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Washington (14-7 overall, 6-3 in-conference) vs. Arizona State
The Huskies return home after a two game road trip to the L.A schools. They split the road trip, knocking off UCLA 86-84, and then lost to USC 98-88. Despite the loss, the Huskies are still in good position in the conference standings, sitting at 6-3, which is good for second in the conference.
The Huskies now enter a pivotal part of their schedule. With nine games remaining on the schedule, it is reasonable to believe that four more wins - plus a victory in the conference tournament - will be enough to make the NCAA tournament. However, the remainder of the road will not be easy for the Dawgs, they still have to travel to the Oregon and Mountain schools (is that what one calls Utah and Colorado?), as well as playing host to the Bay Area schools and cross state rival Washington State.
But, once again, I am getting ahead of myself. The Huskies need to make sure that they take care of business at home and that starts with Arizona State tonight.
Arizona State at a glance: 12-10 (2-7 in conference play) 11th in Pac-12 RPI: 74
After an exciting start to the season, the Sun Devils have come back down to earth a bit during conference play. They have won just 2-7 conference games, and have fallen into 11th place in the conference as a result. After being swept at home by the Oregon schools, the Sun Devils come into Hec Ed. licking their wounds a bit and looking to build some momentum for the 2nd half of conference play. Kodi Justice led the way with 17 points off the bench in their last meeting while the Huskies held Tra Holder - ASU's leading scorer on the season at 15.4 ppg - to 11 points on just 3 of 16 shooting.
Andrew Andrews led the way in their first meeting in Tempe, going for 30 points (on 10 of 17 shooting) plus 12 assists. He also committed 6 turnovers, part of the 16 total for the Huskies which helped keep ASU in the game. Avoiding foul trouble will be another key - Marquese Chriss and Malik Dime each fouled out last time around - Chriss after 17 minutes, Dime after just 12 minutes.