(Photo: Sam Polgreen/WCSN)
“You don’t forget a loss like that,” junior guard Jamiya Neal said regarding his team’s Feb. 17 loss at then-No. 5 Arizona. “It’s humiliating, embarrassing unfortunate, obviously just off that loss alone we have to go out there and try to do better.”
Arizona State men’s basketball remembers the embarrassment it felt after getting dealt with ease by the Wildcats just 11 days before Wednesday’s rematch in Tempe.
“Obviously, we are at home so that’s gonna help us, we have our crowd with us and it’s a big rivalry game everybody’s gonna be hype,” Neal said. “On top of what happened last time that should spark a fire under us and we just got a good win on Saturday night so that should help us.”
A fire may have already started to grow under the Sun Devils, a lot has happened since the 105-60 dashing they faced at the hands of the Wildcats as both teams split their last two games going 1-1 against the Washington schools.
For ASU its loss to Washington came in a closely contested overtime battle, after going down big in the first half, a 51-point second half was required to force overtime. While overtime ended in Washington’s favor, the momentum forged in that game carried on to ASU’s best win of the season.
On Saturday the Sun Devils managed to knock off then No. 21 Washington State, the Pac-12 leaders at the time. The 73-61 win gave them some much-needed momentum heading into Wednesday’s rivalry game. Four ASU players finished that game with over 10 points and two more came up with nine a piece, a truly well-rounded performance something Head coach Bobby Hurley was pleased to see.
“Any time that we seem to win there’s four or five guys in double figures,” Hurley said. “We need that type of production and we got that (Saturday). When we have that many guys playing well at that end of the floor it really gets everyone playing well on both ends of the floor.”
For the Wildcats their back-and-forth weekend was a polar opposite to their Tempe rivals. They came up short against Washington State, losing 77-74. Despite a 27-point outing from senior guard Caleb Love, they had no answer for 6 foot eight inches junior Jaylen Wells, who knotted 27 points of his own.
Arizona hasn’t lost in consecutive games all season and it wasn’t going to start on Saturday, handling business against Washington in a 16-point blowout to get back in the win column.
So what does that mean for Wednesday’s matchup in Tempe? Both teams have proven anything can happen in the realm of college basketball. Just 11 days between the matchups, and Arizona proved firsthand they can lose to a team that the Sun Devils were able to knock off two nights later. Despite losing by a margin of 45 the last time around, Wednesday’s game likely won’t be chalked up too soon.
“We gotta protect the home crib,” junior forward Bryant Selebaunge said after Saturday night’s win. “Those guys are really good, second time around we know what it’s going to take and I believe we got what it takes.”
To the players protecting its home court against Arizona is more than just a game of basketball, pride, and legacy are on the line every time these two schools step in between the white lines, and after facing the most humbling loss in the history of the matchup ASU plans to leave it all out on the floor.
“(Sun Devil Athletics) gave a big speech at the beginning of the year to all the athletes putting into perspective how this rivalry started, and where it originated from,” Selebaunge said. “I’m a competitor, I’m here to defend ASU pride. They’re not going to come in here and step on us, this is our home. We’re going to protect it.”
