(Photo: Emma Jeanson/WCSN)
For the last time during the 2023-24 regular season Arizona State Men’s Basketball (13-14, 7-9 Pac-12) is readying to face a new opponent. ASU has already seen every member of the Pac-12 besides its next opponent, the conference-leading No. 21 Washington State (21-6, 11-5 Pac-12).
The game will be a tale of one team riding an emotional high and another on a hangover. The Sun Devils will look to regroup after coming back from 21 points at halftime just to lose by two in overtime against Washington on Thursday night. By contrast, the Cougars will enter Tempe with bounds of confidence after becoming the first side to down No. 4 Arizona in Tucson this season.
Washington State has been one of the conference’s most elite programs this season currently sitting second in the conference, and their No. 32 NET Ranking puts them borderline Quadrant 1 (Top 30 teams in the NET). Not only have they been in the upper echelon of the conference but they are also a near-elite team nationwide.
Washington State coach Kyle Smith has led his team to success this year on the back of a young star in the making. Freshman guard Myles Rice is a two-way threat at the forefront of the Cougars attack. He leads the team in points (15.9), assists (3.7), and steals (1.7) a game.
Rice has a veteran supporting cast surrounding him that has springboarded the tournament contenders. Senior forward Isaac Jones pours in 15.7 points a night while maintaining a strong presence on the glass bringing in 7.6 rebounds a game.
Junior Division II transfer forward Jaylen Wells has been more than a pleasant surprise for the Cougars. The former Sonoma State Seawolf has done well operating as a tertiary scorer and floor-spacer, contributing 11.2 points a contest and shooting 44.6% a night from deep. Wells will likely see his role increase as he had a monumental game Thursday night, exploding for 27 points and six threes to spearhead his team’s upset of the Wildcats.
Despite the talent Washington State as a whole has not been particularly dangerous offesnively. Its 75.6 points a game ranks only seventh in the conference. The Cougars’ defensive acumen has carried them to where they sit atop the conference standings. The group has suffocated opponents to only 66.8 points a game good for second in the Pac-12 and top-50 in the nation. Their adjusted defense rating of 96.7 is 25th best in the country according to Kenpom.
The Sun Devils will have to find ways to generate consistent offense against the stout Cougar defense before the likes of Rice and Wells get going offensively. ASU is averaging just over 70 points a game as a team, and has no player individually averaging over 14.
The tale of the tape may spell possible disaster for ASU in Tempe Saturday night but one can not underestimate a team already down playing with nothing to lose. The Sun Devils have virtually no chance of obtaining an at-large bid into March Madness due to their regular season struggles.
Now they have no pressure during the remainder of the regular season and can play spoiler to others — they still have a home game against Arizona scheduled for Feb. 28 — while preparing to make a Pac-12 tournament run in hopes of stealing away an automatic bid by winning the tournament in Vegas in just over two weeks time.
Tip-off against Washington State is set for Saturday at 6 p.m. from Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on ESPN2.
