(Photo Credit: Alyssa Buruato/WCSN)
In its final season of Pac-12 action, Arizona State men’s basketball (8-5, 2-0 Pac-12) will play its final home opener in the Conference of Champions before moving on to the Big 12 next season, as Utah (11-2, 2-0 Pac-12) comes down to Tempe on Thursday.
The Sun Devils got off to a hot start in conference play, knocking off Stanford and California on the road last week in the Bay Area, with both games going down to the wire. ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said the road trip was a turning point in the season for his team.
“You’ve got to make a decision, are you going to consistently start playing together as a team, sharing the ball, appreciating your teammates?” Hurley said. “It wasn’t a ton of basketball-related adjustments that were made, it was more just trying to get everyone on the same page.”
With both games being decided by three points or fewer, the Sun Devils showed an ability to close out tough games. Junior guard Frankie Collins is proud of the team’s heart down the stretch of games.
“I think it’s just our will to win,” Collins said. “Once it gets to a certain point in the game, we just tend to wake up out of nowhere, it’s mostly because of our press we tend to get a lot of steals and electrifying plays.”
Collins currently sits at third in the nation in steals per game, earning 3.2 per contest. He managed to pick up two against Stanford before going off for six steals at California.
After a three-game losing streak leading up to Christmas, the Sun Devils have shown a revamped attitude on the court, and Collins claims the team is playing much better mentally.
“A new mindset to come together and a new mindset to come back more committed to what we’re trying to do,” Collins said.
Sophomore guard/forward Kamari Lands has looked much more aggressive following the short break, scoring in double figures at both Stanford and California — performances that came after he failed to hit 10 points in eight straight games.
Hurley is glad that Lands is playing with more fire in his system and hopes he can build on his hot start to conference play.
“I just liked his approach coming back from the break,” Hurley said. “I sensed a real frustration with him and I just saw a different guy when he came back after Christmas, just playing more confidently.”
Collins knows how important confidence is at this point in the season, and with Utah coming to town he’s glad that Lands and the rest of the team are going into the matchup riding high.
“Utah is a good team and a great program,” Collins said. “They are one of the top teams in the country, so being able to get that win would be good as well.”
Looking ahead to Thursday night’s matchup, Utah also enters the contest with a 2-0 mark in Pac-12 play after defeating Washington and Washington State at home. Despite not being ranked, the Utes are on the rise, receiving the fourth-most Top 25 votes in the last AP Poll.
The Utes are led by senior center Branden Carlson, who averages a team high 18.4 points per game and is shooting 40% from beyond the arch while snagging 6.4 boards per game. Carlson ranks fifth amongst all Pac-12 players in points and blocks per game, so expect the 7-foot big man to cause problems for the Sun Devils.
Despite Carlson’s quality, the individual battle to watch out for is at the point guard position, with Utah guard Rollie Worster matching up against Collins. Worster leads Utah in assists per game at 6.2 assists per game, which is 18th in the country. Worster is also fifth in the Pac-12 in assist-to-turnover ratio and has over double the assists of any other player above him.
Collins leads the Pac-12 in steals, so Worster will be tested in the passing lanes, and it should be a competitive matchup with both guards flexing their basketball IQ.
The matchup will tip off at 9 p.m. MST from Desert Financial Arena, kicking off the last-ever Pac-12 home opener in Tempe.
