
on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. After trailing the entire
first half, the Sun Devils came from behind and defeated the Waves 81-74. (Ben
Moffat/The State Press)
The 2014-15 season has not started out the way the ASU men's basketball team had hoped. The team stands at .500 through three conference games but has a chance for a signature win Thursday night.
The Sun Devils (8-8, 0-3 Pac-12) will attempt to win their first conference game of the season in their first home game of 2015 against Utah. ASU holds an eight-game home conference win streak.
The No. 8 Utes (13-2, 3-0 Pac-12) head into Tempe with a six-game win streak on the strength of their offense, which has averaged nearly 75 points per game during that stretch.
ASU coach Herb Sendek said he and others projected Utah to be a very good team and that he is not surprised by the start at all.
"Going into the season everybody knew they were going to be one of the better teams in the country and they certainly haven't disappointed," Sendek said. "They have a marquee player in (senior guard) Delon Wright... And then they have a group of guys that, for the most part, have been together and grown together."
Wright has been the leader for Utah, scoring 14.9 points per game and has increased his shooting percentage from a season ago.
Sendek said defending Wright is the biggest key for his team, but that Utah is deep enough that he can't be the only focus.
"Not to oversimplify, but a lot of things that they do run through their superstar Delon Wright," Sendek said. "But they have many other weapons than him, and they're really a good basketball team."
Along with Wright, junior forward Jordan Loveridge averages 10.8 points per game and freshman forward Jakob Poeltl leads the team in rebounding, hauling in 9.5 per game.
Despite the struggles, the Sun Devils have been traveling a lot lately. ASU has not played at Wells Fargo Arena since beating Harvard on Dec. 28. In the team's first three conference games, ASU has scored more than 50 points just once.
Sophomore forward Savon Goodman said he thinks being home will be good for the team, but the Sun Devils can't use being on the road as an excuse for losing.
"I think that's revving us up and giving us new energy knowing that we have the crowd behind us," Goodman said. "That's not an excuse, and we're not going to use it as an excuse because we're going to have to go on the road again during the season and win."
The more challenging aspect for the Sun Devils is facing a team with the talent that Utah has. Goodman said each player has to take it personally upon himself to prepare for the challenge ahead.
"Our coach does a good job at emphasizing that they're a top-10 team in the country, but I think that's more personal than anything," Goodman said. "You've got to want it with yourself to beat a top-10 team, and you've got to prepare with yourself and come in with the energy during practice every day of the week."
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or on Twitter @Tonis_The_Tiger
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