three-point range, and lost by 14 points. The Sun Devils will undoubtedly need a better defensive effort if they hope to come away with a victory on Wednesday night.
Prediction: ASU 79, Stanford 74
Game Info:
When: 7:00 pm MST
Where: Wells Fargo Arena – Tempe, Ariz.
TV/Radio: ESPN 2 / 98.7 FM
