ASU Basketball NCAA Tournament chances: At 20-11, March Madness hopes are slim

After a shellacking on the road in Tucson, the Arizona State basketball team limps into the Pac-12 Tournament with a four game losing streak. There is good news, however: anything can happen in Las Vegas.

ASU plays in the first game of the tournament, facing off against #8 Stanford in a do-or-die battle for both teams. The Sun Devils will need to find an answer for Dwight Powell, the Cardinal's athletic 6-10 forward that gave ASU fits in their home loss last month.

In terms of RPI, ASU actually moved up 3 spots to 91 after playing Arizona. Tough road games rarely hurt your RPI, but losing them does nothing for your perception. Colorado's loss to Oregon State was an absolute disaster for CU, dropping them out of the "signature win" category for the Sun Devils and casting even more doubt on ASU's schedule.

To make the NCAA Tournament, ASU will need to run the table in Vegas. Their lack of quality OOC wins and a weak strength of schedule will give them no leeway with a selection committee that prides itself on selecting teams that showcase their talents down the stretch and play tough opponents all year long.

Without further ado, your RPI update for March 11, thanks to the information from CBS Sports:

Overall Record = 20-11

Pac-12 Record = 9-9

Home Record = 15-4

Away Record = 4-6

Neutral Record = 1-1

Top 50 Record = 4-4

RPI = 91

SOS = 113

Signature Wins (RPI 1-30) = None

Quality Wins (RPI 31-100) = UCLA (31), Colorado (36), @ Colorado (36), California (48), Arkansas (80)

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = @ USC (101), @ Utah (174), DePaul (199)

Quick Analysis: This has been a dreadful month for the Devils.

Next up for the Sun Devils: Wednesday at high noon, ASU faces Stanford at the MGM Grand. The classic 8/9 game. Can Arizona State put together a good fight, or will they make a quick exit? Definitely a game worth watching on the Pac-12 Networks.