Scouting report: No. 7 Arizona Wildcats vs. Arizona State Sun Devils
- Updated
Prepare for Arizona's game against ASU on Saturday with Bruce Pascoe's in-depth scouting report.
- Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Matchup: No. 7 Arizona (26-4, 15-2 Pac-12) at Arizona State (14-16, 7-10)
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe
Time: 2 p.m.
TV: CBS
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
- Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
With the Pac-12’s second-fastest tempo behind only UCLA, the Sun Devils have barged their way into the middle of the conference race after being picked to finish 11th. ASU averages 76.9 points in Pac-12 games and is reasonably efficient while doing so, scoring 108.0 points per 100 possessions. The Sun Devils have found the most success going with a small-ball lineup featuring Obinna Oleka in the post and four perimeter players. They make the second-most 3-pointers in the conference (10.1) behind only Oregon (10.5), which will challenge Arizona’s conference-best 3-point percentage defense (31.3 in Pac-12 games). They are equally successful finding 3s in transition and on set plays, with junior Tra Holder and other ASU guards skilled at driving inside the paint and kicking the ball back outside to set up open shots.
- Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
“They’re dangerous. They’re in a rhythm, having won 4 of 7. Five of their starters are in double figures and they shoot the lights out from 3. Holder can really drive it. Graham is a natural scorer and Justice attacks any frontcourt player who tries to guard him. He shoots the most from 3 of their guys but he purposely attacks bigger defenders off the dribble. They’re more dangerous with Oleka at five.” — UA assistant coach Mark Phelps, who scouted the Sun Devils.
- Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
For all the points the Sun Devils score, their opponents in Pac-12 games score five more points on average per game. ASU has the worst 3-point field goal percentage defense (49.8 percent) in conference games and is just 10th in the league in defensive efficiency as a result. They play a mix of man-to-man and zone defense, and are aggressive on the perimeter. All five of their starters average at least one steal per game.
- Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
“They play hard and they have really, really good overall team quickness. … They play 2-3 zone, mixing it in with man-to-man, but are still mostly man. Kodi Justice has really good savvy and awareness around the ball.” — UA assistant coach Mark Phelps, who scouted the Sun Devils.
- Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Not only can Arizona clinch a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title by beating Arizona State on Saturday, but it might also give the Wildcats a chance to … face the Sun Devils again next Thursday.
If UA wins and Oregon beats Oregon State on Saturday, the Wildcats will finish in a tie with the Ducks but receive the Pac-12 Tournament’s No. 2 seed next week because Oregon beat them on Feb. 4 in Eugene. The Oregon-OSU game will tip off immediately after the UA-ASU game.
The No. 2 seed will face the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 10 game on Thursday in Las Vegas — and ASU sits in a tie for seventh place with Colorado entering Saturday’s games but has the tiebreaker edge because it beat the Buffaloes in their lone matchup.
Stanford and WSU are tied for ninth place but Stanford has the tiebreaker edge because it beat the Cougars in their only matchup. That tie could hold up because both teams are expected to lose Saturday: WSU at UCLA, and Stanford at Utah.
- Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Arizona coach Sean Miller was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith national coach of the year award today.
The other finalists were Baylor's Scott Drew, Northwestern's Chris Collins, Gonzaga's Mark Few, West Virginia's Bob Huggins, SMU's Tim Jankovich, Louisville's Rick Pitino, Kansas' Bill Self, Florida's Mike White and Villanova's Jay Wright.
That list will be trimmed to finalists on March 16.
First, though, Miller will get to see if he wins the Pac-12 Coach of the Year award on Monday, with UCLA’s Steve Alford and Oregon’s Dana Altman likely also in the running. During the Pac-12 Networks telecast of the Colorado-Stanford game on Wednesday, announcers Bill Walton and Dave Pasch both said they'd pick Altman but, while media vote on Pac-12 Player of the Week awards, the conference’s coaches vote on the Pac-12 year-long awards.
- Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
UCLA forward T.J. Leaf will sit out the Bruins’ game with Washington State on Saturday because of an ankle sprain he suffered Thursday against Washington.
But his father, Brad, told the Los Angeles Times that he hopes to return for the Pac-12 Tournament, where the Bruins could face the Wildcats in the semifinals.
“He had a few bad sprains in high school,” Brad Leaf told the Times, having coached his son at Foothills Christian High in the San Diego Area, “so he knows what he is dealing with.”
Leaf is a former UA commit who had 12 points and seven rebounds against the Wildcats last Saturday.
- Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
While Arizona says it’s been having trouble luring high-major opponents into McKale Center these days, with New Mexico its highest-profile home nonconference opponent this season, ASU did just that this week.
The Sun Devils contracted a game at Kansas on Dec. 10 next season, and managed to get the Jayhawks to return the favor at Wells Fargo Arena in 2018-19.
"We have made it a priority to try and schedule the best programs in the nation,” ASU athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement this week. “Having Kansas come to Tempe in December of 2018 will be an incredible experience for our fans.”
UA has an opening for the weekend of Dec. 9-10 next season, but UA basketball operations director Ryan Reynolds said both Arizona and Kansas needed a home game that weekend for financial reasons.
Reynolds says UA intends to fill the open date with either a one-time home game or to start a home-and-home series with a team willing to visit McKale first.
- Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
With Miller’s son, Cameron, reaching the state 4A finals last week with Salpointe, Miller was asked if the two talk a lot of basketball together these days.
You know, basketball coach dad and basketball player son talking some Xs and Os?
Well… maybe not so much.
