Tag: Arizona State basketball

Pac-12 men’s basketball report: Arizona State blows 15-point lead at home to UCLA

In most years, losing to UCLA wouldn’t hurt a team’s NCAA Tournament resume. This is not most years. Ouch, ASU!

Normally, a win over UCLA men’s basketball carries great value, and a loss doesn’t carry that much of a sting. UCLA was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament last year, a No. 4 seed the year before in 2022. Beating the Bruins usually elevates a resume by several degrees, and losing to UCLA doesn’t hurt one’s overall profile. Not this year!

The Bruins entered Wednesday night with a 7-10 record. They are a below-average team — some might say “bad” — and have already eliminated themselves from contention for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The only way UCLA gets in is if it wins four games in four days to capture the Pac-12 Tournament championship in March. That’s the same path for USC. It’s the only path for the Los Angeles schools, which have both had disastrous seasons.

Beating UCLA isn’t expected in most seasons, but it certainly was for Arizona State on Wednesday at home in Tempe.

Then the game started. ASU built a 13-point halftime lead and led by 15 early in the second half. Given how profoundly UCLA has struggled to score this season, that should have been game, set, match, Sun Devils. ASU plays good defense under Bobby Hurley and should have no problem locking down a bad offensive team.

The Sun Devils couldn’t do it. They lost their composure and let this game slip away in a 68-66 loss.

How bad was ASU’s late collapse? The Sun Devils committed two technical fouls in the final four minutes of regulation. Yes, the whistles were dubious and better officials would not have called those technical fouls. However, ASU — baited by UCLA — took the bait instead of showing discipline. The technical foul calls were bad, but Arizona State still did not maintain poise and composure.

The loss is a very damaging blow to Arizona State’s attempt to get an NCAA Tournament berth. ASU did not do well in nonconference games. The Sun Devils have wins over Utah and Colorado but not much else. Their seven losses include stumbles against San Diego and Washington. They are in trouble.

USC faces the Sun Devils next on the weekend in Tempe.

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Pac-12 men’s basketball report: Arizona State, Colorado suffer stinging defeats

Arizona State and Colorado have a lot of work to do in order to make the NCAA Tournament.

The last Pac-12 men’s college basketball season is not going according to plan. Arizona is holding up its end of the bargain. Utah, which dismantled UCLA on Thursday night in Salt Lake City, is overachieving.

The rest of the conference needs to be better if the league is going to create a reasonably memorable final season.

We all know how bad things have been for USC and UCLA. The Los Angeles schools have been an absolute disaster for the Pac-12. The Trojans and Bruins have, along with half of the conference, played themselves out of contention for the NCAA Tournament. There are five schools with a decent-to-good chance of making March Madness in two months. Arizona is a lock. Utah is very likely to get in. After that, the picture gets murky. Oregon has only three losses, but not a lot of high-end wins. The Ducks are the only remaining unbeaten team in the conference, but they will need to keep winning to firm up their resume.

Over the past two days, two other teams trying to solidify their portfolios took backward steps.

On Wednesday, Colorado blew a 19-point second-half lead and lost to lowly California. That’s a bad loss for a bubble team to absorb. Colorado is now 2-3 in the Pac-12, having also lost to Arizona State. The Buffaloes beat Miami, but Miami just lost to Louisville at home. Colorado doesn’t have a lot on its resume other than that one huge win over the Hurricanes.

The other Pac-12 bubble team which stumbled was Arizona State. On Thursday night, the Sun Devils lost to Washington in Seattle. ASU is 4-1 in the Pac-12, and that’s good, but two of those four wins are over Stanford and Cal. ASU had a bad nonconference run, so the Sun Devils are probably an NIT team right now. Their win over Utah was absolutely crucial, but they have to do more in order to offset some of their nonconference losses, particularly UC San Diego.

The Pac-12 did not expect to enter mid-January with only two certain NCAA Tournament teams, but that’s where we are at the moment.

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Pac-12 men’s basketball report: Arizona State and Oregon score huge wins

ASU and Oregon answered the bell with tough wins on Thursday.

The Pac-12 men’s basketball landscape has been fairly bleak this season. Entering play on Thursday, the conference had three teams which were likely or certain to be included in a projected NCAA Tournament bracket: Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. The other nine teams in the conference have struggled to gain traction to varying degrees. If the league wants five or six teams in March Madness, those other schools in the middle of the pack need to make a forward charge.

Two of them really stepped up on Thursday night in Pac-12 hoops.

Oregon won at Washington in a battle of teams fighting for position. The Ducks are beginning to stabilize under head coach Dana Altman. Freshman Jackson Shelstad came up big for Oregon once again, stamping himself as the best freshman in the conference. Oregon has only three losses and is beginning to build its resume for March. No one would call UO a lock for the Big Dance, but the Ducks are definitely moving in the right direction.

