Junior forward Eric Jacobsen clears a jump shot. ASU narrowly defeated Colgate, 78-71, at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014. (Photo by Mario Mendez)The ASU men's basketball team was dealt a tough hand when it found out its conference schedule. Five of its first seven games Pac-12 games are on the road, including a game already played at No. 7 UA (13-1, 1-0 Pac-12).
ASU (8-6, 0-1 Pac-12) has had issues winning away from home, losing its past 12 road/neutral site games, dating back to last season. And even the two home games in this stretch will prove difficult with the team playing No. 9 Utah (12-2, 2-0 Pac-12) and Colorado (9-5, 2-0 Pac-12).
So that's why this early road swing at Oregon (11-3, 1-0 Pac-12) and Oregon State (9-4, 0-1 Pac-12) is critically - these are two potential winable road games, and the Sun Devils need to get some confidence winning on the road in the conference.
The schedule won't lighten up after the seven-game stretch concludes either, coach Herb Sendek said.
"We certainly have a very difficult schedule to start the league - not that it's going to get any easier by the way," Sendek said. "We'll get through those first seven games and we'll be saying the next seven are just as tough."
First up for ASU is a game at Oregon State on Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. MT on Fox Sports 1. Here's a look at the Beavers:
Oregon State was picked to finish last in the conference... Former Montana coach Wayne Tinkle is in his first year replacing Craig Robinson... Oregon State hasn't made the NCAA tournament since 1990... Oregon State is ranked 110th in Ken Pom (338th non-conference strength of schedule).
The Beavers have played well defensively (following rankings through Tuesday); they are 14th in Division I field goal percentage defense (36.5 percent) and 23rd in scoring defense (57.6 points)... Junior guard Gary Payton II is third nationally with 3.0 steals per game... Payton II is one of six players to record triple-double earlier this season and leads the Beavers in points (12.5), rebounds (8.4), steals and blocks (1.0).
OSU's projected starters:
| Player | Position | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FG % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Payton III | Guard | 12.5 | 8.4 | 3.2 | 3 | 1 | 53.6% |
| Olaf Schaftenaar | Forward | 10.8 | 4 | 2 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 46.5% |
| Lang Morris-Walker | Guard | 10.7 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 1 | 0.1 | 36.5% |
| Malcolm Duvivier | Guard | 8.6 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 36.3% |
| Daniel Gomis | Forward | 3.9 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1 | 51.6% |
ASU next plays at Oregon on Jan. 10 at 3 p.m. MT on Pac-12 Networks. Here's a look at the Ducks:
Oregon has qualified for the last two NCAA tournaments, winning a game each time, but the Ducks were picked to finish eighth in the conference this year, partly stemming from depth concerns when dismissing Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin after the three were named in a graphic police report.
The Ducks are ranked 60th in Ken Pom, with a non-conference schedule ranked 254th... The Ducks lead the Pac-12 in scoring (78.8 points), rebounds (42.2), assists (17.4) and 3-pointers (7.9).
Redshirt senior guard Joseph Young leads the Pac-12 with 20.1 points per game...Freshman forward Jordan Bell averages 3.43 blocks, which ranked fifth nationally, and he doesn't even start... Oregon announced the signing of 6-foot-10 Israeli forward Roman Sorkin on Tuesday... Sorkin is eligible immediately and will join the team this week, though when he first suits up is unknown.
Oregon's projected starters:
| Player | Position | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FG % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Young | Guard | 20.1 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 45.1% |
| Dillon Brooks | Forward | 14.1 | 5.5 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 48.1% |
| Elgin Cook | Forward | 11.3 | 6.5 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 49.1% |
| Casey Benson | Guard | 5.2 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 0 | 45.8% |
| Dwayne Benjamin | Forward | 7.3 | 6.4 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 34.4% |
Reach the sports editor at jmjanss1@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @jjanssen11
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