Arizona State Men’s Basketball 2019 NCAA Tournament Capsule

March 8, 2019 · CSM Staff
 

Arizona State Sun Devils

Pac-12 (22-10, 12-6)

 
Arizona State was clearly the second best team in the Pac-12 this year. With the conference having a very down year, the Sun Devils still spent most of the year on the bubble. There were some nice wins in there, most notably against Kansas, but Coach Bobby Hurley’s team has not been consistent this season. If they get hot at the right time, ASU could do some damage. If not, they could go home early.
 
Big Wins: 11/19 vs Mississippi State (72-67), 12/22 Kansas (80-76), 2/9 Washington (75-63)
Bad Losses: 12/17 at Vanderbilt (65-81), 12/29 Princeton (66-67), 2/7 Washington State (70-91)
Coach: Bobby Hurley
 
Why They Can Surprise:
The Sun Devils can score lots of points in large part due to the trio of Luguentz Dort, Remy Martin and Zylan Cheatham. Dort is the team’s top scorer, averaging 16.1 points per game. Dort and Martin, along with backcourt mate Rob Edwards, are a threat to shoot from long range, but they also attack the basket very effectively. Only a handful of teams in the country get to the free-throw line more than Arizona State and that has kept this offense going even when the guards are struggling to knock down shots. Cheatham, a 6-8 forward, spends quite a bit of time at the line too, although he is not much of a shooter once he gets there. On top of his 11.8 points, Cheatham leads the strong rebounding effort with 10.4 per contest.
 
Why They Can Disappoint:
Arizona State can implode on occasion. They can easily slow down their offense by missing shots, from beyond the arc or the charity stripe. They rank tenth in the Pac-12 in free-throw percentage and ninth in three-point field-goal percentage. It is nice that this group can get to the line so often, but many times it does not pay off. And that is when they even can get a shot off. Arizona State will also turn the ball over way too often. That has to change in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Probable Starters:
Remy Martin, Sophomore, Guard, 13.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.1 apg
Rob Edwards, Junior, Guard, 11.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg
Luguentz Dort, Freshman, Guard, 16.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg
Zylan Cheatham, Senior, Forward, 11.8 ppg, 10.4 rpg
De’Quon Lake, Senior, Forward, 4.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg
 
Key Role Players:
Kimani Lawrence, Sophomore, Forward, 8.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Romello White, Sophomore, Forward, 8.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg
Taeshon Cherry, Freshman, Forward, 4.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg
 
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 77.7 (58th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 72.9 (222, 7)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.7 (162, 10)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.1 (48, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.3 (224, 8)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.7 (219, 9)
Free-Throw Percentage: 66.8 (306, 10)
Rebound Margin: 4.8 (102, 4)
Assists Per Game: 13.7 (155, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.7 (249, 10)
 
Recent Postseason Appearances:
 
2018 NCAA Opening Round loss to Syracuse
2015 NIT First Round win over Connecticut
2015 NIT Second Round loss to Richmond
2014 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Texas
2013 NIT First Round win over Detroit
2013 NIT Second Round loss to Baylor
2010 NIT First Round loss to Jacksonville
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Temple
2009 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Syracuse
2008 NIT First Round win over Alabama State
2008 NIT Second Round win over Southern Illinois
2008 NIT Quarterfinal loss to Florida
2005 NIT First Round loss to UNLV
2003 NCAA Round of 64 win over Memphis
2003 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Kansas  
2002 NIT First Round loss to UNLV
 
*all team stats through 3/10