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ASU MBB: Crucial Home Stand Begins With California
ASU Basketball looks to continue its upward momentum as the Sun Devils host California in the opening game of a two-game home stand.
Entering the final stretch of the season, the Arizona State men’s basketball team (11-13, 4-7) will play five of its final seven games at home, beginning with the California Golden Bears (17-6, 8-3).
Following a loss to Washington State on Jan. 29, head coach Bobby Hurley was not pleased with his team’s performance. He cited poor shot selection and a lack of transition defense as two factors that led to the loss.
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ASU responded in a big way with a near-upset of then No.13 Oregon and a victory over Oregon State. Now, the Sun Devils will look to turn this positive swing into a late-season push before the Pac-12 Tournament as they are currently ninth in the conference standings.
At the same time, Cal is riding a four-game winning streak and is looking to make its case for the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Bears are fourth in the standings behind Oregon, Arizona and UCLA.
In the teams’ previous meeting, the score was tied at 61 with 5:45 remaining before Cal pulled away late to win 81-65. Forward Ivan Rabb had 20 points and 15 rebounds in that contest.
In the past two games, guard Shannon Evans II has been the lead guard for ASU, going for 28 and 21 points in Oregon while shooting almost 61 percent from the floor. Additionally, he displayed excellent ball security, recording two turnovers last week.
The interior presence of Rabb and center Kingsley Okoroh will challenge the Sun Devils to win the game on the perimeter. ASU made 21 threes against Oregon and OSU was able to take advantage of high quality shots in both games.
Defensively, limiting offensive rebounds and second chance points will be key as well as stopping freshman Charlie Moore. The 5-foot-11 guard has taken the Pac-12 by storm this year, averaging 14.1 points and 3.8 assists.
Tip-off between the Golden Bears and the Sun Devils is at 9 p.m. MST at Wells Fargo Arena. The game can be seen on ESPNU.
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