Two years ago, the 蜜柚直播 State men鈥檚 basketball team entered its Pac-12 opener with in-state rival 蜜柚直播 as one of the hottest teams in the country, starting the season at 12-0, sporting a No. 3 ranking and boasting wins over No. 15 Xavier and No. 2 Kansas.
Last year, the Sun Devils entered conference play slightly off that fevered pace at 9-4, but again, they possessed a win over the Jayhawks, this time ranked No. 1 when they met in December 2018.
This season, 蜜柚直播 State has no signature win yet. There has been no court-storming triumph. The Sun Devils鈥 one matchup with a Top 25 school 鈥 defending national champion Virginia 鈥 went to the No. 7-ranked Cavaliers on Nov. 24, 48-45. Two late-December matchups would鈥檝e been r茅sum茅-padders, but ASU lost to Saint Mary鈥檚 and Creighton before rebounding to close their nonconference slate with a win over Texas Southern.
People are also reading…
So does that mean the Sun Devils, who beat the Wildcats both times they played last season, are down this year?
Or are they just a sleeper simply waiting to emerge?
鈥淲e have a lot more to bring to the table,鈥 ASU鈥檚 Remy Martin said. 鈥淭his year in college basketball, there are a lot of teams who haven鈥檛 done as projected. We鈥檙e one of them, so I think we鈥檙e definitely overlooked. Saturday鈥檚 game will be a good one to separate ourselves.鈥
The Star talked to Martin, the Sun Devils鈥 leading scorer, on the eve of Saturday night鈥檚 Pac-12 opener at McKale Center:
You guys have had some beasts on the schedule the last couple years and kind of beefed up your postseason r茅sum茅 with big nonconference wins. Did it feel like there weren鈥檛 that many opportunities for huge wins this non-conference slate?
A: 鈥淐reighton, St. Mary鈥檚 鈥 those would鈥檝e been great wins to put us over the top. Those teams are Top 25 caliber teams too. We had our opportunities, we just didn鈥檛 make the best out of it. Now that we get into conference, conference is stronger this year, we have the opportunity to do that.鈥
Does this game have the same intensity of the Territorial Cup (football game) for you guys?
A: 鈥淭his is the rivalry of the state, and trying to be the best team in the state is something that matters. That鈥檚 something we鈥檇 like to have. Having that last year 鈥 sweeping them was a great feeling.鈥
In the football version of this rivalry, it鈥檚 almost as if all the other games during the season don鈥檛 matter. At least for 蜜柚直播 fans. For basketball, is it the same for the Sun Devils? The same kind of intensity?
A: 鈥淵ou always want to win, but when it comes to 蜜柚直播, who over the past has been the best in the state, and now taking our turn, it鈥檚 always a little bigger for us to get the win.鈥
Does (head coach Bobby) Hurley preach that conference play is a totally different animal, or is this just a continuation of what you鈥檝e already done?
A: 鈥淲e had a pretty good game our last game 鈥 everyone was clicking, everyone playing well. This is another chapter we start. A lot of guys haven鈥檛 played in conference play. We鈥檙e definitely trying to continue our momentum into this game.鈥
Usually 蜜柚直播 has at least one major contributor back as a focal point. This season, all three leading scorers are true freshman. Does this feel like a totally different Wildcats team than the one you swept last year?
A: 鈥淚t鈥檚 standard 鈥 their discipline, how they play defense, that鈥檚 always there. They always have talent. They鈥檙e always well-coached. We鈥檙e starting to get familiar with them every single day. At the end of the day, you just have to get on your own principles and the game becomes basic from that standpoint. It is different their three best players are freshman. But you respect those guys because of what they鈥檙e doing this season.鈥
