Arizona State University Preview 2

Arizona State is 9-15 on the year and 1-11 in conference with their lone win coming over Oregon on the road. The most recently lost to UA by 15 in a 67-52 game. They have lost 10 straight conference games.

ASU only has 2 players who have competed in all 24 games this year, a little strange considering a team needs 5 players on the court to start the game (yes this is not always true, but for college it essentially is). Those 2 players are Rihards Kuksiks and Kyle Cain.

ASU is led in scoring by Trent Lockett with 13.9 points per game, followed closely by Ty Abbott with 12.9 points per game. Kuksiks is the only other major point contributor with 9.6 per game. ASU is a low scoring team, averaging 64 per game.

ASU does not rebound extremely well either, averaging only 32 per game. Kyle Cain is picking up 5.6 per game and Lockett adds 5.2 boards per match up. To say the least, this is a big opportunity for our bigs to put up some big rebounding numbers as ASU lacks a strong post player with rebounding talents.

Both Abbott and Kuksiks are strong outside shooters. Both are shooting around 40% from range. Jamelle McMillian is shooting well form outside as well. Those 3 make up the main vein of ASU's outside shooting force.

Thankfully, ASU is a terrible free throw shooting team as well, with only two players above 75% on the year. Kuksiks leads the team with 81.8% and Carrick Felix is 76.3% on the season.

ASU does not have any stand out players except for Rihards Kuksiks and he is only mildly impressive. Much like Jorge Guitierrez of Cal, Kuksiks is good because he has to be. At least that is how I see it. He shoot well from outside, but doesn't do much more. Abbott has stepped up his game, but is scoring less than earlier in the season, while Lockett has elevated his play.

McMillian is a fairly good point guard, averaging 4.0 assists and 1.4 turnovers per game. He only scores 7.2 points per game. A 1 point improvement from earlier this season.

 Starting Line Ups


Arizona State


Jamelle McMillian 6-2 180lb G
Ty Abbott 6-3 205lb G
Trent Lockett 6-3 210lb G
Rihards Kuksiks 6-6 206lb G/F
Ruslan Pateev 7-0 249lb C

Washington

Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
Scott Suggs 6-6 195lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C

Keys to the Game

Rebounding


As usual, rebounding will be key. Unlike the Arizona game, ASU does not have a dominate rebounding force, nor are they a highly competitive team for UW. Regardless, more rebounds = more chances for us and less for ASU. Personally, I would love to see a 16 or 17 board advantage by games end including 10+ for both MBA and Aziz. I think it is very plausible for both. He and MBA combined for 12 boards last game against a strong rebounding Stanford Team. They can do better. MBA put up 30 points and 9 rebounds last time out and I expect to see similar results, but perhaps a few more rebounds. Pateev, despite being 7 feet tall, only picks up 2.0 boards per game.

Outside Defense

This is one of the few places ASU has hurt us. As I stated earlier, Kuksiks was on fire from range last time the teams met and along with Abbott there could be a closer game if they are hitting. Strong outside, man to man defense will be key in preventing this. Defense is the name of the game form here on out.

Push the Middle

This has been working extremely well for the Huskies as I.T. has really stepped up his passing game, creating hell for the opposition. With UW having a big size advantage inside there is a big opportunity for MBA and/or Aziz to put up major numbers. Once our bigs get going or I.T. is slashing the court up, ASU will be forced to double up on the defenders or resort to a zone, giving out shooters space to put up their shots.


Outside Shooting

Once the middle is strong we need to take advantage by abusing ASU from range. Holiday has been shooting well and I.T. as well. Hopefully C.J. Wilcox can continue to break out of his slump and move his way back up the rotation. Let it rain, Dawgs.

Free Throw Shooting

Same story different game. Road games mean less free throws and our bigs struggle. Our posts have got to start working with I.T. and others to get their percentages up. 65% or higher please.

Ball Handling

Less turnovers mean less points and opportunities for ASU. When we handle well we win with ease. It isn't too hard, we just need to execute.


Final Thoughts

ASU kept it close at Hec-Ed with the Dawgs only having a 2 point lead with 4 minutes to go before blowing the doors open. On the road will be no easier. The ASU game was the start of our defensive problems. We were too complacent and allowed ASU to shoot lights out. We have to extend our pressure and force them to look inside where our size advantage can really play out. We need to establish our shot on the road as well. Get hot quick and keep the fire burning. Defense, rebounding, scoring. In that order. We cannot drop this game. At all. We must win out if we want the title, simple as that. ASU played both USC and UCLA close at home, losing to USC by 2 and UCLA by 1 in overtime. On the other hand, ASU is averaging only 63 points in conference. If UW can score well, ASU won't be able to keep up. It all starts defensively. Get steals, get turnovers, get in transition.

Final Score UW-83 ASU-70