Arizona State Basketball: 2019-20 keys for road matchup against Arizona

TEMPE, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 14: Romello White #23 of the Arizona State Sun Devils reacts after scoring against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half of the NCAAB game at Desert Financial Arena on December 14, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Bulldogs 79-59. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

3 of 4

TULSA, OKLAHOMA – MARCH 22: Jayvon Graves #3 of the Buffalo Bulls attempts a shot over Romello White #23 and Rob Edwards #2 of the Arizona State Sun Devils (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Defend Without Fouling

U of A’s defense isn’t the only part of their game that has been impressive this season. Their offensive has also been incredibly efficient this season. They are shooting 55% from inside the arc, which puts them in the country’s top 20. They are also 33rd in the country from 3, shooting 37.6%. On top of all of that, they are averaging the 20th most free throw attempts per game and knocking them down at a 74.8% rate.

ASU’s defense should be able to deal with its rival’s 3-pt shooting. They’re still a top 100 3-pt defense in spite of their atrocious display against Saint Mary’s. They are slightly above average defending the 2, so that should be somewhere they can at least hang with U of A’s offense. However, the free throw shooting from U of A could be problematic for the Sun Devils.

They are committing an average of 18.2 fouls per game and allowing 18.2 free throws per game this season. They can’t afford to give away points to U of A like they did against Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern. Prairie View and Texas Southern both had flaws that allowed the Sun Devils to survive allowing a ridiculous number of free throws. The Wildcats don’t have those flaws. If ASU can’t defend without fouling and lets U of A into the bonus early on then it’s going to be a long day down in Tucson.

Home/Arizona State Sun Devils