Much the same can be said for Bobby Hurley’s Arizona State team, which beat Utah on Thursday in Tempe. The Sun Devils are 3-0 in Pac-12 play for the first time ever. They do have five losses, and their resume still has a lot of flaws, but this win over Utah should age really well. The Sun Devils are beginning to stack wins instead of alternating wins and losses the way they did in the first few weeks of the season. A continued upward trajectory will take the Devils back to the NCAA Tournament.

Also on Thursday night: Arizona crushed Colorado after its Sunday upset loss to Stanford. Washington State fell behind by 10 points early in the game but rallied past Oregon State.

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Why did 4-star Jaden Smith commit to Arizona State?

Jaden Smith talks his Arizona State basketball commitment.

Late last week, Jaden Smith picked Arizona State in what was a major recruiting win for head coach Bobby Hurley.

A 6-foot-11 center at Kenwood Academy High School (Chicago, Illinois), Smith is a tremendous defensive presence. As a junior, he averaged 5.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.

He held a number of offers including DePaul, Fordham, Georgia Tech, Loyola (Chicago) and TCU among others. Ranked a four-star recruit according to ESPN, he was the first commitment in the 2024 class for Hurley and Arizona State.

“I chose Arizona State because it felt like home,” Smith told USA TODAY High School Sports.

“I feel that I can thrive in their system and they can help me achieve my dreams of playing in the NBA, and more importantly, winning while I’m there.”

The Hurley impact can’t be understated.

In his eight years at Arizona State, he has taken the Sun Devils to the NCAA Tournament three times. Last year, they finished 23-13.

Hurley has done a solid job in rebuilding the program and in recruiting talent like Smith.

“Coach Hurley is a legendary coach, learned a lot from him already and feel that I can learn a lot more from him,” Smith said.

“He is the blueprint for what it takes to be great and to be successful at the pro and collegiate level. I look forward to building a stronger relationship with him because he is everything I want in a coach.”

Smith admits that he plays with a chip on his shoulder, which might come as a bit of a surprise given that he is a highly-ranked recruit.

But he said that he feels like there is still a lot to prove and he brings that mentality to Arizona State.

“I feel like that’s how I got to be,” Smith said.

“Got to stay humble and hungry at all times – never too high, never too low, and just staying confident and aggressive.”

He’s just an icon living: 4-star center Jaden Smith is heading to Arizona State basketball

Jaden Smith picks Arizona State.

Jaden Smith made his college decision on Friday, and the four-star center is taking his talents to Arizona State.

A 6-foot-11 talent, Smith plays for Kenwood Academy High School (Chicago, Illinois). He has tremendous length as well as being a good rebounder. He runs the court well and is emerging in the post as a scorer.

Defensively, he is very strong and he is an intimidating presence around the basket.

He is the first commitment to the 2024 class for head coach Bobby Hurley.

He held a number of offers including DePaul, Fordham, Georgia Tech, Loyola (Chicago) and TCU among others.

Last season for Kenwood, he averaged 5.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. He is a four-star recruit according to ESPN.

In mid-October, Smith talked at length about his relationship with Arizona State and Hurley.

“(Coach) Hurley and I have a good relationship. We’ve had some good conversations, and his vision for me to continue to develop my game and in his program and his belief in me to play in the league is exactly the standard I want a coach to have for me,” Smith said.

“Because that’s what I want for myself – to help a program to win, to continue to develop my game and play in the NBA.”

Arizona State guard D.J. Horne intends to transfer, increasing roster churn in Pac-12 basketball

At Arizona, USC, and now Arizona State, a guard who was a core rotation piece in 2023 has decided to transfer. Coaches are angling for upgrades.

The roster churn in Pac-12 basketball is already in evidence. You are going to see significant remakes for teams throughout the conference, including USC. The evidence of coaches wanting to improve their backcourts is growing by the day, if not the hour.

Arizona’s Kerr Kriisa transferred out of Tucson this past week.

USC’s Reese-Dixon Waters and Malik Thomas declared their intent to transfer this past week.

Losing players in the portal could be a bad thing, but if coaches think they can get better players at the same position group in the portal — and can then land their targets — it’s a net-plus for these programs and their rosters.

It’s very clear that Arizona wanted Kriisa to leave because it needed someone better. It’s not guaranteed that Andy Enfield wanted to clear out some space at USC, but it’s more likely than not that he wanted an upgrade with Isaiah Collier coming in as the nation’s top point guard. Getting a better shooter and scorer to put next to Collier should rightly be a priority for USC, and Enfield seems to be acting with due urgency, though landing a quality portal prospect now becomes exponentially more important with RDW gone.

