(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
The Arizona State Sun Devils ride a three-game losing streak into a home matchup against No. 8 Utah tonight at 8 p.m. in Wells Fargo Arena. The Utes come to Tempe on a six-game winning streak, three of which come against Pac-12 opponents USC, UCLA and most recently, Colorado.
The Sun Devils look to avoid going 0-4 in the conference, especially with Colorado on the schedule for Saturday, likely leaving them out of contention for any sort of shot at the tournament.
ASU was on the cusp of ending both an on-the-road and conference losing skid but failed to do so in the fleeting moments against the Oregon Ducks on Saturday. The Sun Devils fell 59-56 to the Ducks as poor free throw shooting, turnovers and a lack of unified offense stymied an otherwise strong ASU defensive effort.
In Utah’s 74-49 beat down over Colorado, the Utes did exactly what ASU could not do in its loss against Oregon. They shared the ball. Ten Utes put up points for their team, eight of which had five or more. This offensive cohesiveness lends itself to a 50.1 shooting percentage from the field, eighth best in the nation. While the Runnin’ Utes have yet to win in Tempe since 1991, ASU will have a tall task in front of them tonight.
Keys to the Game
Eliminate Second Chances
Despite a collection of other mistakes in the loss against Oregon, the Sun Devils were able to successfully stall the Ducks, only allowing two offensive rebounds in the first half. This has to continue in tonight’s game. The Utes scored 41 points from second-chance baskets and turnovers against Colorado. With ASU’s turnover-prone nature, it is vital that the Sun Devils keep the ball out of Utah’s hands and avoid giving any easy points to a team that is scoring eighth-most in the nation.
Watch the Transition offense
If anything can stall ASU’s efforts to put up a defensive wall in the backcourt, it is Utah’s efficient transition offense. The Utes play quick, up-tempo ball, oftentimes beating opponents on the fast break and catching the defense off guard. While Utah could execute its transitional prowess on forced turnovers and steals, the Sun Devils do have the smaller-statured roster to contend the Utes’ ability to beat them in the passing lanes.
Contain Poeltl and Wright
This dangerous duo is the powerhouse behind the Utes’ shooting success. Jakob Poeltl, a 7-foot, 235-pound, freshman forward is currently second in the Pac-12 shooting 65.2 percent. Delon Wright, a 6-foot-5 senior guard is sixth in the Pac-12 shooting 56.9 percent while averaging 16.3 points on the road and raking in 13 points in his last contest. The Sun Devils will need to target and likely double these players on defense if they hope to shut them down in order to have a chance at an effective offense that could overcome familiar Sun Devil faults.
Prediction
With ASU’s ever-changing starting lineup and its recent inability to exercise all options on offense rather than just the one-on-one fast break, it is likely that Utah will claim its seventh-consecutive win tonight. It will take hot shooting from more than just Shaquielle McKissic, Eric Jacobsen and Savon Goodman to win this contest.
You can reach the author on Twitter @KristinaV_18 or by email at kvicario@asu.edu
