№ 17 Arizona Gives № 3 Arizona State Their First Loss of the Season
This game is exactly what casual and hardened basketball fans needed
Happy New Years to my fellow Arizona Wildcats fans.
The historic in-state rivalry continued on December 30, where Bobby Hurley’s Arizona State Sun Devils took on Sean Miller and the Arizona Wildcats in what was one of the most exciting and stressful (at least for me) games of the college basketball season.
The game ended with the Wildcats handing the Sun Devils their first loss of the season with a final score of 84–78, but before we discuss the game itself, lets talk about what led to such a highly anticipated matchup between these teams.
The Arizona Wildcats come into this game after suffering a 3-game losing skid in November during the Battle for Atlantis tournament held in the Bahamas. After an embarrassing outing and a flurry of problems for the program on and off the court, the Wildcats had to work their way back into the AP top 25 with wins against non-conference teams such as Texas A&M and Alabama. Additionally, sophomore guard Rawle Alkins returned to the lineup after suffering a foot injury during the offseason. Alkins presence on the team was a breath of fresh air for the Wildcats and the fans as he is the heart and soul of the team defensively. The Wildcats could finally be the defensive juggernaut that they have been known for ever since Sean Miller took over in 2009.
With Alkins’ return to the lineup, Sean Miller was able to provide extra depth into a rotation that so desperately needed balance. Arizona’s versaility to close out games could be seen with much better clarity now, especially with top-tier players such as DeAndre Ayton and Allonzo Trier in the mix, but how would they fare against their rivals in Tempe?
Arizona State is one the most entertaining teams in the nation this year for a wide variety of reasons. Bobby Hurley came into Tucson undefeated and with hard-fought wins against Xavier and Kansas. What’s even more impressive about his resume of wins this season is that his win against Kansas was at Lawrence; its literally unheard of for a team to take down the Jayhawks on their home court. Even Phoenix Suns rookie and former Kansas star Josh Jackson was in a state of complete shock when asked about the loss during shootaround. ASU’s performance and their 12–0 record gave them a № 3 ranking in the AP top-25.
Hurley has one of the best guard rotations in the country, consisting of Tra Holder, Remy Martin, Shannon Evans, and Kimani Lawrence. A major weakness in their lineup comes in their front court of Mickey Mitchell and Romello White. Regardless, this team is fast-paced and it’s evident with them being top-5 in the country for scoring at 90.7 points per game.
One word would describe the game for me: intense. It was an absolute roller coaster ride from start to finish and fans who came to watch the sold out game at McKale Center definitely got their money’s worth watching it. With Villanova and TCU losing on the same day, ASU remained the final unbeaten team, and Arizona seemed to want to spoil that.
The game was a slugfest throughout, with Arizona forcing ASU to take low percentage shots and having them end the night 8–25 (32%) from beyond the arc and shot a season low 37.9 field goal percentage. Arizona stayed conservative on defense and it paid dividends for them to immobilize ASU’s offense. Eventually, ASU forced 16 turnovers and was able to cap off the end of the second half on a 13–2 run. Overall, Arizona was able to close out the game and come out as the victor after some clutch posessions by Trier.
Fans across the country saw DeAndre Ayton absolutely dominate this game. Ayton was all over the place against ASU’s small front court, ending with an out of this world stat-line of 23 points and 19 rebounds, with his performance giving him Pac-12 player of the week honors. It is worth noting that Ayton has Dwight Howard-esque superhuman upper body strength and will most likely be a top-3 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft come June. Oh yeah, and Ayton also averages the fourth most rebounds per game at 11.9. Allonzo Trier also showed up after a colorless first half, ending with 23 points.
Tra Holder was also impressive, ending the game with 31 points with 15 coming from the free throw line. Forward Romello White, who averages 13.8 points per game, was only held to 2 points and 8 rebounds. Shannon Evans showed versatility with 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, but committed a technical foul and was 0–6 at the three-point line.
This was ASU’s eighth loss in a row at Tucson, but this game could’ve ultimately gone either way. The Sun Devils have experience winning away at hostile environments and they’re resilient even when the point differential isn’t going their away. I tip my hat off to Bobby Hurley. His team is pesky and they’re exciting to watch. No one expected this much of an improvement so quickly but that just shows the unpredictability of sports.
Looking into the future, both of these teams will most definitely be making appearances in the tournament come March. Arizona State deserves a top-3 seed and Bobby Hurley will most definitely be getting a good number of votes for coach of the year and rightfully so. The way that he has changed this program around in a matter of two years is remarkable to watch. Sun Devil fans better hope that Louisville isn’t calling Hurley to see if he’s interested in taking a head coaching gig with them. I also love how visibly clear Bobby Hurley loves the sport of basketball. Don’t ever change, coach.
Arizona was projected to be one of the best teams in the country but after a disappointing start, teams now know they’re vulnerable. Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter how you start the season, but how you adjust and end it. Just like Arizona State, the Wildcats can go up against anyone and have everything you want in a final four contender. The major indicators of how good they can really be in March Madness is how they will contend against teams such as USC and Oregon during Pac-12 play.
But let’s not forget that they still have to play Arizona State at Tempe in February. Wells Fargo Arena is about to be wild and I cannot wait for what should be another classic.