Now, we have another transfer portal movement in a Pac-12 backcourt. D.J. Horne of Arizona State has declared his intent to transfer. This could be seen as a negative for the Sun Devils, given that Horne hit some big shots for the team this past season. However, it could very well mean that Bobby Hurley, signed to a new contract extension this past week, is aiming for his own upgrade at the position.

The roster changes for Pac-12 basketball programs is shifting into high gear. The next several weeks are going to be fascinating … and very consequential.

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NCAA Tournament Round of 64: No. 11 Arizona State vs. No. 11 Nevada-First Look At The Sun Devils

NCAA Tournament Round of 64: No. 11 Arizona State vs. No. 11 Nevada-First Look At The Sun Devils Who are the Sun Devils? Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Nevada secures first four battle against Arizona State, with some familiar faces. It’s …

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NCAA Tournament Round of 64: No. 11 Arizona State vs. No. 11 Nevada-First Look At The Sun Devils

Who are the Sun Devils?

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Nevada secures first four battle against Arizona State, with some familiar faces.

It’s been established that the Mountain West Conference was an absolute battlefield to navigate this season. Established ahead of the ACC in both KenPom and the NET Rankings.

Steve Alford’s Nevada Wolf Pack, like many other teams in conference play this season survived with some tough losses. But while also securing top wins of their own against league leaders San Diego State, Boise State, Utah State and more.

As a bubble team in most projections heading into Selection Sunday. The Wolf Pack drew a Last Four In No. 11 vs. No. 11 matchup against a similar styled opponent. The Arizona State Sun Devils are led by former Wolf Pack members Desmond Cambridge Jr. and Warren Washington.

Who Are The Sun Devils

Coach

The Sun Devils are led by now 8th year head coach Bobby Hurley. The Duke Blue Devils legend is in his second head coaching stint after getting his feed wet at Buffalo in the MAC.

In his final season in Upstate New York, coach Hurley lead the Bulls to a regular season title, conference tournament title and a trip to the big dance. Since he’s been at the helm in Tempe, Arizona State has made back to back trips to the NCAA Tournament. In 2017-2018 & 2018-2019, while accumulating a record of 140-112 (55.6%).

Star Players

Gr. G-Desmond Cambridge Jr. (6-4, 180)

Stats: 13.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.2 APG & 1.8 SPG

Jr. G-DJ Horne (6-1, 175)

Stats: 12.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.4 APG & 1.2 SPG

Sr. F-Warren Washington (7-0, 215)

Stats: 9.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.5 APG & 1.7 BPG

How Did They Get Here

Like the aforementioned ACC, the Pac-12 experienced a bit of a decline nationally this past season. Outside of Arizona and UCLA, USC and Arizona State were not sure fire selections come Sunday.

Arizona State 22-12 (11-9, 5th in Pac-12) managed to secure a non-conference neutral site wins over a No. 20 ranked Michigan squad and a Creighton squad that ended the year 3rd in a very competitive Big East. Although the Sun Devils still struggled to fend off Pac-12 foes, they managed a road win over a top-10 Arizona Wildcats team as a part of an 8-4 record in their last twelve games.

All of this culminating to a bubble team sanction before Sunday. Even though they were a part of the field of 68, their Last Four In designation describes just how close of a call it was for coach Hurley’s squad this year.

Biggest Wins: 

Neutral Site-No. 20 Michigan 87-62

Neutral Site-Creighton 73-71

@-No. 7 Arizona 89-88

NET Ranking:  66th

KenPom:  68th

RPI:  56th

Larry Muniz covers college basketball as a writer for Mountain West Wire and WAC Hoops Digest. Also as a co-host of the college basketball podcast “Hoops Talk W/Jay & Larry”. He is also a USWBA Member.

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USC will face Arizona State in Pac-12 quarters after Devils beat Oregon State

This is good news for #USC, for one very specific reason. We’ll explain inside. #Pac12Tournament

The USC Trojans figure to have a tough test against the Arizona State Sun Devils at the Pac-12 Tournament. ASU made a late run this past Saturday to challenge USC. The Sun Devils had a chance to tie at the very end of the game but missed a 3-pointer. USC has beaten ASU twice this season; winning a third time is likely to be difficult.

However, while USC’s assignment will probably be very tricky, meaning that the Trojans could lose in the Pac-12 quarterfinals, there’s one specific reason why Arizona State becoming USC’s opponent is good news for the Men of Troy.

Arizona State’s victory over Oregon State on Wednesday means that USC won’t face Oregon State. USC would have been a huge favorite over Oregon State. The Trojans would have been extremely likely to win if the matchup had emerged.

However, playing Oregon State would have invited the possibility that the Trojans could have lost to the Beavers. A loss to OSU would have significantly harmed USC’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament, since a loss to a bad team knocks a team down by two seed lines (roughly eight spots on the bubble) instead of only one or maybe just half of a seed line.

