Photo: (Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
With two games in quick succession against capable SEC opponents this week, the No. 20 Arizona State Sun Devils are going to get a taste of what the road will be like in conference play.
ASU will face Georgia on Saturday and Vanderbilt on Monday in their first true road games of the 2018-19 season. For coach Bobby Hurley, it is a chance to see how the team will handle similar trips against Pac-12 opponents.
“It’s going to be a good way to rehearse for a conference road scenario,” Hurley said. “That’s how we’ve approached it. We’ve had some good practices following our game last week and we’re just trying to simulate those conditions.”
While neither of ASU’s opponents is ranked, both teams have had winning starts to their respective seasons.
At 5-3, the Georgia Bulldogs do come in with a winning record and a solid statistical profile. That said, the Bulldogs have mostly picked up high-margin wins over weaker opponents, such as Kennesaw State and Savannah State. When they have faced stronger competition like Temple or Clemson, they have lost, and were held to 49 points by the latter.
Georgia has two factors that could help give it leverage against the Devils. The first is that Stegeman Coliseum has been a strong home court. Since 2015, the Bulldogs are 42-10 on their home ground, and they have not lost at home so far this season.
“It’s obviously going to be a hostile environment,” ASU forward Zylan Cheatham said. “They’re going to be fired up and ready to play. I know Tom Crean is a great coach and he’s going to have his guys ready to play.”
Georgia also can match ASU’s length, something the Devils’ previous opponents have mostly been unable to do. The Bulldogs lead the nation in defensive rebounds and rank ninth in blocks. Crean has built a disciplined defense that causes disruptions but avoids fouls.
For one ASU player, the game against Georgia has personal significance. Romello White is from Atlanta and will be able to play in person for friends and family for the first time in his collegiate career. Cheatham noted that White came into practice on Wednesday with a guest list, which he estimated was about 40 people long.
While trying to maintain his focus through the excitement of returning to his home state, White has been using his roots to prepare for Saturday’s contest. He said he has played with everyone on the Bulldogs roster who is native to the state, and he knows what they’re capable of.
“It’s going to help a lot,” White said. “One of their bigs, I played against him so I know what he likes to do. I know some things that he does. The guards too. I can tell what a couple of their players like to do.”
Following White’s trip home, ASU will head to Nashville to face off against Vanderbilt. The Commodores 6-2 start looks like progress after they finished 12-20 last season. Like the Bulldogs though, Vanderbilt has played a mediocre non-conference schedule and has not had to face an opponent of ASU’s caliber.
The Commodores are in the middle of the SEC statistically, not leaning significantly more on offense or defense. They do have a clear-cut best offensive weapon though, that being freshman forward/center Simisola Shittu. Shittu was a five-star recruit out of high school and has lived up to that billing through his first eight games. He ranks eighth in the SEC in points per game with 15.9 and sixth in rebounds per game at 7.8.
With two games in hostile environments coming up, the Devils are thinking big picture. Not only do they have a landmark home game against No. 1 Kansas after these matchups, but Pac-12 play soon to follow. After conference play caused the Devils historic start to stumble a season ago, Hurley and his team are preparing to take another swing.
“I’ve talked a lot about non-conference, but I’ve talked quite a bit more about league play for us this year to my team,” Hurley said. “That’s kind of why we set it up. We have to do better in the Pac-12 this year than we have done in past years, especially learning to win games on the road.”
The Devils will tip off at 4 p.m. Arizona time on Saturday in Athens, Georgia and 5 p.m. Arizona time on Monday in Nashville.
