Saint Mary’s vs Arizona State: 3 key storylines for Hall of Fame showcase matchup

Can ASU Depend on Their Guards?

Coming into the season, ASU was supposed to have one of the country’s strongest returning backcourts. Remy Martin has lived up to that billing, scoring 20 points per game while also increasing his shooting percentages, but Rob Edwards hasn’t lived up to his end of the bargain. His defense has still been outstanding and is a big reason why ASU has done so well defending the 3-pt line, but his offensive production has been disappointing. He has managed to average 11.5 points per game so far this year, but his 3-pt percentage has come down a bit and he is only shooting 37.9% from the field. He was supposed to be ASU’s second scoring option this year, but how can you build an offense around a player shooting such a low percentage?

Unfortunately, no other guard has really picked up the slack for him either. Alonzo Verge is shooting 34.7% from the field and an abysmal 10.5% from 3. Jalen House is shooting an awful 30.8% from the field and only 25.9% from 3. Elias Valtonen is the only other ASU guard shooting respectable percentages, but he only attempts 2.4 shots per game.

Saint Mary’s has no such problem. They have multiple guards in their rotation who are shooting over 40% from 3 and 45% from the field. ASU won’t be able to beat their toughest competition if there is that big of a gap between their non-Remy Martin guards and the guards of their opposition.

So far this season, Romello White has been able to make up for some of the issues ASU’s guards have had, but the Sun Devils will need their frontcourt to start producing if they want to be able to make a run in the NCAA tournament. Wednesday night’s matchup against Saint Mary’s would be a perfect time to see if the backcourt can produce against tough competition.