Categories: Arizona StateArticleMen's Basketball

ASU Men’s Basketball: Harvard poses a tough challenge to end the nonconference season

(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)

After a convincing 93-54 victory over Detroit, the Arizona State Sun Devils host the Harvard Crimson on Sunday in their final non conference game of the year. After this game, ASU plays at Arizona to tip-off Pac-12 play, so keeping the momentum rolling will be important in this game.

In ASU’s victory over Detroit, newly-eligible sophomore forward Savon Goodman scored 22 points and also had 11 rebounds, proving to be a threat in the post with junior center Eric Jacobsen.

Harvard, on other hand, is coming off of a game where they ended up on the wrong end of a blowout, losing to Virginia 76-27. Their leading scorer was sophomore guard Corbin Miller with 8 points.

Keys to the Game

Contain Wesley Saunders

Saunders, a 6-foot-5 inch senior guard, is by far Harvard’s best scorer, averaging 18.3 points per game, while the next highest scorer averages eight. ASU will make sure to not lose sight of Saunders at any point on the defensive end because he is shooting 51.5% from the floor on the year along with 46.7% form the three-point line

Attack the Glass

Harvard’s tallest player is 6-foot-9, but 10 players stand 6-foot-6 or taller as opposed to ASU, who only has six such players. The difference here will be how well the perimeter players for ASU rebound such as junior Gerry Blakes and especially senior Shaquielle McKissic.

Find their groove from three-point land

ASU started out the season absolutely on fire from beyond the arc, but lately they seem to have cooled down a bit. In their last two games, they made six three-pointers each, which isn’t bad by most teams standards, but the three-pointer for this team has been vital to their success thus far.

Prediction

Harvard has been one of the Cinderella’s of college basketball for the past few seasons, so it is difficult to tell exactly what they are capable of, but they are coming off a 49-point loss coming into Wells Fargo Arena where ASU is 7-1 on the year. If Goodman and Jacobsen play like they have been, ASU should come away with the victory.