“He’s that teenager who goes to his room and watches TV,” Miller said, smiling. “I see our players more than him. Even when he’s in our house, he’s not really in our house. He tries to leave as often as possible. Just saying hello to him is difficult.”
With the Pac-12’s second-fastest tempo behind only UCLA, the Sun Devils have barged their way into the middle of the conference race after being picked to finish 11th. ASU averages 76.9 points in Pac-12 games and is reasonably efficient while doing so, scoring 108.0 points per 100 possessions. The Sun Devils have found the most success going with a small-ball lineup featuring Obinna Oleka in the post and four perimeter players. They make the second-most 3-pointers in the conference (10.1) behind only Oregon (10.5), which will challenge Arizona’s conference-best 3-point percentage defense (31.3 in Pac-12 games). They are equally successful finding 3s in transition and on set plays, with junior Tra Holder and other ASU guards skilled at driving inside the paint and kicking the ball back outside to set up open shots.
“They’re dangerous. They’re in a rhythm, having won 4 of 7. Five of their starters are in double figures and they shoot the lights out from 3. Holder can really drive it. Graham is a natural scorer and Justice attacks any frontcourt player who tries to guard him. He shoots the most from 3 of their guys but he purposely attacks bigger defenders off the dribble. They’re more dangerous with Oleka at five.” — UA assistant coach Mark Phelps, who scouted the Sun Devils.
For all the points the Sun Devils score, their opponents in Pac-12 games score five more points on average per game. ASU has the worst 3-point field goal percentage defense (49.8 percent) in conference games and is just 10th in the league in defensive efficiency as a result. They play a mix of man-to-man and zone defense, and are aggressive on the perimeter. All five of their starters average at least one steal per game.
“They play hard and they have really, really good overall team quickness. … They play 2-3 zone, mixing it in with man-to-man, but are still mostly man. Kodi Justice has really good savvy and awareness around the ball.” — UA assistant coach Mark Phelps, who scouted the Sun Devils.
Not only can Arizona clinch a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title by beating Arizona State on Saturday, but it might also give the Wildcats a chance to … face the Sun Devils again next Thursday.
If UA wins and Oregon beats Oregon State on Saturday, the Wildcats will finish in a tie with the Ducks but receive the Pac-12 Tournament’s No. 2 seed next week because Oregon beat them on Feb. 4 in Eugene. The Oregon-OSU game will tip off immediately after the UA-ASU game.
The No. 2 seed will face the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 10 game on Thursday in Las Vegas — and ASU sits in a tie for seventh place with Colorado entering Saturday’s games but has the tiebreaker edge because it beat the Buffaloes in their lone matchup.
Stanford and WSU are tied for ninth place but Stanford has the tiebreaker edge because it beat the Cougars in their only matchup. That tie could hold up because both teams are expected to lose Saturday: WSU at UCLA, and Stanford at Utah.
Arizona coach Sean Miller was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith national coach of the year award today.
The other finalists were Baylor's Scott Drew, Northwestern's Chris Collins, Gonzaga's Mark Few, West Virginia's Bob Huggins, SMU's Tim Jankovich, Louisville's Rick Pitino, Kansas' Bill Self, Florida's Mike White and Villanova's Jay Wright.
That list will be trimmed to finalists on March 16.
First, though, Miller will get to see if he wins the Pac-12 Coach of the Year award on Monday, with UCLA’s Steve Alford and Oregon’s Dana Altman likely also in the running. During the Pac-12 Networks telecast of the Colorado-Stanford game on Wednesday, announcers Bill Walton and Dave Pasch both said they'd pick Altman but, while media vote on Pac-12 Player of the Week awards, the conference’s coaches vote on the Pac-12 year-long awards.
UCLA forward T.J. Leaf will sit out the Bruins’ game with Washington State on Saturday because of an ankle sprain he suffered Thursday against Washington.
But his father, Brad, told the Los Angeles Times that he hopes to return for the Pac-12 Tournament, where the Bruins could face the Wildcats in the semifinals.
“He had a few bad sprains in high school,” Brad Leaf told the Times, having coached his son at Foothills Christian High in the San Diego Area, “so he knows what he is dealing with.”
Leaf is a former UA commit who had 12 points and seven rebounds against the Wildcats last Saturday.
While Arizona says it’s been having trouble luring high-major opponents into McKale Center these days, with New Mexico its highest-profile home nonconference opponent this season, ASU did just that this week.
The Sun Devils contracted a game at Kansas on Dec. 10 next season, and managed to get the Jayhawks to return the favor at Wells Fargo Arena in 2018-19.
"We have made it a priority to try and schedule the best programs in the nation,” ASU athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement this week. “Having Kansas come to Tempe in December of 2018 will be an incredible experience for our fans.”
UA has an opening for the weekend of Dec. 9-10 next season, but UA basketball operations director Ryan Reynolds said both Arizona and Kansas needed a home game that weekend for financial reasons.
Reynolds says UA intends to fill the open date with either a one-time home game or to start a home-and-home series with a team willing to visit McKale first.
With Miller’s son, Cameron, reaching the state 4A finals last week with Salpointe, Miller was asked if the two talk a lot of basketball together these days.
You know, basketball coach dad and basketball player son talking some Xs and Os?
Well… maybe not so much.
“He’s that teenager who goes to his room and watches TV,” Miller said, smiling. “I see our players more than him. Even when he’s in our house, he’s not really in our house. He tries to leave as often as possible. Just saying hello to him is difficult.”
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