Sun Devils hopes to recapture magic, salvage season against Arizona

by Paola Boivin
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By ARI KAYE
Cronkite News

TEMPE – A year ago, Arizona State’s victory over then No. 2 ranked Arizona was the marquee game in a NCAA-bound season.

Fast forward to Saturday and the Sun Devils (11-11, 3-6) will try to salvage a disappointing year with an upset of No. 6 Arizona (20-2, 8-1).

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to rush the floor again,” ASU senior forward Shaquielle McKissic said. “That feeling is like none other.”

When Arizona came to Wells Fargo Arena last February, the Wildcats featured one of the nation’s top frontcourts in the country but Arizona State controlled the paint defensively.

That’s because ASU had the nation’s leading shot blocker, center Jordan Bachynski, altering and swatting Wildcat interior shots in ASU’s 69-66 double overtime victory.

Arizona still features a fearsome frontline but, without Bachynski, the Sun Devils do not have the same defensive presence in the paint. A year after leading the Pac-12 in block shots, ASU ranks last averaging 2.18 blocks.

To upset their rivals for a second consecutive season, ASU Coach Herb Sendek knows his Sun Devils cannot rely on a shot blocker to intimidate Arizona down low.

Instead, ASU’s game plan will revolve around limiting Arizona to one shot per possession.

“They’re a ferocious rebounding team,” Sendek said. “When they miss a shot, that’s just the beginning of their offense.”

Rebounding was an enormous problem in ASU’s 73-49 loss in Tucson earlier this season. The Wildcats grabbed 10 more rebounds than the Sun Devils.

“We know that they’re bigger, we just got to be physical and let them know it’s going to be a dog fight from the beginning,” said McKissic.

ASU’s interior defense last season was instrumental in many of the Sun Devil’s close victories, including Bachynski’s last-second block of Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell.

This season, ASU has struggled to win close games, compiling a 0-6 record in games decided by five points or less.

“We haven’t gotten that key stop (down the stretch),” Sendek said.  “Although we’ve played really good defense, often times it hasn’t been consistent enough.”

With so much roster turnover, only a few players can lean on their experience from last year’s victory.

That’s fine with Sendek. He wants the team to focus on the game ahead.

Still, senior forward Jonathan Gilling wants the euphoric feeling from the end of last year’s game to be passed on to the ASU newcomers.

“We can definitely try to help the younger guys understand how important this game is to all the fans and also to ourselves,” said Gilling, who has a 2-5 record against Arizona in his four-year Sun Devils career.

The game tips off at 2:30 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on FOX.

Arizona State foward Shaquielle McKissic would love the opportunity to rush the floor again. (Cronkite News Photo by Jeff Vinton)