Sun Devils set to host No. 5 UCLA in battle for Pac-12 supremacy

(Photo: Haley Spracale/WCSN)

If Arizona State men’s basketball (15-3, 6-1 Pac-12) wants to stamp its name among the contenders in the Pac-12, they have a simple mission – win Thursday against No. 5 UCLA Bruins (16-2, 7-0).

So far, the Sun Devils have seen success in the 2022-23 season. ASU has been one of the best teams in the country so far this year, sitting at No. 39 in the NET rankings. Head coach Bobby Hurley and his squad were ranked at No. 25, but the stay was short-lived after a 37-point loss to San Franciso, removing them from the rankings.

If the lopsided loss was avoided, it’s possible Thursday’s match against UCLA could have been against two Top 25 teams.

Momentum is on the side of the Sun Devils, who return to Tempe after sweeping the state of Oregon and are winners of their previous four games. Riding the high energy into Desert Financial Arena, could be enough to knock the Bruins off their pedestal.

Right now, when the Sun Devils look up in the Pac-12 standings, all they see is UCLA, but a win on Thursday would push the Sun Devils to the top of the conference.

The Bruins arrive in Tempe on a 13-game winning streak, with their last loss coming to Baylor in late November. The streak is the longest of any team in a major conference, and it has propelled them insid the top 5 of the polls.

Right now, it seems as if everything is clicking for the Bruins.

“They’re good positionally,” Hurley said. “They have a shot blocker. They have experienced players and good IQ players. They have a coach that demands they create turnovers. They’re number two in the country in the turnover margin category. And then they are holding teams in the 50s. So they’ve been really good defensively.”

Boasting both experienced veterans with Final Four experience and young talent that has NBA potential, UCLA can attack teams in a variety of different ways on offense while also locking down teams on defense.

As a top-5 team in the country, UCLA ranks high in numerous categories, but one that stands out is the Bruins’ ability to drive inside and create points inside of the three-point arc. According to College Basketball Reference, UCLA ranks fifth in the country in 2-pointers attempted per game at 45.7 and ranks sixth in the country in 2-pointers made with 23.7 per game.

The Bruins are not a team who like to play behind the 3-point line, ranking all the way down at 335th in the country in 3-pointers attempted per game. But when the Bruins do take deep shots, they are still capable of making them at a respectable 36.1 percentage.

With star guard Johnny Juzang departing to the NBA, UCLA needed to find a way to replace their top scorer. The obvious answers were returning seniors forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. and guard Tyger Campbell. As sophomores, the duo were big contributors on a Final Four team, allowing them to obtain important expierence in March.

Replacing Juzang as the team’s top scorer, Jaquez Jr. has been everywhere on the court. Leading the team with 16.7 points per game, the two-time member of the All-Pac-12 team has also been the team’s best rebounder averaging 7.1 rebounds per game, and is second on the team in assists per game, averaging 2.5 per game.

Jaquez Jr., who is a two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive team member, is still a major contributor on the defensive end, averaging 1.7 steals per game and boasting a stellar 86.8 defensive rating per 100 possessions.

Joining Jaquez Jr. on that Final Four team was Campbell, who has also taken a step forward in potentially his final year at UCLA. With an impressive 4.7 assists per game, a mark that is good for fifth in the conference, Campbell is the team’s primary ball handler and creator. Plus, the Iowa native is not afraid to get his own bucket, averaging a career-high 13.3 points per game.

Campbell is also familiar with ASU’s senior guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. as they played on the same AAU team when they were younger. Cambridge was complimentary of his former teammate.

“He can really run a team and figure out what their team needs,” Cambridge said. “He can facilitate, shoot and get to any spot on the court. So overall, he’s a really good player and a really good point guard.”

Although the Bruins have been good on offense, the team’s real strength, similar to ASU, has been the defense, and the one place they have excelled at more than anything has been creating turnovers.

Combining one of the country’s best at taking care of the ball with a team that has also been one of the country’s best at forcing turnovers, creates a scary sight for opponents. The Bruins have turned the ball over a mere 176 times, good for ninth in the country, and they have forced 306 opponent turnovers. That is good for a turnover differential of 130, meaning the Bruins have forced 7.2 turnovers per game more than their opponent.

The Bruins’ aptitude for forcing turnovers has forced Hurley and the Sun Devils to be even more prepared than usual.

“We talked about the turnovers,” Hurley said. “The next two days of practice, taking care of the ball, being strong with the ball, valuing the ball.”

The two biggest defensive contributors have been two new sources of production for the Bruins. Junior guard Jaylen Clark played some meaningful minutes for UCLA last year, but his 2022-23 campaign has shown areas of improvement. Clark is the team’s second-highest scorer with 14.2 points per game, but his biggest contribution has been on the defensive side.

Clark’s defensive playstyle is key to the Bruins’ stellar turnover production, leading the Pac-12 in total steals and steals per game with 45 and 2.7, respectively. Clark has also made his presence felt on the glass. Even as a guard, the California native is leading the team in defensive rebounds at 4.9 per game.

With ASU’s continued use of senior forward Warren Washington as an offensive outlet, freshman forward Adem Bona will look to continue his stellar play for the Bruins. Projected as a first-round pick, Bona has been a force on the inside for UCLA. The Nigerian currently sits at seventh in the Pac-12 with 1.5 blocks per game, but in the seven games of Pac-12 play, Bona has raised his blocks per game to 2.1, which would be good for third best in the conference, just ahead of Washington.

The last time these two teams played in Tempe, ASU came out on top 87-84 in a triple overtime thriller, a game Hurley wanted to keep going.

“I still remember talking with one of our coaches Nick Irvin,” Hurley said. “He asked me, ‘Was I exhausted after three overtimes?’ I said, ‘No, I want to keep coaching.’ It was a game where both teams were playing well and felt like a high-level game. If they wanted to go another overtime or two, I would have been good.”

With the Sun Devils’ home game against Arizona having been over winter break and mostly devoid of students, Thursday night could be the biggest crowd Desert Financial Arena has seen this season. But for fans who haven’t bought a ticket, the Sun Devils have a clear message.

“Please show up,” senior forward Devan Cambridge said. “I promise y’all that we were gonna change the culture here, and I think we kept our part. Y’all pack that thing out Thursday. We’re gonna come to play and give you a show.”