Arizona State Basketball: 3 keys for the Sun Devils to beat Syracuse
3. Keep Syracuse off the offensive glass
Lastly, it is essential to keep Syracuse off the offensive glass. This is easier said than done as the Orange have a significant size advantage and Arizona State is already a bad rebounding squad. The Sun Devils allow opponents to rebound 30.7% of their own misses which ranks 267th in the country (per KenPom).
Conversely, Syracuse rebounds a whopping 35.1% of their own misses, which ranks 12th in the nation. The numbers speak for themselves. This will be Arizona State’s biggest challenge when playing this enormous Syracuse team, but it is essential if they want to advance.
Playing bigger lineups seems like an easy solution at first, but this mitigates Arizona State’s main strengths. Their offensive firepower and ability to space the floor are derived from their small lineup which utilizes three or four guards.
This is a crucial strategic decision, but I would go with the four-guard lineup to speed the game up and to put more emphasis on forcing turnovers. Arizona State’s defense is not good, but they do rank 60th in the country in terms of forcing turnovers. Speeding up Syracuse could lead to more turnovers than normal because the Orange lack capable ball handlers and offensive creators.
The Sun Devils will have to decide between focusing on their strengths and limiting Syracuse’s. These are difficult trade-offs, but to win Arizona State needs to unleash their guard oriented and fast-paced style.
Maybe the Sun Devils can regain their early season form and make a deep run while blowing quality teams out of the water. This is doubtful, but at least Arizona State fans have seen this ceiling even though it seems like a figment of our imagination at this point of the season.
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Arizona State still has the upside to win multiple games, but they will need to be strategic and improve defensively. In terms of this matchup, they need to play at their pace, force the Orange to shoot threes and limit offensive rebounds.