Pac Previews: Utah vs. Wichita State & Arizona State vs. UNLV
Posted by Andrew Murawa on December 3rd, 2014With Feast Week behind us and finals on the horizon, things are about to slow down just a little bit in college basketball. Come this weekend, we’ll have all sorts of interesting games on the slate — Arizona State vs. Texas A&M, Gonzaga vs. Arizona, Mississippi vs. Oregon, Colorado vs. Georgia and Washington vs. San Diego State — and not necessarily in that order, that have me intrigued. But between now and then, there are just two match-ups that we can recommend in good conscience, both taking place on Pac-12 home courts tonight. Below, we’ll preview the headliner – Wichita State at Utah – as well as an interesting undercard as UNLV visits Arizona State.
Wichita State at Utah, 8:00 PM PST, ESPN2
Unless you’re a big-time Utes fan or an inveterate college hoops junkie, the last time you saw Utah play it was falling short in a late mid-afternoon run at a comeback against San Diego State. Since then, the Utes have performed mop-up duty against a quartet of teams all ranked in the bottom 20 percent of Division I, winning those four games by an average of 36.3 points per game. The Shockers, meanwhile, have played three teams ranked between #50 and #75 by KenPom and won those games by an average of 17.3 points per game. While they are known for their perimeter players – guards Fred Van Vleet and Ron Baker earned preseason All-America consideration, and senior Tekele Cotton is one of the nation’s best perimeter defenders — Wichita State is a team that plays inside out, getting dribble penetration into the lane and creating opportunities from there. As such, priority number one is stopping that penetration, something Utah is well-suited for with elite defenders Delon Wright and Brandon Taylor leading the way. Perhaps more significant to the Utes’ chances would be the presence of shot-blocking freshman phenom Jakob Poeltl protecting the rim should Van Vleet get into the paint. Likewise, on the other end, Poeltl’s skills in the post and the Utes’ offensive rebounding strength (they’re 18th in the nation with a 40.8% offensive rebounding rate – but remind yourself of that level of competition) could be a pain in the neck to a team without an established player taller than 6’7”.
Delon Wright And Utah Need To Prove They’re Ready For The National Stage. (Getty)
But really, match-ups and Xs-and-Os are in some ways missing the point of this game for Utah. The Utes have already shown that they can play with the big boys. They battled San Diego State to a four-point road loss (keeping in mind that the final score was a touch closer than reality); they played Arizona to a nine-point margin at the McKale Center last season, then took the ‘Cats to overtime in Salt Lake City later on. Last year they also split with Colorado (including a road loss in overtime) and took Oregon to overtime as well before losing. We know that this team is talented enough to play with some of the best teams in the country — what they have yet to show us is that it can beat those teams, can perform in clutch situations and make good decisions when the pressure is on. Against the Aztecs two weeks ago, the stage was a little too bright for them. They’ve had a chance since then to workshop their script in what amounts to little more than dress rehearsals. If the nation can stay awake on Wednesday night after the Duke/Wisconsin game, they’ll get a chance to see if this Utah team is ready for the spotlight.
UNLV at Arizona State, 5:00 PM PST, Pac-12 Networks
A couple reasons to watch this from the Arizona State perspective. First, with Shaquielle McKissic an established impact player in the Pac-12 and with JuCo transfer Gerry Blakes appearing ready to join him as a potent 1/2 punch, the Sun Devils have athleticism and excitement at the wings that should keep them quite watchable throughout the year. And when guys like Willie Atwood and Roosevelt Scott figure out their roles, Arizona State could wind up being in contention as the most athletic team in the conference.
Shaquielle McKissic And The Sun Devils Are In the Conversation For Most Athletic Pac-12 Team. (Dirk Facer, Deseret News)
But like many teams around the conference, what intrigues me the most about the Sun Devils is their situation at the point. Freshman Tra Holder started the season there and was decidedly average against poor competition in the team’s first three games, compiling seven assists and nine points against nine turnovers in 54 minutes of action. During that time, freshman Kodi Justice played just 22 minutes before blowing up for 54 minutes in the Sun Devils’ two games at the CBE Classic. He only had eight points and eight assists there and clearly struggled shooting the ball, but he also had committed one turnover and showed terrific vision and patience at the point. Then Justice injured his back and missed last weekend’s game against Colgate, while Holder played 27 minutes, scored 11 points and handed out three assists (albeit with another two turnovers). In other words, the spot is still wide open. Throw into that confusion the possibility that McKissic may be the best option as something of a point forward in the interest of getting the team’s best five players on the court. In a lineup with, say, Blakes, Bo Barnes and Jonathan Gilling surrounding big man Eric Jacobsen, there may not be a traditional point guard on the floor, but McKissic is capable of handling the ball against pressure. And all of the trio of McKissic, Barnes and Gilling are smart players who pass well and (generally) take care of the ball. Everybody continues to rate Arizona State on a tier of their own in the conference heirarchy – behind teams like Washington, Oregon and maybe Colorado, but clearly ahead of USC, Oregon State and Washington State. But there is enough athletic talent in Tempe that the Sun Devils could be the team from the bottom half of the conference that could rise up and surprise everyone.
Andrew Murawa Likes Basketball.
