The Arizona State men's basketball team is 22-12 (11-9) after finishing the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament with 12 wins away from home and five quadrant one victories. This is the fourth time in the last six years ASU has won 20 games, establishing itself as a perennial winner. In fact, the 22 wins ties the most in a single season under Head Coach Bobby Hurley and is the second most since ASU made the Pac-12 Tournament final in 2009.
Coach Hurley has already taken Arizona State to the NCAA Tournament twice -- and a third one was on the way in 2019-20 before COVID happened -- and constructed a schedule that has tested his team. Here is a snapshot of the Sun Devils' season through 34 games, including a nine-game win streak, seven road wins, 12 total away from home and five Quad 1 victories...
Recaps of every Sun Devils Men's Basketball game this season can be found here
*Information was last updated through games on March 11
RECORD: 22-12
CONFERENCE RECORD: 11-9
BEST WINS: #20 Michigan (neutral site), VCU (neutral site), at Colorado, Creighton (neutral site), at Oregon, at Arizona
ROAD WINS (7): at Colorado (12/1), at SMU (12/7), at Oregon, at Oregon State, at Stanford, at Cal, at Arizona
NEUTRAL SITE WINS: VCU (11/16), Michigan (11/17), Creighton (12/12), Oregon State (3/8), USC (3/9)
DOUBLE-DIGIT WINS (8): vs. NAU, #20 Michigan (neutral site), vs. Grambling State, vs. Alcorn State, at SMU, vs. San Diego, at Oregon, vs. Oregon State
AP/COACHES POLL RANKING: #25 (Dec. 19/AP), Receiving Votes (Dec. 19/Coaches; 9 votes) Receiving Votes (Jan. 16)
NET: 66
REAL-TIME RPI: 56
KENPOM: 68
STRENGTH OF RECORD: 47
SELECTION SHOW
The 2023 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket will be revealed during the Selection Show, airing live on CBS today. Coverage starts at 3 PM MST, with the 68-team field announced one region at a time. Tune-in to CBS on TV or watch the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Selection Show live stream as Arizona State finds out their postseason fate.
BRACKETOLOGY
Arizona State is firmly in tournament contention approaching March with a spot in the field according to nationally-renowned pundits.
Joe Lunardi: Last Four In
Michael DeCourcey: Last Four In
Andy Katz: Last Four In
USA Today: Last Four In
SB Nation: Last Four In
Bracket Matrix: Included on 98 of the 112 brackets (88%)
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
The Sun Devils have 12 wins away from home, seven of which have come on the road. Arizona State is also 5-1 in neutral site games, with their only loss coming recently at the Pac-12 Tournament to eventual Pac-12 Tournament Championship No. 8 Arizona.
ASU has two wins in a hostile road environment in Tucson in the last five years, tied for second most in the Pac-12 in that span. ASU also have has halftime comebacks this year and three on the road (OSU, Colorado and SMU). All four comebacks have come away from home, with the other one being a neutral site contest against VCU at the Legends Classic held in Brooklyn, NY.
The Sun Devils have swept two road Pac-12 series this season (Oregon, Bays). It is the first time ASU has swept the Bay schools since 2019-20 ASU's six road wins are second in the Pac-12, more than Arizona, Utah and Oregon. In fact, ASU is tied for the most road wins in conference play this season (5) It is just the third time since joining the conference and the first since the 1980-81 season that Arizona State has swept two road series in the same season. ASU was able to earn a true-road win in the non-conference schedule, the Wildcats did not contest a single true-road game outside of conference play.
PAC-12 TOURNAMENT RUN
Coach Hurley's squad is coming off a historical run at the Pac-12 Conference Tournament, making the semifinal round for only the fourth time in program history. Arizona State was seeded No. 6 after finishing the regular season at 11-9 in conference play.
The Sun Devils started their stay in Las Vegas off with a 63-57 win over Oregon State in the opening round. They then went on to beat No. 3 seed USC, 77-72, to advance to the semifinals. Playing their third game in three days, Arizona State's run eventually came to an end with a loss to No. 2 seed Arizona.
Thanks to his efforts throughout the week, Desmond Cambridge Jr. was named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team. He averaged 16.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while adding a tournament-best 3.0 steals per game. In the victory over USC, Cambridge Jr. led the way with 27 points and seven rebounds. He was extremely active defensively against Arizona, set a new a career-high with five steals.
BEST THREE WINS
Arizona State Men's Basketball's top three wins have an average NET of 24.3 (wins over NET #10, #16, and #47). It's higher than four of the seven teams ranked immediately ahead of the Sun Devils on Joe Lunardi's Bracketology. Additionally, ASU is the only team in Lunardi's Last Four Byes, Last Four in and First Four Out to have their top three NET victories come away from home.
FOR THE SAKE OF COMPARISON (According to NET Metric)
ASU has more Quad 1 wins (5) than...
