NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 8: The NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee meets on Wednesday afternoon, March 8, 2017 in New York City. The committee is gathered in New York to begin the five-day process of selecting and seeding the field of 68 teams for the NCAA MenÕs Basketball Tournament. The final bracket will be released on Sunday evening following the completion of conference tournaments. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Bracketology: Gonzaga, Indiana and Florida among most controversial resumes
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 21: Head coach Bobby Hurley of the Arizona State Sun Devils reacts to a call during the second half of the championship game against the Utah State Aggies in the MGM Resorts Main Event basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on November 21, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Arizona State won 87-82. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
Arizona State Sun Devils
Season record:19-9 (10-6) – NET Ranking: 68
Quality wins – Kansas, Washington, and Mississippi State
Bad losses – Vanderbilt, Princeton, and Washington State
In a case of deja vu, Arizona State went from having a great non-conference resume to sliding into the wrong side of the bubble. Wins over the Jayhawks and Bulldogs are some of the strongest marks any team on the bubble can claim. Plus, they were for most of Pac-12 play the only team to defeat the Washington Huskies, currently, the only one from the league likely to get in as an at-large.
But in reality, the Sun Devils were almost meant to take a tumble down to this point. They suffered a 28-point loss on the road to Oregon, and have six losses in the Pac-12, with two more road battles left. Outside of Washington, all of those other defeats were a hit, and there weren’t any other opportunities at a quality win in the Pac-12. And with the Huskies sliding after losing to previous winless Cal, that win doesn’t look that great at the moment.
But the biggest anchor to Arizona State’s resume was the loss at Vanderbilt, who has still not won a game in SEC play. They’ve been decimated without Darius Garland and now are a shell of themselves.
At this point, there isn’t much left that Arizona State can do outside of winning the Pac-12 Tournament. An early loss will likely doom them and there is no telling when they’ll face Washington, whether it be the semis or finals. The Sun Devils have just three Quad-1 wins and a pair of Quad-4 losses with games left against those right in-between. Splitting their last two while making it to the semis should be enough.
