The latest AP Top 25 college basketball rankings just came out and the Arizona Wildcats are at No.23, while Arizona State is at No.5.
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The state of Arizona has two teams in the AP Top 25 this week, the Arizona Wildcats at No. 23 and Arizona State Sun Devils at No.5. As hard as it is for a diehard Wildcat fan to omit, the Sun Devils have been playing well this season and deserve a top ranking. They are currently undefeated at 9-0 and have had some remarkable wins over top ranked opponents, but they haven’t played the Wildcats yet, a top team!
After falling out of the top 25 for the first time in 100 consecutive weeks, the Wildcats find themselves back in the mix at the No.23 spot. Wins over UNLV, Texas A&M, and Alabama helped them climbed back into the rankings. The way they are playing, they will continue to move up – no doubt about that! And the loss to Purdue is getting easier to stomach because Purdue is now ranked No. 17.
Everything seems to be coming together for the Wildcats, especially with the return of The King, Rawle Alkins!
Right now, the Sun Devils and Wildcats are the only two teams representing the Pac-12 in the AP Top 25. With much more basketball to be played this season, that statistic will likely change.
For the Sun Devils, they find themselves at the No.5 spot (previously ranked No.16) as result of having experience and returners on their side. They were able to bring down No. 2 Kansas over the weekend. They even got five first-place votes, what in the heck is going on?! Even the Washington Globe couldn’t believe it:
Well this awkward, @washingtonpost... pic.twitter.com/1J2V8WaWPJ
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) December 11, 2017
When it comes to understanding certain situations of the game, whether it may be when to take a three-point shot, or settle for a higher percentage shot inside or how to close out on the defensive end, the Sun Devils have done that well. (This is so painful for me to write, giving the team from up north praise, but it is what it is). To top it off, ASU guard Shannon Evans II won Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. So far the POW’s have all been either from ASU or Arizona.
Three of the four top scorers for the Sun Devils are seniors, with Tra Holder leading the team with 21.2 points and 5.2 assists per game. As a team, they are shooting 42.7% 3p and 52% FG, one of the main reasons they are still undefeated and have had wins over No.10 Xavier and No. 2 Kansas, in Kansas!
To put things into perspective, the last time the Sun Devils were No. 5 was back during the 1980-81 season:
Sun Devils No. 5 in AP poll since the 1980-81 season. Back when Fat, Byron and Alton were dropping buckets and styling @Mike_Yam @jmarshallap @ChrisKarpman @doug987FM @Gambo987 pic.twitter.com/kDfhxzlhz4
— Doug Tammaro (@DougTammaro) December 11, 2017
Now, not to take anything away from the Sun Devils win in Kansas, but the Jayhawks were without one of their key inside players, five-star freshman standout Billy Preston. The Jayhawks did not really have much of an inside presence and relied too much on the three-point shot, which in the end cost them the game. When the smaller sized Sun Devils face a team like the Wildcats, they will have their work cut out for them.
December 30th, at 8 pm on the Pac-12 Networks. Mark that date and time on your calendars!
That’s when these two teams, the Wildcats and Sun Devils, faceoff inside McKale Center. If both teams continue to play at this level, it will be a good one, not to be missed. The Wildcats will have the size advantage inside with DeAndre “Good luck in stopping me” Ayton.
Three-point defense and finding the big men down low will be two keys to winning. The only bummer is that the Zona Zoo will be on Winter Break, so McKale will be full but there may not be many students left in Tucson.
The last time these two teams met at McKale Center, this happened…wait for it….:
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These last two months of college basketball have been crazy. The Sun Devils at No.5 and Wildcats at No.23, in early December, who would have ever predicted that. Pac-12 conference play will be here before you know and that’s when there will be a clearer picture of whose the best in the west – Wildcats of course. Forks down and Bear Down!