Opponent: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Conference: ACC

Head Coach: Jeff Bzdelik (Buzz-Delik)

Last Season: 8-24 (1-15 in conference)

Player to watch: Travis McKie, the leading scorer and key piece since freshman year

I've watched this Wake Forest team quite a bit this year. While they played against sub-par competition so far they seemed to be a but better as a whole. Their returners got better, and they have some solid contributions from a good freshman class. However, they are not all the way back yet, as they lost to Dayton yesterday, and I am pretty sure that they will still be stuggling in the rugged ACC. 

So far, Wake is off to a good start, thanks in large part to Travis Mckie, the face up four man who's built on his great freshman campaign and is who capable of making an All-ACC team if his team starts winning. He's a gifted scorer on the low block and in the high post, and can even step out and shoot the 3. He will be a matchup nightmare for us because ASU has nobody that is tall enough, quick enough and strong enough to properly match up with him. 

Another player to watch up for is CJ Harris, who is averaging 20 points per contest and shooting 50% from 3 land. He's a marksman who's not too shabby when forced to go to the hole. The only weakness he has is his 67% free throw percentage, which is not indicative of his real skill (over 80% in 2 years). 

Beyond these two the next 3 players are pretty solid: Tony Chennault is a freshman who's leading the team in assists (3 per game, to go along with 13 points). Chase Fischer showed that he is a deadeye, thanks to his performance against Dayton, and the middle is anchored by Nikita Mescheriakov (8.5 ppg, transferred from Georgetown two years ago)

My take:

Wake has a good core but has little around it. OUt of their 9 players that saw action, 6 of them played over 26 minutes per game. ASU must capitalize that lack of depth by driving hard to the basket and getting Wake into foul trouble. There's no way Coach Bzdelik will risk getting a key piece fouled out of the game early. 

Wake has a good offense but has struggles defensively, and that is seen with the loss against Dayton. The Flyers shot over 47% from the floor and had a lot of wide open looks from 3 point land. 

It's interesting to see how ASU will handle McKie and Harris. I suggest giving Mckie different looks but assigning different defenders at a time. We can start with maybe Carrick Felix and then work our way out from there if it doesn't work. Maybe more importantly, we must deny him the ball. We need to stop Harris from heading towards the basket and to the free throw line, but we must put a hand up whenever he takes a long range shot, because he will make some. Watch out for Fischer, he can also get hot from the outside. All and all, I am worried about using a matchup zone, because Wake will be content to fire away from long distance and will make some of those shots. Man-to-man seems like a better option. 

Regardless, Wake Forest under Jeff Bzdelik will play a Princeton-like offense, meaning that they will make reads off of the defense and react from them. ASU must be careful about the quick play actions and the infamous backdoor cut. Communicate on defense at all times.

I actually have faith that ASU will stop Wake because we did so against a better Fairfield team. As bad as that game was, we only allowed Rakim Sanders to have a good game (albeit an inefficient one). We limited the Stags to a low percantage from the field, we are one freebie short of matching them in the free throw department, and we matched Olander basket for basket (11 points to 9). Our huge problem was the turnovers (22, tied for most in the Sendek era). We need to shore up the offense, make crisp passes and AVOID TURNOVERS. 

Speaking of offense, we need someone who can score aside from Lockett. King and Felix look like good candidates, but I am interested to see if James Bachynski can repeat the performance (9 points, 4-4 shooting) against Wake. If he can, give him the ball. If he can do something like what he did against Wake, the Devs have an extra weapon, but more importantly James will open up the floor for everybody else. 

Well, that's all I have to say about this game. GO DEVS

Who's who

Opponent's name: Fairfield Stags

Head Coach: Sydney Johnson (in his 1st season)

Last Season Record: 25-8 (16-4 in conference)

Went to the NIT and lost in the second round

Key Player to Fear: Rakim Sanders (almost 19ppg so far)

The last two seasons had the Stags on a tear. They won 20+ games and had postseason tournaments outside the NCAA (first the CBI and then the NIT). With their coach Ed Cooley taking the Providence job, Sydney Johnson, the passionate Princeton coach who almost upset Kentucky last year in the NCAAs, comes in and try to continue the momentum and sustain Fairfield as one of the premier mid-majors in the country, just a step below Xavier, Gonzaga and Butler. 

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After watching ASU basketball fall to Pepperdine in Wells Fargo Arena on 11/16/11 the guys record Episode 3 of the Kip and Kev Sports Experience. It gets feisty in episode 3 with discussions between the two about the latest on the Penn State scandal, including Joe Paterno’s legacy and ASU’s disappointing loss in Pullman. The guys go deep into the future of the ASU Football program and Dennis Erickson’s job security. As always a NEW SPORTS FAN RULE is explained and picks are made for this weekend’s football games. No Pity for the Kitty!

http://kipandkev.blogspot.com/

Hey guys!

I attended the game on Saturday and it was my first experience crossing paths with Arizona State fans.  Everyone I met and bumped into was very nice and considerate, even as the game got out of hand.  A lot of passion for your team, and you guys made the game very enjoyable.

I hope that in the future my Utes actually make it a game for you guys, but in the meantime, just wanted to wish you luck the rest of the season and tell you thanks for the great fans that you are. 

More good news, Saturdays game (12:30 MST) will be broadcast on Fox Sports Arizona.

