ASU’s final Pac-12 journey begins this weekend in the Bay Area

(Photo Credit: Alyssa Buruato/WCSN)

The time is nigh for Arizona State men’s basketball (6-5) to embark on its penultimate foray into Pac-12 territories in search of an everlasting final impression in the Conference of Champions. At this point, it has been well-documented that the 2023-24 basketball season will sing the swan song of the conference, as it will not continue operation as we know it for the foreseeable future. The importance of many of these matchups is backed by decades — in some cases even over a century — of stories and sagas. The finality of it all only adds to the intrigue.

Currently on a three-game losing streak, ASU begins its final Pac-12 journey looking to right the ship with a New Year’s weekend away trip in the Bay Area. First, they will clash with the Stanford Cardinal (5-5) on Friday, Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. PST in Palo Alto. The Cardinal pride themselves on their ball movement in the half-court offense. Their 17.6 total team assists per game is good for 25th in the country and the fourth-highest of any Pac-12 team this season.

Under head coach Jerod Haase, Stanford — known as a predominantly elite academic institution — reflects their general student body’s critical thinking with their play on the court. While the assist numbers and scoring are relatively high (78.4 points a game which ranks them at 105th in the nation) the fast break points sit at a measly 6.6 a game, good for 320th in the country. This is evidence of a slow, methodical and calculated offense more akin to the cerebral student body at large.

That slow-paced style may just play into the hands of head coach Bobby Hurley and ASU. Hurley’s Sun Devils like to increase the pressure and implement a high press for long stretches during games. Their defense prides itself on creating turnovers and fast-break situations whether it be through steals, blocks or rebounds. The team ranks top 100 in the nation in all the aforementioned categories. Their 16 fast break points (tied for 25th in the country) manifest themselves in many easy baskets.

Recently, against teams that are comfortable playing in the fast lane like TCU and San Diego — both top-50 transition teams — ASU has shown the ability to get outmatched losing both of those contests. It should be noted that even against a slower-paced team like Northwestern, the Sun Devils’ most recent opponent, they also lost by a large margin (19).

However, Northwestern is a fringe AP top-25 team in the country that also knocked off current number-one-ranked Purdue earlier this season, so that loss may have been the result of quality over the system. At 5-5, Stanford has closer-to-equal quality to Hurley’s squad, so ASU’s fast-breaking and high-pressing style may allow them to successfully run away from the Cardinal.

Stanford junior big man Maxime Raynaud of Paris stands 7 feet 1 inches tall. He leads the team in scoring and rebounding and will likely be an impact player Friday night. The onus of guarding Raynaud will pressumably be on either graduate forward Alonzo Gaffney or junior big-man Bryant Selebangue — neither of which are listed as taller than 6 feet 9 inches — to make life difficult for the Cardinal’s leading scorer. Graduate guard Jared Bynum leads Stanford with 6.8 assists per game, and will battle with ASU’s junior point guard Frankie Collins to see who can create more opportunities to score for their side.

Two nights later, ASU will travel across The Bay and up Highway 880 for a New Year’s Eve showdown with California (4-7) in Berkeley. While their record so far is worse than both Stanford and ASU, the Golden Bears do possess notable top-end talent. All three of Cal’s leading scorers average more than any single player on the Sun Devils or the Cardinal.

This game will be a contest of matchups for ASU. Hurley will have to find an answer for the Bears’ leading trio of danger men. Junior wing Jaylon Tyson leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.4 points per game while also grabbing seven rebounds per contest. He also serves as the team’s leading playmaker amongst players with more than 5 games played with 3.5 dimes a game.

Six foot 11 inch senior big man Fardaws Aimaq averages a double-double on the season, leading the Bears with 10.7 rebounds a game while also dropping in 16.9 points. Despite his size, he also shows comfort stepping away from the basket, shooting 35.3 percent on threes. Senior guard Jalen Cone’s 16.3 points per game serves as the third-highest on the team. He’s a quick live wire guard who will challenge the energy levels of the Sun Devil backcourt tasked with guarding him.

ASU’s graduate wing Jose Perez will have to be crucial in both games but especially in Berkeley as the Sun Devils’ second-leading scorer will have to use his physicality down low to put up points. Effective scoring will likely be necessary to get a winning result against a team with a trio of capable bucket-getters like Cal.

The Sun Devils will want to start their Pac-12 ascent on a good note and a trip to the Bay Area serves as a good a chance as any to do so. Stanford and Cal are not predicted to be the creme of the crop in the conference and can possibly serve as a strong springboard for ASU. However, for a team on a three-game losing streak, no opponents can be taken for granted. Hurley will have to rally and refocus his men after a nine-day holiday break since the last time they played, in hopes of going into 2024 on a winning note.