#11 St. Mary's, #13 Florida Atlantic, #17 Creighton, #19 Utah State, #21 Arkansas, #27 Boise State, #29 Memphis, #31 Maryland, #32 Auburn, #34 Illinois, #36 Oral Roberts, #37 Nevada, #38 North Texas, #39 Iowa, #40 Rutgers, #44 Liberty, #45 NC State, #46 North Carolina, #47 Oregon, #48 Mississippi State, #50 USC, #51 College of Charleston, #55 Providence, #56 UAB, #58 VCU, #60 Clemson, #67 Pittsburgh and many more
#13 Florida Atlantic, #21 Arkansas, #36 Oral Roberts, #37 Nevada, #38 North Texas, #44 Liberty, #45 NC State, #46 North Carolina, #48 Mississippi State, #51 College of Charleston, #55 Providence, #56 UAB, #58 VCU, #59 Iona, #60 Clemson, #67 Pittsburgh and many more
ASU has less Quad 3 and 4 losses (1) than...
#11 St. Mary's, #18 Texas A&M, #19 Utah State, #22 Xavier, #25 Kentucky, #27 Boise State, #35 Miami, #37 Nevada, #38 North Texas, #39 Iowa, #40 Rutgers, #44 Liberty, #50 USC, #60 Clemson, #67 Pittsburgh
#1 Houston, #11 St. Mary's, #13 FAU, #16 Duke, #18 Texas A&M, #19 Utah State, #26 Virginia, #27 Boise State, #29 Memphis, #35 Miami, #44 Liberty, #50 USC, #51 College of Charleston, #55 Providence, #56 UAB, #58 VCU, #60 Clemson, #67 Pittsburgh
The Sun Devils are one of only four teams in the Power 5, Big East and Mountain West to have forced double digit turnovers in each conference game this season. Arizona State has had 26 consecutive conference games forcing double-digit turnovers, the most in the Pac-12. In fact, it's the 32nd time in the last 34 games forcing double-digit turnovers, and 59 of 65 dating back to the start of last season. Against the Wildcats in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, ASU committed just nine turnovers, the fewest since Feb. 18 vs. Utah.
In fact, the Sun Devils had an outstanding turnover margin at UCLA. UCLA entered the contest as the national leader in turnover differential, leading by an average of +6 per game. ASU led the turnover battle 19-16. The Bruins had won the turnover battle in 28 of 29 games played entering. The Bruins averaged 10.2 turnovers per game entering (fewest in Pac-12) and turned the ball over 10+ times in the first half twice this season; both against ASU. Additionally, the Sun Devil defense forced seven Bruin turnovers in the first 9:59.
DON'T COUNT US OUT
The Sun Devils have six halftime comebacks this year and three on the road (OSU, Colorado and SMU). Four of the six comebacks have come away from home, in addition to a neutral site contest against VCU at the Legends Classic held in Brooklyn, NY. 18 of the 39 halftime comebacks under Coach Hurley have been on the road and 23 have come in Pac-12 play. The Sun Devils trailed by as many as 16 on the road against Oregon State, making it the largest comeback since they overcame a 22-point deficit against Arizona on February 25, 2020. The win was also ASU's largest road comeback since trailing by 18 at Georgia on December 15, 2018.
While they didn't qualify as comebacks, in wins over Creighton and Stanford away from home, ASU withstood 16-0 and 14-0 runs respectively in the second half and still came away with a victory. Prior to their 65-57 loss to Arizona State after leading 26-25 at the half, Utah was undefeated (17-0) when taking the advantage into the break.
SHARING THE ROCK
Arizona State has had 11 games this season with at least a 60% A/FGM ratio. It is the most in a single season since ASU had 13 such-games in the 2015-16 campaign. In fact, 484 of ASU's 850 field goals this season have come on assisted baskets. That's good for 56.9%. It is tracking to be the highest percentage of assists to made field goals in a season since 471 out of 836 field goals were assisted on in the 2013-14 season (56.34%). The Sun Devils had 15 assists on 23 made baskets against the Trojans in the Pac-12 semifinals. That's good for a 65% assist to field goal made ratio.
CONQUERING CONFERENCE CONTENDERS
Six of the Sun Devils' losses have come away from home and with a key piece of their rotation sidelined.
at Texas Southern - No Jamiya Neal
at San Francisco - No Desmond Cambridge Jr.
at Washington State - No DJ Horne
at No. 4 UCLA - No Austin Nunez
at USC - No Austn Nunez
vs. Arizona (Pac-12 Tournament) No Austin Nunez
In contrast, ASU has been able to overcome players missing to earn key victories.
vs. NAU – won 84-68 without Desmond Cambridge Jr.
at Colorado – won 60-59 without Frankie Collins
at Stanford – won 68-65 without Warren Washington
at California – won 70-62 without Warren Washington
at No. 7 Arizona – won 89-88 without Austin Nunez
Oregon State (Pac-12 Tournament) - won 63-57 without Auztin Nunes
USC (Pac-12 Tournament) - won 77-72 without Austin Nunez
ASU's regular starting lineup of Frankie Collins, DJ Horne, Desmond Cambridge Jr., Devan Cambridge and Warren Washington is 16-7.
