Arizona State Basketball: 2019-20 keys in home matchup against Arizona
By John Vaccaro
Protect the Basket
U of A is one of the best 3 point shooting teams in the country this season, but that didn’t even really factor into their win over ASU earlier this month. In fact, the Sun Devils managed to hold Arizona to 26.7% from behind the arc in that game. The problem for the Sun Devil defense in that game was that U of A got just about whatever they wanted inside the arc.
It’s not like U of A finding success in the paint is exactly surprising, they make the 47th highest percentage of 2-pointers in the country, but the Sun Devils can’t make it so easy for them. Instead, they should help Romello White inside and focus on not giving up easy baskets instead of trying to keep the Wildcats from beating them outside. In fact, in this game, I think the Sun Devils should do whatever it takes to keep U of A out of the lane and dare them to win this game from long-range.
One thing I’ve noticed about U of A’s shooting this season is that while they have shot a high percentage from 3 on the year as a whole, they haven’t been nearly as good shooting it away from home, which has proven costly against Baylor, St John’s, and Oregon State. I believe the Sun Devils should test this trend on Saturday. If Arizona does struggle form 3, their offense becomes a lot less potent and it should become much easier for the Sun Devils would then just need to keep them from dominating inside in order to win this game.