(Photo Credit: Alyssa Buruato/WCSN)
In sports, the true measure of a good team is their performance against stiffer competition. How does a team respond against an opponent expected to beat them? How does an unranked team compete against a top-25-level team?
These are the questions Arizona State men’s basketball (6-4) and head coach Bobby Hurley will have to answer against Northwestern (8-2) at 6:30 pm MST on Wednesday night at Footprint Center in Phoenix. The game is a part of the Jerry Colangelo Hall of Fame Series and represents ASU’s last non-conference matchup before the real tests of conference play begin.
Northwestern was ranked 25th in the Week 6 AP Poll before falling to mid-major Chicago State (6-9) 75-73, dropping them just out in the most recent Week 7 AP Poll. However, the Wildcats did still receive five votes to remain in. While not a formidable ranked team, they remain on the cusp of the nation’s elites.
ASU will certainly keep in mind that Northwestern has shown the propensity to lose to a mid-major program like the Cougars just last Wednesday. But it should be noted that Northwestern also currently stands as the lone blemish on No. 1 Purdue’s record, as they toppled one of the nation’s premier programs in a 92-88 overtime thriller earlier in December.
The name of tonight’s game will be which group of guards can outclass the other. Hurley deployed a four-guard starting lineup last game in a 79-59 loss against TCU, presumably to fit in the return of redshirt junior guard Adam Miller, who had been awaiting waiver approval for being a two-time transfer. Due to a court ruling, he was finally deemed eligible to play and made his ASU debut against the Horned Frogs.
Much like Hurley, Northwestern head coach Chris Collins also utilizes a four-guard starting five. The lynchpin of the team is junior guard Brooks Barnhizer who leads the team on the glass, averaging just under eight rebounds a game. Barnhizer stands 6 feet 6 inches which allows him to stretch to a more front-court role as a forward and even turn away shots at the rim, rejecting 1.1 attempts per game. His defensive disruption doesn’t just appear in the paint as he also leads the team with two steals per game.
Expect fireworks in multiple one-on-one matchups all over the court. Barnhizer — a bigger, more physical guard at 215 pounds — will have his hands full trying to outmuscle the Sun Devils’ own guard-forward combo player, the 220-pound graduate Jose Perez. Perez leads ASU at 13 points per game and is a rugged bruiser of a scorer. For comparison, Miller’s seven attempts from deep in his debut against TCU was one less than Perez has shot all season, in nine more games played.
In the backcourt, Northwestern’s graduate guard Boo Buie will attempt to ignite the Footprint center. The 5th-year guard’s 18.1 points a game leads the Wildcats in scoring, and he is also averaging a career-high five assists. Buie has already shown an aptitude for showing up in big games, dropping in 31 points and nine assists in the aforementioned upset of the Boilermakers.
On the flip side, Sun Devils point guard junior Frankie Collins has led the team in scoring for long stretches of the season to date. He uses his deft handles and explosiveness to create space to penetrate the paint to either score himself or find an open teammate — his 3.5 assists also lead the team. Collins is also hailed for his defensive acumen averaging three steals a game.
Collins and Perez will have to lead an inspired effort to take down their upcoming midwestern foe who is in search of reclaiming their top-25 ranked status. ASU will look to end their non-conference slate on a winning note before beginning the gauntlet that is the Pac-12 conference with a date in Palo Alto against Stanford on December 29th.
