With a bus ready to transport the Sun Devils to the airport waiting outside of the Weatherup Center, Arizona State’s players and coaches weren’t in the mood to start dissecting their matchup with Washington State and Washington.
The whole team, coach Bobby Hurley said, was still, each in their own way, mourning the loss of Kobe Bryant.
“I talked to a few guys who were really bothered by it initially,” Hurley said.” Yesterday we spoke as a group and I just remind them how precious life is and to take advantage of all your moments.”
The ASU head coach seemed noticeably shaken by the passing of the Laker legend. Hurley is often keen on previewing matchups and speaking of upcoming opponents. On Tuesday, he kept diverting his answers back to Bryant and how he can focus his team through a time of such pain and loss.
“It’s a tough line to walk, because you have to be sensitive to the feelings of people. And they have to grieve and go through their process, and you can’t put your foot on the gas and accelerate that process,” he said.
“I think I’ve shared with them that, the type of competitor that he was, if you want to honor his memory, then go out there and prepare and work like he did.”
If anything helps the Sun Devils preparations, it may be that they’re riding a bit of a wave of confidence after knocking off Arizona on Saturday. On top of that, their next opponent, Washington State, is a far less-talented squad.
The Cougars record (12-9, 3-5 Pac-12) ranks right near the bottom of the conference standings and, by most measures, WSU is a middling program. According to KenPom’s ratings, the Cougs are 178th in offensive efficiency, 106th in defensive efficiency and in the triple digits in just about every team stat.
But they do have skill -- namely forward CJ Elleby -- and a knack for knocking off better teams -- they beat No. 8 Oregon and Oregon State two weeks ago. Plus, the Cougars will be at home for a late Pac-12 clash. Anything can happen in those.
So let’s check out the keys for each team:
Why Arizona State Can Win: No one was feeling particularly confident in the Sun Devils at this time last week. Their shooting woes weren’t completely fixed and they had just split a series against the Rocky Mountain schools. Then -- despite not fixing their shooting -- ASU knocked off Arizona beyond a dominant team performance. It brings momentum into a game against an average Washington State squad, which is on a two-game losing streak. The shooting problems may still not be patched up, but the Sun Devils seemed to discover another facet against Arizona.
Garnering more playing time, in large part because Romello White was in foul trouble, freshman Jalen Graham played his most minutes off the bench and delivered a coach’s dream. He didn’t score much but he was always around the ball, keeping possessions alive and setting up his teammates. Against Washington State’s talented frontcourt, Graham may be the difference -- another guy for the Cougars to worry about and draw attention to.
Why Washington State Can Win: Washington State isn’t exactly the cream of the conference. The Cougars are just 12-9 overall and 3-5 in the Pac-12, but the pinnacle of their season so far is an 11-point victory over No. 8 Oregon two weeks ago. Even in the bizarre Pac-12 conference, that was an unusual score. It also serves as a warning to other schools in the conference that Washington State has the ability to knock off anyone. In that Oregon game, the key for the Cougs was a 52.4-percent clip from beyond the arc. And against an Arizona State team that ranks 129th in the country in 3-point defense, that may just be enough.
The Cougars aren’t exactly a great shooting team from deep -- they hit just over 30 percent of their attempts -- but their forwards can nail shots from deep. Against Oregon, forwards CJ Elleby, Aljaz Kunc and DJ Rodman combined to shoot 8-for-14 from beyond the 3-point line. If Washington State’s big men can force a mismatch and start hitting shots from deep, it may afford it an early lead it can contain to knock off the Sun Devils
1. Key Figure: 11.3. That’s how many assists the Sun Devils are averaging a game -- good for 309th in the country. Less than ideal. When the Sun Devils don’t move the ball, they lose. In their first meeting with Arizona, the Devils had just two assists … and lost by 28. In its second game against the Wildcats, ASU recorded 13 dimes … and won by a point.
X-Factor: CJ Elleby. In that upset victory over the Ducks, Elleby -- the Pac-12’s fifth-leading scorer -- hit a quartet of 3s and finished with 25 points. On the season, Elleby is averaging 18.4 points and 7.1 assists a game. On top of that, he’s already shown he can take down the Devils. In WSU’s 21-point win in Tempe last season, Elleby had 10 points and 10 boards. Limit him on Wednesday and the Devils should have no problem leaving Pullman with a win.
Final Score Prediction: Arizona State 74, Washington State 62
Game Info:
When: 9:00 P.M. MST
Where: Beasley Coliseum (Pullman)
TV/Radio: ESPNU / KMVP 98.7 (Tim Healey/Kyle Dodd)
