The whipping by the Wildcats reminded us--as Baylor first showed--that the Stanford men do not belong on the same court with this year's basketball elite. On the other hand, the wins versus USC, @ WSU and in Hawaii showed that the team has potential to be better, at least somewhat better, than any of Coach Haase's other Stanford teams. So is this the beginning of the annual swoon or can this group of Cardinal pick their chins up off the floor, regroup and battle for a postseason berth (yes, I'm talking NIT)?
We'll find out on Saturday as Stanford, #95 NET, takes on #158 Arizona State (6-9 overall, 2-3 conference). ASU, still coached by Bobby Hurley, has been an uncharacteristic mess this year and is playing three consecutive games on the road at Stanford, USC and Arizona, then face the LA schools in Phoenix. I imagine Sun Devil fans who watched last night's LSJU-UA game are happy to get Stanford now, as Saturday's game will be their best chance for a victory until the second week in February.
I don't follow ASU basketball much at all, but I imagine the big story is still the transfer of superstar Remy Martin to Kansas last spring. The Sun Devils are dead last in the conference in scoring offense, FG %, 3-pt FG %, 3-pt FG % defense, and second to last in scoring margin, defensive rebounds, and rebounding margin. What do the Sun Devils do well? Not much, but they are sixth in the conference in FG % defense, fourth in blocked shots, fourth in steals, sixth in TO margin and assist/TO ratio. ASU is in the bottom half of every other team stat category. On the bright side, they are coming off a 2-pt win over Utah, who is currently last in the conference.
ASU's leading scorer is sophomore guard DJ Horne (13.3 ppg), a transfer from Illinois State, where he was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team last year. Bobby Hurley is in his seventh year as ASU coach with an overall record of 110-92. The Sun Devils struggled Hurley's first two years, then made the NCAA Tournament in his third (1st round loss) and fourth (2nd round loss) seasons. The Sun Devils were 20-11 (11-7) in 2020 so they might have made a third straight NCAA tourney if not for Covid. But the Sun Devils had a surprisingly poor season last year (11-14) and will be amongst the worst in the conference this year, so maybe there's some heat on Hurley?
If Stanford's team has shown anything, it's resiliency. That will be put to the test on Saturday.
We'll find out on Saturday as Stanford, #95 NET, takes on #158 Arizona State (6-9 overall, 2-3 conference). ASU, still coached by Bobby Hurley, has been an uncharacteristic mess this year and is playing three consecutive games on the road at Stanford, USC and Arizona, then face the LA schools in Phoenix. I imagine Sun Devil fans who watched last night's LSJU-UA game are happy to get Stanford now, as Saturday's game will be their best chance for a victory until the second week in February.
I don't follow ASU basketball much at all, but I imagine the big story is still the transfer of superstar Remy Martin to Kansas last spring. The Sun Devils are dead last in the conference in scoring offense, FG %, 3-pt FG %, 3-pt FG % defense, and second to last in scoring margin, defensive rebounds, and rebounding margin. What do the Sun Devils do well? Not much, but they are sixth in the conference in FG % defense, fourth in blocked shots, fourth in steals, sixth in TO margin and assist/TO ratio. ASU is in the bottom half of every other team stat category. On the bright side, they are coming off a 2-pt win over Utah, who is currently last in the conference.
ASU's leading scorer is sophomore guard DJ Horne (13.3 ppg), a transfer from Illinois State, where he was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team last year. Bobby Hurley is in his seventh year as ASU coach with an overall record of 110-92. The Sun Devils struggled Hurley's first two years, then made the NCAA Tournament in his third (1st round loss) and fourth (2nd round loss) seasons. The Sun Devils were 20-11 (11-7) in 2020 so they might have made a third straight NCAA tourney if not for Covid. But the Sun Devils had a surprisingly poor season last year (11-14) and will be amongst the worst in the conference this year, so maybe there's some heat on Hurley?
If Stanford's team has shown anything, it's resiliency. That will be put to the test on Saturday.
If there's one thing people have learned in Berkeley, it's that you can't put "Cal football" and "Rose Bowl" in the same sentence. The words just don't fit. You'd be better off linking "covered wagons" with "Mars travel." (Bruce Jenkins, Cal '70, SF Chronicle, Nov. 11, 2017)
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