Arizona State Basketball: 3 keys for Sun Devils to bounce back against Creighton

Slow Down Crieghton’s 3-point Attack

As I mentioned on the last slide, ASU is going to have a size advantage in this game that should give them the edge inside the 3-point line. To make this matter on the defensive end, they’ll need to stop Creighton from beating them outside the arc, where they are shooting 38.3% this season and 40.2% in their last 3 games. Inside the arc, they aren’t as effective. They are slightly below

average with a 49.9% conversion rate on 2-point attempts and their lack of size will be a huge disadvantage in the paint. They also don’t draw fouls at a particularly high rate or rebound effectively on the offensive end. Simply enough, if ASU can keep them from hitting 3s, I don’t really see what their alternate path to victory is in this game.

If they light it up from downtown as Saint Mary’s did against ASU on Wednesday, then I just don’t see any way ASU can keep up with their scoring. ASU simply doesn’t have the firepower to keep up with opponents when they get hot from 3 right now.

ASU’s strategy should be obvious in this game. They must force this game to be played inside the paint where they can establish an advantage and turn the game into a battle they can actually win.