(Photo: Drew Martin/WCSN)
As the No. 11 Arizona State Sun Devils awaited their fate in the NCAA Tournament, there was a resounding expectation that they would be named a 3-seed.
After all, losing their last two games of the season isn’t exactly a flattering way to end the year, and not having won any games in the conference tournament almost seemed to guarantee them the same 3-seed they held a season ago.
The Sun Devils, however, will not be entering the tournament as a 3-seed. Instead, they’ll be playing as a 2-seed in the Sioux Falls region of the bracket, the highest NCAA tournament seeding in program history.
“It feels amazing,” said ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne. “We really thought after our Pac-12 tournament showing that we were just gonna take our 3-seed and be happy…Obviously, I just couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
Although the season ended with two losses, a major contributing factor to the committee making ASU a 2-seed might have been the fact that the Sun Devils shared the regular season Pac-12 championship.
The Sun Devils finished the year 25-6 with a 16-2 conference record, allowing them to tie for the Pac-12 title with fellow 2-seed Oregon State.
“I think our non-conference schedule and our body of work,” Turner Thorne said of why ASU was given a 2-seed. “I mean we had the number one RPI conference in the nation and we shared the Pac-12 championship and we went 16-2.”
Some of the most surprised members of the audience were the Sun Devil players. After Ohio State was given the 3-seed in the Sioux Falls region, a look of confusion came across their faces.
Finally, after waiting to see why they weren’t in that spot, ASU’s name was called as the third 2-seed in the bracket, and elation ensued to say the least.
“Yeah, great surprise,” said junior forward Sophie Brunner. “You probably saw our reaction after Ohio State got that 3-seed, and to see that we got a 2-seed is just good to see that all of our hard work has paid off, so we’re excited.”
As the 2-seed, ASU will be facing off against an unfamiliar foe in 15-seed New Mexico State; however, the Aggies are coached by a somewhat familiar face in former USC coach Mark Trakh.
“I think I’ve seen like a few minutes [of NMSU] here or there on TV,” Turner Thorne said. “I’m familiar with Mark [Trakh] from his USC days. He’s a great coach and he’s been winning that conference championship for two or three years in a row.”
Despite being heavily favored in their opening round matchup, senior point guard Elisha Davis and co. will not be taking the Aggies lightly.
“Every team in the bracket is good,” Davis said. “Any team you play against is good that’s why they’re here. So, what we need to is remember who we are and stick to what we do. Bring our defense, bring our intensity, bring our sharing and just that one more you see on offense.”
The Sun Devils will host a sub-regional in Tempe, meaning that the first two rounds of the tournament will be at Wells Fargo Arena. The four teams that will be in the Tempe sub-regional are 2-seed ASU, 7-seed Tennessee, 10-seed Wisconsin-Green Bay and 15-seed NMSU.
ASU will open their NCAA tournament journey against NMSU on Friday at 4:30pm local time.
