Arizona State (13-13, 7-8 Pac-12) opens up a three-game homestand with a visit by the Washington schools this week, starting with the Huskies (14-12, 6-9) on Thursday night. Although NCAA tournament hopes are far from in reach for the Sun Devils, Arizona State is looking to avenge an 82-67 loss back on Jan. 11., knowing that every conference game will prove crucial in seeding for the upcoming Pac-12 tournament, a tournament that they will need to win in order to hear their name called on Selection Sunday.

ASU is coming off its worst loss in school history against its in-state rival Arizona, a 45-point defeat 105-60 in Tucson. On the other hand, Washington is coming off a close 82-80 loss at home as Cal handed the Huskies only their fifth loss at home this season.

Going back to Jan. 11, the Sun Devils were red hot to start conference play, sweeping the Bay Area trip (Cal and Stanford) to open Pac-12 play. They followed that with a sweeping of the mountain schools (Colorado and Utah) at home. Unfortunately for ASU, the loss on the road at Washington marked a tipping point where the Sun Devils were 1-6 in their next seven and 3-7 overall since.

For Washington, the road has been somewhat similar as the Huskies are 4-6, sitting on the lower end of the conference. Washington has earned splits with the Bay Schools and narrowly lost in double overtime to in-state rival 21st-ranked Washington St.

Although the going has been below average for Mike Hopkins’s squad, his team adjusted offensive efficiency scores 114.8 on Torvik Basketball, which ranks 47th in the nation while scoring 80.9 points per game. Additionally, the Huskies are 32nd best in two-point shooting percentage with a 54.7% average.

Washington, over the last couple of games in between, has also stayed consistent defensively, playing zone defense and man defense. In the last matchup, Washington gave ASU a lot of zone looks and will likely do so again on Thursday night.

Washington, over the course of the season, has still been following their lead man, Keion Brooks Jr. The 6’ 7” graduate student forward, previously at Kentucky, is currently the Pac-12 leader in points per game at 21.2. Brooks, thus far, is also averaging 6.8 rebounds and is shooting an impressive 50.3% from the field.

In the last matchup with the Sun Devils, Brooks had a quality night having 22 points and four rebounds in 38 minutes of play. Brooks was 75% from three against ASU while also having a defensive impact with two blocks.

The other Husky to look out for on Thursday is point guard Sahvir Wheeler. Wheeler is 5’ 9”, also coming from Kentucky previously. The New York native is averaging 15.3 points and 5.9 assists. Wheeler ranks No.21in the country in assists and leads the Pac-12 in that category as well.

Wheeler had his second-best offensive performance of the season, scoring a team-high 24 points while dishing eight assists on the night. An interesting conundrum in the win versus ASU, Wheeler has never been above a 40% three-point shooter in his career and is currently shooting 24.7% from beyond the arc. Against ASU, Wheeler was a perfect 5-5 from three as it was, in all likelihood, an ideal counter to the Sun Devil scouting report.

While Brooks and Wheeler are at the focal points of the Washington offense, Hopkins also looks to senior forward Moses Wood and Seattle native sophomore guard Koren Johnson as scorers. These two can provide needed depth and scoring for the Huskies as true role players.

Wood had a third-best 15 points in the win against ASU, trying to get it going from beyond the arc, shooting ten three-pointers, making four. Off the bench in that game, Johnson added nine points and all three steals for Washington.

In retrospect, what can ASU do to increase their chance of winning on Thursday? The most important, although it may seem obvious, is to shoot the ball better. When facing a zone defense especially, it is imperative to shoot threes well, and ASU did just the opposite, shooting 23.5% or 4-17.

Secondly, ASU will need to maintain a presence in the paint, especially with the opportunities a zone defense presents in that area. ASU was outrebounded 40-29 in the last contest but did manage to outscore the Huskies in points in the paint 36-32 and in fast break points 17-8. Sophomore Shawn Phillips Jr. did have eight points against 7’ 1” center Braxton Meah but will look to have more of an impact off the glass as he only tallied two total rebounds in January.

The good news for the Sun Devils is the Huskies do not hold much center depth, similar to ASU. Washington’s other center, Franck Kepnang, has not played since Dec. 17, 2023, while ASU usually relies on listed forwards like Alonzo Gaffney or Akil Watson to try and step in as Zane Meeks has also been inactive since Nov. 24, 2023.

Defensively speaking, Wheeler had his second-best game of the season against the Sun Devils so it will be up to guard Frankie Collins to try and decelerate the opposing point guard. Collins, with three steals, can surpass Lafayette Lever (76 steals) in most steals in a single season at ASU. As ASU usually rolls with four guards in the starting five, Adam Miller, Jamiya Neal, or Jose Perez will have to play physical and aggressive defense against Brooks Jr.

Another big emphasis in this one will be to stop the runs. In the last matchup, ASU effectively dug into a hole they could not escape as Washington went on a 13-0 run in the second half. That stretch in the game destined the Devils for an unhappy result. ASU will have to respond in this one at home or, at the very least, break Washington’s scoring chunks up.

It is not impossible to beat the Huskies as not only did the Sun Devils shoot horribly from three, but also shot below average (40.7%) from the field overall. Apply that with Washington shooting 50.8% from the field and an astounding 52% from three, the window for error decreases.

ASU is 3-3 in their last six with Washington and undoubtedly wants to break the tie in that aspect. Bobby Hurley and company will need to be able to bounce back after the rough outing last Saturday. Washington is 2-5 on the road this year in conference play, so this may be the good beginning to the end of the season ASU needs before two more ranked opponents lie ahead on the schedule.

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