With SDSU In Town, Devils Face Important Return to Court

Amidst all the uncertainty and turmoil staring the Arizona State athletic program in the face in the midst of accusations of NCAA violations, at least one thing is iron clad.

The men need a quality win in the worst way and it’s not going to come easily this weekend.

Last season around this time, the Sun Devils faced one of their stiffest tests of the season when they traveled to SoCal to take on the San Diego State Aztecs.

Arizona State won, but not without a fight in one of the most nip-and-tuck games the Devils played all season. This year will be no different, save the change of venue.

The Aztecs, fresh off a convincing win in Tucson that cemented them as a force to be reckoned with on the West Coast, are up in Tempe tomorrow afternoon in what will be the Sun Devils’ first post-finals week match-up.

And they thought tests were over for the semester.

The Devils certainly looked dominating in their 76-34 win over Delaware State; the team allowed the fewest points in a game since 1949. However, as Doug Haller pointed out on Twitter during that game, the Hornets were one of the worst teams ASU had faced in years.

SDSU…they’re a little better. The Devils have still lost two of their last three, including the 81-68 loss to BYU in Provo in what arguably was the team’s worst performance since the 2006-07 Devils started 0-15 in Pac-10 play.

The Aztecs ride into the Valley on a five game winning streak. They’ve already taken care of the other two Arizona schools (NAU by 41 and Arizona by 17) during this current run. They’re led by stud freshman forward Kawhi Leonard, who has posted back-t0-back double-doubles heading into Saturday.

The key to beating San Diego State will be to keep them off the glass. The Aztecs (8-2) have outrebounded their opponents in all eight of their wins so far this season. If they want to grab their first win in Tempe since 1977, they’ll have to dominate the boards - something that’s not out of the question, considering the woeful offensive rebounding performance against BYU.

Derek Glasser is the one to watch on an individual level - he sits just 7 assists away from breaking the all-time assists record at Arizona State. It also goes without saying that Rihards Kuksiks consistency could use a shot in the arm. The Lovable Latvian’s(tm) 1st half shooting woes haven’t been disastrous yet but, if they continue, could present a serious problem out of the gates.

More than anything, the Devils need a quality win over a quality opponent to prove that A) teams in the Pac-10 can, in fact, win outside of conference and B) gain some much needed momentum heading into the start of Pac-10 play.

Subscribe to your favorite Phoenix team or sport or Follow us on Twitter.