(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)
Coming off yet another road split and with their tournament hopes up in the air, the Arizona State Sun Devils return to Tempe for their finals two home games against Stanford and Cal.
The last time the Sun Devils faced the Cardinal, they fell 85-71 and two Stanford scorers finished with 21 points. One of those players was KZ Okpala.
“Okpala is undoubtedly one of the premier players in the conference,” coach Bobby Hurley said Tuesday. “Very versatile player, just does a lot of things well.”
Another key for ASU will be limiting easy opportunities for the Cardinal, who racked up 26 points off turnovers against ASU earlier in the season. The Cardinal hold a 7-6 record in conference, just a game below ASU’s 8-5 record. A loss for the Sun Devils would undoubtedly hurt their chances at a NCAA Tournament bid, with multiple publications putting the squad right on the bubble.
To do that, ASU will have to defeat a Stanford squad that has won five of its last six games.
The final home game of the season will come against Cal, who has yet to notch a Pac-12 win. The Golden Bears sit at 0-13 in-conference, one of those losses being an 80-66 loss to ASU behind Remy Martin’s game-high 24 points and eight assists.
Much has been made about the way ASU needs to play down the stretch of the season, but Hurley is looking at the smaller picture.
“It’s based on where we are in the season,” Hurley said. “The stage we are, and knowing that very shortly we’re going to be playing for our season in a single-elimination platform, no matter what tournament it is. You want to be thinking that way. You’ve got to play with a level of desperation.”
Senior forward Zylan Cheatham has been well aware of ASU’s place on the bubble and its tournament chances.
“I’ve been pretty conscious of it since Pac-12 started,” Cheatham said. “But obviously, with some of the games we’ve given up, I’d say it’s imperative that we finish the right way, and pretty much go on a streak. But you can’t go on a streak if you don’t take care of business one game at a time.”
Beyond the schematics and the standings at stake, this may be the Sun Devil faithful’s last chance to catch both Cheatham and Luguentz Dort on the Wells Fargo Arena floor. Cheatham is a senior, but Dort may very well be declaring for the NBA Draft given his uptick in play as of late.
“Lu would just really appreciate if just everyone came to the game tomorrow night,” Hurley said.
While Dort has had his ups and downs on the year, Cheatham has been a steady force of production for ASU, notching double-doubles with regularity and providing leadership as well.`
“Some of the games he’s had have been unbelievable,” Hurley said of Cheatham. “I can’t even think what our record would be if we didn’t have Zylan playing for us this year.”
“Unbelievable journey it’s been,” Cheatham said. “But all great things come to an end.”
