ASU Men’s Basketball: Sun Devils look to continue momentum, finish non-conference schedule strong

(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)

The No. 17 Arizona State Sun Devils (9-2) host the Princeton Tigers (6-5) Saturday afternoon in what will be both teams’ final non-conference matchup of the 2018-19 season.

With a victory, the Sun Devils can achieve a double-digit win total before conference play for the second consecutive season.

They’ll face a Tigers team that hasn’t played a home game in over three weeks, and has been 2-2 over that stretch with wins against Iona (85-81) and Lafayette (81-79), and losses at St. John’s (89-74) and then No. 2 Duke (101-50)- the team’s only game against a ranked opponent thus far.

For ASU, this game serves as a transition matchup from the euphoria of beating No. 1 Kansas to the beginning of a Pac-12 slate in which the team seeks redemption from an 8-10 conference season in 2017-18. One player they’ll be looking to continue incorporating into the game plan is junior transfer guard Rob Edwards.

He’s been hampered by an injury much of the season but had his most efficient shooting night in the victory over Kansas, scoring a season-high 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field, which includes 3-for-5 on three-point attempts.

“I think Rob knows that he’s a starter,” coach Bobby Hurley said. “I think that really there are seven starters, and that’s how we look at it. And you just got to distribute the minutes the best you can.”

“I think that we are where we need to be in that area. If you get guys anywhere from 28 to 32 (minutes) instead of like 36 or 38 it’s going to make them just be more efficient out on the floor.”

The balance of this Sun Devil team has been one of its most impressive attributes, especially considering the team’s position in the college basketball ranks.

For example, ASU’s top five scorers in the Kansas game all had between 10 and 15 points, and the team’s top seven scorers ranged from seven to 15 points.

Clearly, it’s something Hurley values in a team with this much talent, and it will be something to keep on eye on to see if they continue this approach in Saturday’s matchup.

This theme of balance is an interesting one, because in recent games it seems to not be by design. More specifically, star freshman guard Luguentz Dort- the team’s leading scorer at 19.2 points per game (fourth in Pac-12)- has failed to shoot higher than 23.1 percent from the field in the last three contests, despite attempting a double-digit number of shots in each one.

“You have that breakout start like he had and teams start to really scout and focus on and game plan- he’s right at the top of the list of who you’re trying to contain so it’s just going to be him seeing where his opportunities are,” Hurley said. “He’ll be able to strike a balance of knowing when he can get to the basket and finish and put the other team on their heels or make the right pass to a teammate.”

The Sun Devil guards will be looked upon to step up to the task, as Princeton boasts three guards averaging double figures in senior Myles Stephens- 13.9 ppg- freshman Jaelin Llewellyn- 14.5 ppg- and senior Devin Cannady, whose 20.1 ppg ranks second in the Ivy League.

Junior guard Jose Morales also poses a threat to ASU on the defensive end, with his Ivy League-leading 2.1 steals per game.

However, Princeton’s lack of a strong frontcourt presence could pave the way for the likes of senior Zylan Cheatham and sophomore Romello White to have a field day.

White has scored 36 points over the last three contests- thanks to a combined 16-for-22 effort shooting free throws- and Cheatham is second in the Pac-12 averaging 10.2 rebounds per game, thanks to an active streak of six consecutive games with double-digit boards.

Not to be lost in the rotation, freshman forward Taeshon Cherry had a solid showing off the bench vs. Kansas, grabbing four steals in only 16 minutes on the floor.

“He plays hard and he rebounds and he’s just scratching the surface of where he’ll be as his career continues to develop,” Hurley said.

Saturday’s game tips off at 2 p.m. and will be televised via Pac-12 Networks.