(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
Coming off a tough loss to New Mexico State at home on Saturday, ASU looks to bounce back with a win over 9th ranked and undefeated Creighton.
The Sun Devils are in dire need of a win after the combination of losing to New Mexico State at home and the surprise transfer of star freshman forward Sam Cunliffe just last week.
Cunliffe has still not commented much about his reasons for transferring aside from saying that it partly had to do with an undisclosed family issue that caused him to decide to leave the program. Cunliffe has still not commented on what school he will eventually transfer to.
Regardless, ASU is now dangerously shorthanded, especially in terms of their available forwards. The only forwards left for the Sun Devils are senior Obinna Oleka, freshman Ramon Villa, freshman Jethro Tsisumpa, and junior Maurice O’Field.
ASU has been underperforming in the paint so far this season with their already small lineup, and if the loss to New Mexico State was any indication, the Sun Devils are going to really struggle without Cunliffe as an available option on the outside. ASU was completely unable to get anything going offensively down low against the Lobos and this lead to the Sun Devils being forced to jack up ill-advised shots on the perimeter.
On top of their recent offensive struggles, ASU has not played very well on the defensive end in the last few games . The Sun Devils are allowing an average of 82.2 points per game and have allowed 97 points or more in three of their last six.
Cunliffe was starting to make tremendous strides and contributions to ASU defensively, and losing him hurts just as much on the defensive end as it does on offense as well.
It is going to be tough for the Sun Devils to slow down a high-powered Creighton offense that is ranked six in the country scoring an impressive average of 89.3 points per contest.
The Bluejays are also an extremely effective shooting team, hitting 53.8 percent of their shots from the field, which does not help any for ASU.
Creighton is the most efficient three-point shooting team in the country, knocking down 44.4 percent of their shots beyond the arc.
Four Bluejays are averaging double digits in points per game, led by junior guard Marcus Foster. Foster is a potent scorer who is averaging 18.2 points per game while also hitting over 50 percent of his shots from the field, and over 41 percent of his shots from deep.
It will be tough for ASU to hang in with one of the best offensive teams in the country in Creighton, but the Sun Devils have faired well against ranked out of conference teams at home in the past. Also worth mentioning that the Sun Devils took down Creighton last season on their home court in a nail-biter as well.
ASU has one six of their last eight games at home against ranked out of conference teams, including a 67-54 win last season over Texas A&M. Despite the early season woes for the Sun Devils, they will be rejuvenated seeking a big upset.
Tip off for the game will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena. The game can be watched nationally on ESPN2.
