Dane Miller’s ASU vs. Nevada NCAA Match Preview

First 4

11-seed Nevada v. 11-seed Arizona State

Wednesday, March 15
6:10pm PT, TruTV

The Solar Devils secured their third NCAA Match start beneath Bobby Hurley and face a struggling Nevada crew within the First 4 matchup.

The Wolfpack have misplaced three straight video games and 4 of their final six. Led by former Oregon State guard Jarod Lucas, Nevada enters the sport with the No. 61 offense and No. 43 protection per KenPom’s metrics.

However, the Wolfpack are 245th in tempo and will wrestle to attain in opposition to Arizona State’s protection. Hurley’s group enters the matchup twenty ninth in KenPom’s defensive effectivity score, setting the desk for a probably low-scoring affair.

The mixture of Nevada’s sluggish tempo and ASU’s robust protection is unfavorable to the Mountain West program. Steve Alford’s offense should worth every possession and convert its diminished alternatives into factors.

In that sense, the variety of turnovers the Solar Devils create may decide the sport.

The Wolfpack are No. 19 within the nation in turnovers dedicated per sport, limiting their errors to simply 10.2 per night time. As a comparability, Nevada would slot in because the No. 1 crew within the Pac-12 in TO’s per sport, taking good care of the ball higher than even UCLA does.

Arizona State’s protection on middle Will Baker is the important thing to observe. Hurley’s defensive scheme collapses on opposing bigs when offenses try and get the ball inside, swarming energy forwards and facilities with a number of defenders.

The elevated stress on the poor ball handlers tends to trigger errors whereas the deal with clogging the inside leads to a robust defensive rebounding group. Hurley’s scheme is the epitome of crew protection and his roster’s chemistry doubles its effectiveness.

In different phrases, the Solar Devils may have a number of defenders collapse on Baker and Nevada’s major massive may wrestle on offense.

Baker averages 13.5 factors per sport on 55.8 p.c taking pictures, probably making a gaping gap in Nevada’s offense if Arizona State is ready to make him inefficient with its scheme.

Assuming Hurley’s group is in a position to take action, the burden to attain will fall to Lucas and Kenan Blackshear. Defending the 2 guards is a extra favorable personnel matchup for the Solar Devils.

Hurley’s crew typically performs a three-guard lineup and if Nevada’s most important massive is rendered ineffective, ASU has the horses to adequately matchup with Lucas and Blackshear.

On the opposite aspect of the courtroom, so long as Desmond Cambridge Jr. and DJ Horne aren’t chilly from the sphere, the Solar Devils ought to rating sufficient factors to get the win.

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