Marreon Jackson led ASU with 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and six steals. He became the first Pac-12 player to notch those numbers in a regulation game since Klay Thompson on Dec. 8, 2000 vs. Gonzaga.
The Sun Devil men's hoops team end the regular season with a victory over the Stanford Cardinal on Senior Night, winning seven of the last eight games.
7-1 IN PAST EIGHT
Jalen Graham is 44-of-80 (.550) from the field in ASU's past eight games and leads the team at 13.1 points per game…ASU in the past eight games is holding opponents to 57.1 points and outrebounding its opponent by +2.6 per game…the Sun Devils have held 18 opponents to under 40 percent shooting on the year and in the past eight games (7-1) has held opponents to 160-of-437 (.366) from the floor and 51-of-200 (.255) from three…the ASU second-half efficiency in the past eight games has been great, as it is 112-of-210 (.533) from the field, 28-of-70 (.400) from three and is outscoring opponents 288-224…ASU is 7-1 in that time with wins at Washington State, vs. the Oregon schools in Tempe, at Colorado, at Utah and vs. California and Stanford in Tempe with a Monday (Feb. 21) loss at #12 UCLA in the middle…it is holding teams to .333 from the field (71-of-213) and .298 from the three-point arc (28-of-94) in the second half in those games.
8-3 IN PAST 11
ASU had its three-game win streak snapped at UCLA Monday (Feb. 21), but has played pretty well starting with its 87-84 triple overtime win over No. 3 UCLA on Feb. 5. The Sun Devils are scoring 8.3 more points per game in that span, as it is 8-3 in its past 11 after starting 6-13.
FIRST 19 (6-13) / PAST 11 (8-3)
PPG: 62.2 / 70.5
FG-A: 448-1162 (.386) / 301-650 (.463)
3PT-A: 120-436 (.275) / 79-233 (.339)
3PT DEFENSE: 150-451 (.333) / 72-262 (.275)
ASSISTS PG: 11.8 / 15.9
It was a second-half effort for ASU. The Sun Devils entered the period losing by two, but they outscored the visiting team 35-24 thanks to the defensive performance.
The two seniors, Marreon Jackson and Kimani Lawrence, put the exclamation point in the last score of the game, after Jackson rebounded the ball and Lawrence showed off with a windmill dunk that hyped up the Tempe crowd. That is, surely, a great way to end his last home game for the player with the record of most games as a Sun Devil, Kimani Lawrence.
One of the key aspects of the game were the number of turnovers that ASU forced Stanford to commit. The Cardinal lost the ball 21 times, allowing 17 points off turnovers for the Sun Devils. Defense turned into offense and that allowed ASU to end the game with a .490 shooting performance.
All those points made the Sun Devils enjoy their highest differential entering the last two minutes of the game thanks to a 10-0 run that made the score 61-52.
Another important factor in defense for ASU was Stanford's three-point shooting. In the first half, the Cardinal led 19-10 after scoring four threes in four tries. However, from that moment, ASU forced Stanford to go 1-for-8 from beyond the arc. That allowed the Sun Devils to cut the lead and head to the locker room losing only by 2 after an impressive 12-2 run.
DEFENSE: ASU is holding opponents to .399 shooting -- its best defensive effort since 1971-72 -- tied for second-best in school history. ASU has held 18 opponents under 40 percent.
ASU BEST FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE
.391 -- 1962-63 (791-2024)
.399 -- 2021-22 (692-1736)
.399 -- 1971-72 (797-of-1997)
.401 -- 1967-68 (834-2078)
.402 -- 2009-10 (678-1687)
As ASU struggled from the 3-point line, Bobby Hurley's squad put an effort in the interior. The Sun Devils outscored the Cardinal 42-16 in points in the paint.
Marreon Jackson led the Sun Devils in every stat, with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, shooting 8-for-15 from the field. Two other Sun Devils also scored in double figures: Jalen Graham, with 16 (5-for-6 in field goals and 6-for-8 in free throws) and DJ Horne with 12 points.
ASU will play Stanford again on Wednesday (March 9) at noon PT/1 p.m. MT in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
SUN DEVIL GAMES PLAYED
1. 135 – Kimani Lawrence, '17-22
2. 132 – Jon Gilling, '11-15
3. 131 – Derek Glasser, '06-10
Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley
Opening Statement:
"Great closure to the regular season, and how we've been the last few weeks and just happy for Kimani and Marreon to win on their last day. Those two guys have given everything they had and Kimani getting the dunk at the end was fitting and Marreon didn't make the 3's today but man he did play hard on defense with six steals and six assists, so he made winning plays. It was great to see those guys play that way, the crowd was awesome, the lively environments are what we appreciate. It was a lot of fun to be a part of.
On Marreon Jackson making plays in critical moments:
"It's in his DNA to want to guard and want to defend and has really good instincts, he's played a lot of basketball so he knows positionally where to be and reading what the offense is trying to do and make an calculated gamble, but he's in the right seams and its part of what we wanted him to do, We didn't want Stanford to take advantage of their size as their one of the tallest teams in the country to want to be aggressive at that end so he led the charge in that department."
On How Bobby feels about his team going into the Pac-12 Tournament:
"I have tremendous belief in them and what we have been able to do is pretty remarkable considering where we were and just how tough this league is, especially at the top this year. I have a lot of confidence in what we're doing, it doesn't guarantee us anything as we have to have a great week going in. I talked to the guys after the Oregon sweep of winning every game and the more, we win the less likelihood that we'll find a way to lose. We've been in different situations, we were up a lot in some games recently, today was more of a tighter game, I think that will be more helpful as postseason is where rarely you go in and hammer somebody."
On the patience on offense:
"It was good with the drive and close out, it wasn't only like two players, it was everybody. Out transition offense has been better, and multiple guys doing that, we know how important it is to guard the lane well, the turnovers were the only thing that was a problem so we'll have to tighten that up."
On if the team feels dangerous:
"I don't know how you don't feel good about yourself now, everyone's 0-0 and has a clean slate as soon as the games end today. It's about who really wants to advance, who wants to win and make the right plays, and who defends. One thing I will say is that our team has been very consistent on defense regardless of what happens on the other end of the floor."
Graduate Marreon Jackson:
On his one year at ASU:
"Personally it's been a roller coaster for me, dealing with my hand injury for the 20 games, it was not the expectations I wanted coming in, but it made me a better player mentally. I had to go all the way to the basics to get my confidence back. We're on the right path, that's all that matters right now, we caught fire at the right time."
On the team's confidence:
"These last few games, winning seven out of eight is a huge confidence booster going into the Pac-12 tournament, its big for our confidence as a team, going into the tournament with momentum like that is going to help us in our favor."
Graduate Kimani Lawrence:
On Senior Day:
"Its bittersweet, I've been here the last five years of my life, so this is like my home now. I've been trying not to get too emotional and just been trying to focus on the game today. I'm going to miss playing here, I'll miss wearing this uniform and I'll miss everything about Arizona State, it'll probably hit more a little later when I get home."
On the team's momentum:
"Going into the tournament our defense is great and the offense is coming together compared to where we were at earlier in the season. We're playing well as a team, we trust each other and a lot of players are playing well with one another. Its exciting."
On How this year has turned around:
"Honestly with how the season started I kept saying that Oregon State and UCLA made a run last year late, I always believed that we still had a chance, especially with how we were playing in the summer. I thought if we got it turned around we could save our season."