(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
The Sun Devils have had a rough time in Pac-12 play, but there’s at least one team who’s had it worse.
The Washington State Cougars (9-12, 1-8) host No. 25 Arizona State (16-6, 4-6) Sunday, looking to earn their first victory in over three weeks.
This game will most likely be ASU’s final one as a ranked team for at least seven days as a result of Thursday’s loss at Washington.
Ironically, it comes against the only other Pac-12 school that’s fallen off as drastically from non-conference to conference play.
Although WSU was never ranked, the Cougars were 6-0 heading into December with a victory over then No. 21 Saint Mary’s under their belt.
Their struggles began in December, suffering a few undermining losses to mid major schools led them to finish with an 8-4 record heading into Pac-12 season.
They’ve won once since then, defeating Cal 78-53, and have lost all other eight conference games by at least nine points.
All in all, the Sun Devils should find a way to come out of Pullman with a W.
It’s almost a must win for Hurley & Co.’s tournament hopes, but ASU is 8-1 in Saturday and Sunday games this season. It’s been those Wednesday’s and Thursday’s that haven’t gone so well during conference play.
ASU must be wary of WSU’s post presence though, considering how difficult it’s been for the Sun Devils to defend the interior over the last month or so.
First and foremost, they must minimize the impact of 6’7, 240-lb. forward Robert Franks.
The junior leads WSU in scoring at 18 points per game, 6th in the Pac-12, and averages 6.9 rebounds per game, good for 12th in the conference.
Franks is an all-around scoring threat as well, shooting 48.3 percent from the field, 88 percent from the line and 44 percent from three.
He shouldn’t be the only forward on ASU’s radar, as it’s been guys like senior Drick Bernstine that’ve caused them trouble. The 6’8, 220-lb. forward only averages 7 ppg, but averages 1.1 steals, almost 3 assists and a team-leading 7.4 rebounds (9th in conference) in about 27.5 minutes of action per contest.
The Cougars could even throw in guys such as sophomore Jeff Pollard and freshman Arinze Chidom- 6’9 forwards who both average around 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in about 10-15 minutes per game.
Even though they don’t have gaudy numbers, these are the players that can make things tough on ASU down low if given the chance.
However, if the Sun Devils can hold it together in the post, WSU’s backcourt is no match for their quartet of guards.
ASU still has seniors Kodi Justice, Shannon Evans II and Tra Holder averaging between 13 and 19 ppg each with freshman Remy Martin adding 9.6 off the bench. They all average between 1.2 and 1.5 steals per contest as well.
WSU senior Malachi Flynn represents the only worry for ASU’s backcourt, averaging 14.5 ppg and team highs with 4.3 assists per game and 1.3 steals per game. Outside of him, the Cougars don’t have a guard averaging more than nine points per contest.
This Super Bowl Sunday affair tips off at 2 p.m. and can be seen on ESPNU.