With USC not playing Oregon State, the Trojans might fall no more than two or three spots on the seed list if they lose to Arizona State. That’s it. They aren’t going to fall six spots purely based on a possible loss to ASU.

USC would need to get atrocious luck on the bubble — meaning that every competing bubble team wins multiple games — to somehow miss the field of 68 at this point.

Realistically, the worst-case scenario right now appears to be Dayton for the First Four next Tuesday or Wednesday.

The Trojans, of course, can do something about their situation: If they beat ASU on Thursday, they’re a lock for the NCAA Tournament. Winning would be the best and easiest way to enter Selection Sunday.

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Which team should USC fans want to see in Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals?

We’ll explain what it means for #USC to face Arizona State or Oregon State. You can decide which scenario is better.

The USC Trojans will play either Arizona State or Oregon State in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday night in Las Vegas.

Fans, players, coaches, administrators might all have an opinion on which is the better outcome for USC. We will simply lay out the details of each scenario and let you decide which is better.

The Trojans lost to Oregon State one month ago and nearly lost to the Beavers in early December in the Galen Center. OSU really gave USC problems in both meetings, even though the Beavers are located near No. 200 in the national NET rankings. The odds would suggest that USC is due for a good game if it gets a third crack at the Beavers. Oregon State is, as the 11th-place team in the Pac-12, not objectively very good. USC’s chances of beating the Beavers are a lot better than they are of beating Arizona State three times out of three and twice in six days.

However, while Oregon State is the team USC is more likely to beat, the Beavers bring an element of danger to a potential matchup with the Trojans on Thursday: Precisely because they are so low in the NET rankings, a second USC loss to the Beavers would create a much bigger downward movement on the seed list. It’s the kind of loss which, if suffered, really could damage USC’s overall NCAA Tournament profile.

Easier to win, but the downside of a loss is far bigger. That’s the Oregon State angle.

Arizona State would be just the opposite. The Sun Devils would be far harder to beat than Oregon State. It’s rarely easy to beat one opponent three times in the same season when that opponent is not markedly inferior. ASU might be inferior to USC, but not nearly to the extent Oregon State is. ASU offers a much tougher matchup. No explanation needed.

However, if USC plays ASU and loses to the Sun Devils, the loss would not have a significant negative effect on the Trojans’ portfolio. Yes, USC would slide a few places down the seed list, but not that many, maybe three or four at most.

A USC loss to Oregon State would carry a loss of seven to 10 places on the seed list.

USC is — according to most bracketologists (looking at various forecasts which are populating the internet and the college basketball community) — a No. 10 seed on Monday morning. At worst, USC is one of the “last four byes,” meaning the Trojans avoid Dayton and the First Four.

If USC plays and loses against Arizona State, the Trojans’ worst-case scenario is probably the First Four.

If USC loses to Oregon State, it could potentially be worse than the First Four … but USC should beat Oregon State by 20 and advance to Friday’s Pac-12 Tournament semifinals. Another game with ASU, on the other hand, would probably go down to the wire.

There’s the choice USC fans have. You can think it over and decide for yourself.

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Arizona State loses big to UCLA, will need to beat USC to make NCAA Tournament

Arizona State got blown out on a night when it needed to be competitive. It seems clear the Sun Devils need to beat #USC.

The Arizona State Sun Devils moved onto the middle of the bubble with their win over Arizona. That win put them in position to play their way into the NCAA Tournament. It didn’t actually put them in the tournament itself. Everyone agreed there was more work to be done.

If ASU had beaten UCLA on Thursday night in Pauley Pavilion, the Sun Devils could have begun booking plane flights for the Big Dance.

Instead, they lost 79-61, a face-plant when they at least needed a good showing. Even if they lost, they needed to lose in a competitive game, but they did not come close to the Bruins, who led by double figures for nearly the last 14 minutes of play.

This loss very clearly leaves ASU behind USC on the bubble, and it means the Sun Devils need to beat USC to make the NCAA Tournament.

The value of a USC win in itself would be substantial, but here’s the other reason why ASU needs to beat the Trojans on Saturday: Pac-12 Tournament seeding and positioning.

If ASU loses to USC, it doesn’t just miss out on one of its few remaining quality-win opportunities; ASU would probably not finish in the top four of the Pac-12 standings. If Oregon beats Stanford this weekend (highly probable), ASU would fall out of the top four. This means ASU has to play a low-end seed (Cal, Stanford, Oregon State) in a first-round game. That game would carry no value beyond avoiding a catastrophic resume hit. Then ASU would have to play a quarterfinal against an opponent which probably wouldn’t carry a whole lot of value. ASU would need to get into the semifinals and put up a good fight against a top team (UCLA or Arizona) to feel somewhat comfortable about making the tournament.

It becomes so much easier for ASU if it beats the Trojans. That’s the direct path the Sun Devils want. If they lose to USC, they’re in big trouble heading to Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament.

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