Arizona State has finally made it to Pac-12 play, and they start on the road in Palo Alto. Arizona State will face Stanford at 9 PM tonight. Now, these two teams are very even this year. Arizona State is 6-5. Stanford in 5-5. Both teams need wins here to get their seasons back on track. Whoever loses tonight will face a mountain to get themselves back anywhere near NCAA Tournament consideration.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Arizona State had one of the worst non-conference plays in years, losing brutally to any good team they faced and getting upset by San Diego. ASU didn’t receive one good win in non-conference play, so if ASU wants any hope at a tournament bid, they cannot lose this game.
Preview
Stanford is a very underrated team this year. They didn’t play anyone in non-conference, but their offense is very good. Their offense is ranked in the top 90 in the country, but their defense hurts them.
The Cardinal are led by Maxime Raynaud, who averages a 15 and 10 double-double. Stanford isn’t done there, though. They have five other guys who average 9+ points. Those include Michael Jones (13.0), Brandon Angel (12.9), Spencer Jones (12.0), Andrej Stojakovic (9.2), and former Providence star Jared Bynum (9.0). Every one of those players except Bynum is a 35+% 3-point shooter as well.
Stanford is a top 60 team in terms of Field Goal %, a top 80 team in 3P%, and a top 30 passing team averaging 17 assists per game.
KenPom also thinks the Cardinal is a little underrated. Stanford is ranked 93rd in KenPom, which is 26 spots higher than ASU.
Prediction
Arizona State will get to 70 points in this game. The issue is I don’t think ASU can hold Stanford to under 70, so my prediction is that Stanford wins because their offense is so good. I think Stanford wins 76-73.