Once again, the ASU  Athletics department either doesn't know or wants this to be a secret, since there is no mention of this on their official website.  This is a Division 1 football, not intermurals.  Link

  I don't know know why they even bother to have a website if they are not going to put this kind of basic information on it. 

I'm old enough to remember playing ASU in the WAC and its nice to be back in the same league.  Especially without the blue cougars tagging along.

I'll save the smack for other posts especially with our #1 QB looking out for the game.

For any of you fans coming up to the game, it is looking like a nice weekend for October in Utah with temps being projected in the low 60's - high 50's.  I know all you in the Valley of the Sun are not familiar with that kind of climate, but don't worry, that is not cold enough to snow.  Just bring a good jacket (no need for fur lining or polar fleece) and you will be fine for the day.

Come up and enjoy our Friday night pregame celebrations.  SLC is going all out to make it hospitable for our new PAC-12 neighbors.  All are welcome in Salt Lake regardless of which team you want to win on Saturday.

And any questions about getting to the game or around town, especially since we have a light rail system which wasn't here the last time you visited (definitely the best way to get to the stadium, though a little crowded leaving) feel free to drop me a question or jump over to our blog - Block U - and ask.  Glad to have you join us.

I have been at pretty much every Devil's home game for the last 4 years but this year I am out of town and can't get to many.  That's why I was bummed that according to the ASU Sports website there won't be television coverage of this game.

So, I was really happy to see that the game WILL actually be televised on FSAZ.  I found that by looking at this great website LSU CFB TV that is put together by some nice folks at LSU.  Bookmark it, they have really good info each week about every game which will be on TV.  (Central time, of course).   I verified the FSAZ coverage by looking at the program guide on my TV.  It is there.   Also since then I saw that the Beavers SBNation Block 'Building the Dam' published this back on Sept 20. 

Two conclusions from this:

1) I am very happy that the game will be on, 

and 

2) Why is the Sun Devil's official website so awful ?  Don't they think it's an important communication method ?  This is not the first time I have noticed that they didn't provide important info or were really slow to publish it.

Mine is not high. I am a little (by little I mean big) pessimistic when it comes to ASU sports. 

Oddly enough I am most concerned about the defense. They played remarkably well against Illinois on the road even without their best pass rushing lineman.

Unfortunately, I believe ASU will struggle heavily against offenses that have a good passing game. Missouri had a decent passing game with a running quarterback and ASU struggled. Illinois had a poor passing game with a running quarterback which we were able to shut down.

USC has a top 5 passing quarterback as well as an elite receiver in Robert Woods. Without a blitz it will probably be hard to pressure Barkley, and with his accuracy it could be very easy for him to pick apart our underachieving secondary.

So what do you think? I hope I am wrong by the way. 

The Arizona Republic reported a couple days ago on the possibility of ASU baseball sharing facilities with the Cubs at the new Riverview project.  The move would give the University some flexibility in regards to other projects, but exactly would this mean for the baseball program?  Is this a good or bad move?

First of all, ASU has a facilities crunch.  It's been looking to replace or renovate the football stadium, and is looking at potentially $20 million to renovate the baseball facility.  Both large projects will require money, time, and space that the University frankly doesn't have in the unforgiving landscape that is Arizona's educational system.  Gary Nelson reports that the University would look to redevelop the area around Packard Stadium, using that money to help fund the football stadium project.  

So perhaps ASU won't go to the Cubs stadium, but it seems fairly definitive they're going somewhere.  Perhaps it's Tempe Diablo, or Phoenix Muni, but the baseball team is on the move.  It begs some questions on what that means for the program and University.

What's the cost?  The estimated cost to use the Cubs facility will be about $2 million a year.  It will likely be similar numbers for the other two Spring Training facilities, and the Riverview project has the advantage of being fairly close.  

What about the team?  Getting first class weight rooms and training facilities will be a boon to both current players and recruiting efforts.  On the other hand, what kind of experience could the stadium provide?  Will ASU be able to put up it's championship banners and retired numbers?  It wouldn't be that great to play in a place that is very obviously not the home of the team.  The Cubs seem open to allowing ASU logos to be used, but it's unclear to what extent.

What's the impact?  There's the aforementioned recruiting bonus, but sharing a facility with the Cubs might provide exposure the University might not otherwise get.  Depending on the amount of branding and whether the University gets part of the name (which would be ideal), people all over the Midwest would be marketed ASU both on TV and when they travel to Arizona to attend games.  Free advertising it better than none, and pulling in out of state students is a goal of every public university.

Overall it seems to be a good deal in principle.  If ASU is allowed to brand the facilities, then they'll get an advertising platform that didn't exist before.  The new facilities would aid in recruiting, and wouldn't be too far away.  It might also help bring the dream of a renovated or new football stadium one step closer.  And both projects would help strengthen the athletics of the University without taking away from academics.  Depending on the terms, this could be a great deal for ASU.

I remember reading an article here a year or so ago about Anthony Robles, the one legged nationally ranked ASU wrestler; well today he achieved his goal of winning a national title. 

USA Today Article Here

It's a great story to hear that Anthony has achieved his dream of becoming a national champ after falling short the past two years. It definitely makes me proud to be a Sun Devil and I can also say I'm proud of Anthony for never giving up on a dream in the face of such dire circumstances. It's truly inspirational to know that if you work hard enough, you can achieve whatever you want. Go Devils.