(Photo: Nick Karmia/WCSN)
Arizona State men’s basketball has its most difficult matchup of the season against No. 5 Arizona on Saturday, but it needed to gain some momentum against Oregon State before the highly-anticipated Territorial Cup.
The Sun Devils endured a five-game losing streak before a win at Utah four days ago, but they have rattled off two consecutive wins before the big rivalry game. ASU was in a dreadful stretch because of a lack of rebounding and shooting woes, but both of those concerns have been corrected in the last two wins. It’s no secret head coach Bobby Hurley saw this as a reason for ASU’s (13-12, Pac-12 7-7) 79-61 victory over the Beavers (11-14, Pac-12 3-11).
“We’re shooting great,” Hurley said. “We had 30 made field goals in tonight’s game. I was saying the last time, making shots like that, it gives you a better chance to hang in on the backboard.”
The Pac-12 is very congested this season as four games separate the top team from the ninth place team in the conference, but OSU is not one of those teams in the mix as it currently sits in the last place after the loss. With the recent struggles, ASU has put itself in a position where it needs to win the conference tournament to make March Madness, so a win at home against the doormat of the conference was a must to get hot late in the season.
ASU hit a season-high 58% from the field and 35% of its threes while snatching three more rebounds than the Beavers, which is a stark difference from when it visited Corvallis, Oregon on Jan. 27. The Sun Devils shot 11.5% from three and grabbed 21 less rebounds in that game, so they were able to change their fortune this time around.
ASU was out-rebounded in each of its first 12 Pac-12 games, but they have won the rebounding battle in their last two games. The Sun Devils accomplished this as a collective team effort with everybody logging competitive minutes notching multiple rebounds. Hurley deployed a different lineup in each of the last four games and those changes could be a factor impacting the improvement in the boards.
“It puts bigger bodies on the floor,” Hurley said. “Physically, we match up a little more traditional to our opponent and we have good rebounders at the guard positions, so now with [sophomore center] Shawn [Phillips Jr.] and [junior forward] Bryant [Selebangue]. Their ability to rebound, it helps in that regard.”
The success in the rebounding department is a result of better shooting numbers. It started against Utah, when ASU made 43.4% from its threes and 73.3% of its free throws. The Sun Devils saw a slight decline in their three-point shooting against OSU, but they improved from the free throw line, hitting 12 of their 16 attempts, which is 75% from the charity stripe.
ASU needed some momentum in the home stretch of the regular season and it is starting to get in that groove when shooting the ball. Redshirt junior guard Adam Miller is a great example of that by scoring at least 14 points in the last three games and making a couple of threes in each of those games.
“When you take better shots, you get a better rhythm,” Miller said. “Taking better shots means you’re probably swinging the ball a little bit more too. Just moving the ball and — me as a leader — continuing to express it. We got a lot of guys who can get hot quick, so the more we move it, the better we are.”
With the win, the Sun Devils are catching fire at the right time. It has not been perfect by any means, as they had 15 turnovers against the Beavers, which is the second-most for the team on the season. However, ASU will take whatever momentum it can get with the Territorial Cup up next on Saturday.
There’s a saying in rivalry games to “throw out the record books,” which is the mentality ASU needs to adopt when it travels down to Tucson. The Wildcats are the better team and a top-fie ranking in the Associated Press poll indicates that sentiment, but the Sun Devils are on an upward trend and a victory against their rival would expedite that momentum. Junior guard Jamaiya Neal will be experiencing this rivalry for the third year, so he knows how much different of a game it is.
“Words can’t even describe it,” Neal said. “You’ll know once you’re in the game, Once you feel that we’re supposed to walk in the gym. The fans are already going to be there hostile. Student section is going to be right there yelling at you. If they dunk, if they score, you’re not going to be able to hear anything. If you guys score, it’s going to get quiet. I think everybody has been in a rival game, it’s just going to be at a different volume.”
