(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
Message received ASU.
With a narrow victory over the long time west coast goliath, Stanford Cardinal, the Arizona State Sun Devils have announced their arrival into both conference and national title contention.
This win could give ASU their first AP top ten ranking since 2007, slotting them just behind Oregon State as the second highest nationally ranked team from the Pac-12.
A significant jump for a group that just last year failed to advance past the quarterfinals of their conference tournament, and was knocked out of the NCAA tournament in the second round.
But these aren’t the Sun Devils of yesteryear.
While many of the faces remained the same, the level of focus on defense improved considerably.
Last year ASU surrendered 65 points per contest, but have managed to knock 10 points off of that number so far this season, while also giving up lower field goal and three point per game shooting percentages.
Considering their 3-5 record in games in which they scored 60 points or less, the 2013-2014 team would’ve had almost no chance of overcoming the painful 6-23 second half from today’s game. But this year when the shots aren’t falling and there seems to be a lid on the hoop, Arizona State has another facet of the game to fall back on.
They’ve only been involved in three games where they scored 60 points or less this year, winning two of those and dropping the other in a early season upset loss to Green Bay.
And while the up-tempo, 72 points per game offense doesn’t generally translate into those types of scores, it is necessary for ASU to be able to will their way to victory when they cant find the bottom of the net.
The ability to win in multiple ways is a characteristic of just about every championship team. And it’s something that the Sun Devils seem to have gained this offseason and have shown throughout the year, as they continue to work their way into both Pac-12 and National Championship conversations.
Arizona State’s next big matchup comes next Sunday against Oregon State in Tempe. Should they win that one, they would be looking at a not only 4-0 record against the top half of the conference, but also solidification as one of the nation’s top 10 teams.
