2024-01-17 00:06:47
When it comes to the Los Angeles schools, the Arizona State men’s basketball team has not matched up well as of late. The Sun Devils have lost all six regular season games once morest USC and dropped five of six once morest UCLA over the past three years. The matchups with the Trojans have been particularly difficult because Andy Enfield’s team has boasted a lot of size and been dominant in the paint.
Those teams come calling this week but they haven’t looked as invincible as in years past, which is good for an ASU squad that currently sits second in the Pac-12 but still has work to do to enhance its postseason resume.
ASU (10-6, 4-1) will host UCLA (7-10, 2-4) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, with that game to air on the Pac-12 Network. USC (8-9, 2-4) then makes a stop at Desert Financial Arena for a noon game Saturday that will be televised on Fox.
ASU has yet to lose on its home floor this season (7-0) but is just 2-2 on the road and 1-4 on neutral courts.
“It’s a big week for us, particularly for where we are in the standings and what it means to try and win home games,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said. “Two really good programs, two programs that have had a ton of success, going to the NCAA tournament and advancing in the NCAA tournament.
“UCLA, such a storied program and it’s the last time that they’ll be here in a Pac-12 game. So we’re just hoping people are paying attention to how we’ve been playing the last few weeks and where we stand right now and how important it is to show out tomorrow.”
Sun Devils’ last look at UCLA in the Pac-12
With the teams changing conferences it will also mark the last trip in for the Los Angeles schools. Hurley appreciates the tradition those schools bring, particularly UCLA. So he is a bit nostalgic when approaching the showdowns.
“A lot of our kids grew up watching UCLA basketball and this is the last time UCLA will play a Pac-12 game here in Tempe and if you’re not excited to play a program like that then you’re probably in the wrong business,” he said. “You sense that your team understands that opportunity and will try and take advantage of that.
“I’m very appreciative of the history of the game and I’m an East Coast guy, but I’ve been out here nine years. So I’ve developed an appreciation for West Coast basketball and what that means. UCLA is one of the most storied programs in college basketball, so this being the last time we want to go out there and empty the tank once morest an opponent of that caliber.”
ASU’s Jamiya Neal agrees.
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“They’re like the staple of the Pac-12,” he said. “When you think regarding the Pac-12, you think of UCLA so just playing them is going to be exciting, going to be fun.”
UCLA is in rebuilding mode following the departure of players such as Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez, David Singleton and Jaylen Clark, who were the foundation of a stellar program in previous years. They have struggled offensively, currently ranking 334th out of 351 Division I teams in scoring (64.7 ppg). Five days ago the Bruins managed only 44 points in a 90-44 loss to Utah, the second-biggest defeat in program history and just two points shy of the 48-point “Maples Massacre” loss to Stanford in 1997.
That also marked the eighth loss in nine outings. The Bruins got back in the win column on Sunday once morest Washington 73-61, but is likely a team dealing with uncharacteristic struggles.
Bobby Hurley not looking past Bruins
Despite UCLA’s struggles on one end, Hurley is bracing for a tough game with UCLA, always a tenacious team when it comes to defense, particularly under current coach Mick Cronin.
“We’re playing a team that’s got a lot of pride and the coach is an excellent coach. Really demands top performance. They’re one of the hardest playing teams that I’ve seen on film,” he said. “They found something on offense vs. Washington and they performed better. But it will be one of the best defensive teams that we’ll face and that’s a reflection of coach Mick Cronin and the job he does there and the guys play hard for him.”
Meanwhile, USC has also struggled, with losses in four of its last six outings and it has injury concerns complicating matters. Freshman standout Isaiah Collier (15.4 ppg), the team’s second-leading scorer, injured his hand last week and is expected to miss between four and six weeks. Bronny James, son of Lebron James, has been the first guard off the bench and will inherit more playing time in Collier’s absence. Leading scorer Boogie Ellis (18.7 ppg) is trying to play through a hamstring injury.
While these games might seem more winnable this season, that also works once morest ASU in one respect. Right now they likely are on the outside looking in when it comes to an NCAA tournament berth so the Sun Devils are going to need wins over teams with loftier NET rankings to gain ground. Victories over this week’s foes won’t help much in that regard, but losses to them would be costly.
The biggest chances for wins that would move the needle will come once morest Oregon, Utah, Colorado and two games once morest Arizona.
Hurley says it might be a little too early to be looking at comparative metrics, but the focus is Pac-12 play.
“For us we have to have a different mindset,” Hurley said. “We got to run our race in the Pac-12 and see how far we can take that. We can’t change the past and what we did in the nonconference. Some of the wins in the NET rankings have been favorable for us, with SMU and San Francisco, but we got a lot of work to do.”
Not much has changed in regard to ASU’s injuries. ASU has been without Zane Meeks and Brycen Long and Hurley said neither is likely to play this week, either. Long has missed the last five games with an undisclosed medical issue; Meeks has missed 11 games with a foot injury and is out “indefinitely.”
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