After a poor performance against New Mexico State, ASU basketball faces one of their toughest tests of the season as they square off against No. 9 Creighton.
The Sun Devils (6-5) will need to shake off the sting of their loss to New Mexico State as they have a chance to hand No. 9 Creighton (11-0) their first loss of the season.
Creighton is one of only six unbeaten teams left in the country, and they didn’t get to that point based off of luck. They have used the strong play of junior guard Marcus Foster to facilitate their high-level offense. Foster leads the team in points-per-game with 18.2. He also controls the pace of the game when he is on the floor.
For ASU, it is going to be important that they continue to get shooters open, but they need to have better shot selection. Only using a small amount of the shot clock will play into Creighton’s favor as they thrive off of controlling the pace of the game. If ASU can use most of the shot clock on offense, and play tight defense then they may have the chance to pull off the upset.
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If ASU were to pull off the upset, this wouldn’t be the first time. In fact, it would be more unusual if they lost tonight. The Sun Devils are a perfect three-for-three in opportunities to upset a non-conference ranked opponent since 2007. The most recent of those victories came last season when ASU defeated No. 18 Texas A&M on December 5, 2015.
The key to tonight’s game is for ASU to continue their small-ball philosophy. While there have been times that it has failed, head coach Bobby Hurley has created a roster that is made for the small-ball game. With ASU having nothing to lose, they can give it their all and not worry about any backlash from a loss.
