(Photo: Alex Roddier/WCSN)
Pac-12 play doesn’t get any easier this weekend as No. 19 Arizona State (12-4, 3-2 Pac-12) goes on the road for what head coach Charli Turner Thorne is calling the toughest weekend of the season.
Following a seven-point loss to No. 6 Stanford, and a one-point win against No. 24 California, the Sun Devils weekend trip to Oregon to take on No. 5 Oregon and No. 10 Oregon State in a road trip that will mark the third and fourth consecutive matchups against teams that appear in the Associated Press poll.
With three losses to teams ranked in the AP Top 10 – each of which coming by fewer than seven points – Arizona State will get another shot to add a signature win to its tournament resumé.
“For us, we just want to play really good basketball,” Turner Thorne said during Wednesday’s media availability session. “We took a little shift toward that last weekend… and we know we’re not unbeatable but we want to be unbreakable.”
Here’s a preview of the weekend ahead:
No. 5 Oregon Ducks: 15-1 (4-0 Pac-12)
Led by junior guard Sabrina Ionescu, who holds the NCAA record for career triple-doubles, the Oregon Ducks feature the nation’s most outstanding offensive attack. Through 16 games this season, Oregon has averaged 91.1 points per game, good for a tie with No. 7 Mississippi State for best in the country.
“We’ve always been a program that nothing gives and we’re going to guard everything, but they make that very hard,” Turner Thorne said. “I think that’s the best backcourt in the country. Hands down.”
All five starters for the Ducks average greater than 10 points per game, and the team shoots a nation-leading 52.2 percent from the field. Along with Ionescu, the Ducks receive significant contributions from sophomore forward Satou Sabally. The forward from Berlin, Germany is averages 17.5 points per game while shooting 52.5 percent from the field.
Turner Thorne said despite the tough weekend schedule, the team cannot afford to save anything for Sunday against Oregon State.
“We play to win so we’re going to give Oregon everything we have and then it’ll be a big mental day on Saturday,” Turner Thorne said. “The irony is that sometimes when we have more time to prepare for teams, sometimes we don’t execute our gameplan as well and we’ll have a quick turnaround and be better. So I give up trying to figure that one out.”
In two games against ranked opponents this season, the Ducks are undefeated, defeating then No. 18 Syracuse 75-73, and then No. 4 Mississippi State 82-74. Arizona State will take on Oregon Friday night at 7 p.m. MST. The game can be seen on Pac-12 Networks.
No. 10 Oregon State Beavers: 14-2 (4-0 Pac-12)
In his ninth season at the helm for Oregon State, Scott Rueck has his squad back near the top of the national rankings. This year’s Beaver team has yet to lose a game on the mainland, as their losses to Notre Dame and Texas A&M came in Vancouver, British Columbia and Hawaii.
Despite ranking 59th nationally in 3-point attempts, the Beavers are efficient from deep. They rank first nationally in three-point field goal percentage, making 43.3 percent of their attempts from long-range. Redshirt sophomore guard Destiny Slocum leads the Beavers in scoring, averaging 14.9 points per game to go along with 5.8 assists and 3.1 rebounds.
The Sun Devils and Beavers are scheduled to tip-off at 3 p.m. MST Sunday afternoon. The game can be seen on Pac-12 Networks.
