Arizona State Basketball: Keys for Sun Devils to beat St. John’s in NCAA Tournament

Arizona State Basketball takes on St. John’s for a chance to remain in the NCAA Tournament. What are the keys for the Sun Devils to win?

Every Arizona State Basketball player, coach and fan was sweating bullets on Selection Sunday after Oregon stole a bid late Saturday night, blowing out Washington in the Conference Tournament Championship. The Sun Devils received the 45th seed in the bracket but just barely got in, playing in a First Four matchup against St. John’s. What does the Bobby Hurley coached team need to do to secure their first round matchup against the Buffalo Bulls? Let’s briefly recap each team and then go over three keys to success for Arizona State.

St. John’s has lost five of their last seven and all of those losses were by double digits except a nine-point road loss to DePaul when Max Strus had the game of his career, going for 43 points. Many people are beginning to question whether Chris Mullin is fit for the job. The last two years they have not been “bad” but they have certainly underachieved. Yes, they lost Marcus Lovett but in my opinion, they had the best Big East backcourt tandem in Shamorie Ponds and Mustapha Heron but somehow still finished under .500 in conference play with worse records than teams like Georgetown, Creighton and Xavier, all teams that failed to make the tournament.

Despite their late season struggles, The Johnnies are an 11 seed that no one would want to face. Why? Elite guard play is something almost necessary to success in the NCAA Tournament. Shamorie Ponds can score whenever he wants and having a player with that ability is huge. Look for him to be doing the most damage to the Sun Devils defense.

Arizona State is not coming into the tournament visibly hot or cold but is being overlooked in my opinion. Everyone knows the Pac-12 had a down year and thought the conference should be a one or maybe two big league but Arizona State was the third team to get in. The Sun Devils have the most losses to non-tournament teams and that is the reason there was a big possibility of them being sent to the NIT. I think Arizona State matches up well against the Johnnies and will win this game by following these three keys; Rebounding, Three-Point Shooting and key 1-on-1 matchups.

Key 1: Rebounding

Arizona State can help their chances of winning by dominating the glass. In every single loss that St. John’s has had this season, their opponents out rebounded them. This clearly has been an issue for the Johnnies all season, ranking 272nd in the nation in Total Rebounds. This has been a strong suit for the Sun Devils as they rank 21st in the nation in Total Rebounds. Their rebounding success starts with the former San Diego State Aztec Zylan Cheatham who is averaging 10 rebounds along with 11 points. St. John’s tallest starter is 6’7 so it makes sense why they struggle in that category so much. Look for this to be a key in their matchup.

Key 2: Limiting Turnovers

Limiting turnovers is another facet of the game that will be play a major role in the Sun Devils winning. They need to be especially careful with the ball because the Johnnies will be doing the same. St. John’s is a Top 20 team in terms of the least amount of turnovers. They are also Top 30 in Assist to Turnover Ratio. Arizona State on the other hand is not the best in those categories so Remy Martin and Lu Dort are going to need to take care of the ball. They are 226th in the nation for the least amount of turnovers and 200th in Assist to Turnover Ratio. This is what St. John’s is going to be looking to capitalize on and something that Arizona State should be aware of also.

Key 3: Luguentz Dort vs. Shamorie Ponds

In the end, I believe this is the most important key for Arizona State. Lu Dort is going to need to do his best to shut down Shamorie Ponds. A player as good as Ponds is obviously going to get buckets here and there but it is up to Dort to not allow him to take the game over. He will use his 6’4, 215 pound frame and physicality to disrupt the 6’1, 175 pound Ponds.

Luckily, Dort is actually a great defender and his build is great for his matchup against Ponds. The Pac-12 Freshman of the Year was tied for fifth most steals in the conference and was named to the All-Defensive Team. He would have been in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year in Matisse Thybulle was not in the conference.

He has done well in individual matchups throughout the season, holding Quentin Grimes, Jaylen Hands and Jaylen Nowell all to 15 points or under. He draws comparisons to Marcus Smart for his defensive tenacity and ability to play above the rim. In the end, I see Dort giving Ponds a hard time throughout this game and doesn’t let him get super hot. Tune in Tuesday, March 19th.