TOP 100 NET WINS
The win in Tucson marked ASU's ninth of the season in a game separated by two possessions or less. The Sun Devils have 35 wins in two-possesion games since the start of the 2019-20 season, tied with Wisconsin for the national lead. In a seven game stretch in league play 247:19 of 285 total minutes (86.7%) had been separated by two possessions or less. ASU was 5-2 in those games. In fact, in the last three, a total of 6:39 of the last 120 (95.4%) minutes were been separated by two possessions or less. Arizona State trailed by two-or-more possessions for 15:04 in the first half of its initial meeting against Arizona this year. They trailed by two-or-more possessions for just 2:34 in their second meeting.
DEFENSIVE METRICS
He had seven against the Sun Devil defense. KenPom has ASU rated as the fifth best two point percentage defense in the country. ASU also has the 10th best field goal percentage defense in the country. In 28 games this season, Wildcat big man Oumar Ballo has been held to less than 10 points just five times.
END OF YEAR HONORS
Sun Devil Men's Basketball has two representatives on Pac-12 award lists as Desmond Cambridge Jr. has been named to the All-Pac-12 Second Team and Warren Washington has earned recognition as an honorable mention for the All-Defensive Team, according to an announcement by the league office Tuesday morning.
Cambridge Jr. lands on the Second Team after leading the Pac-12 in Player of the Week Awards, as he is one of only two players in the conference that was recognized three times. The only other player to do so is the Pac-12 Player of the Year, Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA), who is also a candidate for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Wooden Award.
The seven-footer Washington safeguarded the metrically second-best defense in the conference. With Washington in the middle, the Sun Devils had the fifth-best two point percentage defense and the 12th best field-goal percentage defense nationally. Both were second in the Pac-12 behind Southern California. At the time of his recognition, Washington's 1.79 blocks per game rank 40th nationally and higher than two of the three centers who earned a selection to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team. Being the tallest player on the roster, Washington has earned the Sun Devils the fourth-best field goal percentage defense nationally on shots at the rim, best among Pac-12 teams.
Coach Hurley has already taken Arizona State to the NCAA Tournament twice -- and a third one was on the way in 2019-20 before COVID happened -- and constructed a schedule that has tested his team. Here is a snapshot of the Sun Devils' season through 34 games, including a nine-game win streak, seven road wins, 12 total away from home and five Quad 1 victories...
Recaps of every Sun Devils Men's Basketball game this season can be found here
*Information was last updated through games on March 11
RECORD: 22-12
CONFERENCE RECORD: 11-9
BEST WINS: #20 Michigan (neutral site), VCU (neutral site), at Colorado, Creighton (neutral site), at Oregon, at Arizona
ROAD WINS (7): at Colorado (12/1), at SMU (12/7), at Oregon, at Oregon State, at Stanford, at Cal, at Arizona
NEUTRAL SITE WINS: VCU (11/16), Michigan (11/17), Creighton (12/12), Oregon State (3/8), USC (3/9)
DOUBLE-DIGIT WINS (8): vs. NAU, #20 Michigan (neutral site), vs. Grambling State, vs. Alcorn State, at SMU, vs. San Diego, at Oregon, vs. Oregon State
AP/COACHES POLL RANKING: #25 (Dec. 19/AP), Receiving Votes (Dec. 19/Coaches; 9 votes) Receiving Votes (Jan. 16)
NET: 66
REAL-TIME RPI: 56
KENPOM: 68
STRENGTH OF RECORD: 47
SELECTION SHOW
The 2023 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket will be revealed during the Selection Show, airing live on CBS today. Coverage starts at 3 PM MST, with the 68-team field announced one region at a time. Tune-in to CBS on TV or watch the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Selection Show live stream as Arizona State finds out their postseason fate.
BRACKETOLOGY
Arizona State is firmly in tournament contention approaching March with a spot in the field according to nationally-renowned pundits.
Joe Lunardi: Last Four In
Michael DeCourcey: Last Four In
Andy Katz: Last Four In
USA Today: Last Four In
SB Nation: Last Four In
Bracket Matrix: Included on 98 of the 112 brackets (88%)
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
The Sun Devils have 12 wins away from home, seven of which have come on the road. Arizona State is also 5-1 in neutral site games, with their only loss coming recently at the Pac-12 Tournament to eventual Pac-12 Tournament Championship No. 8 Arizona.
ASU has two wins in a hostile road environment in Tucson in the last five years, tied for second most in the Pac-12 in that span. ASU also have has halftime comebacks this year and three on the road (OSU, Colorado and SMU). All four comebacks have come away from home, with the other one being a neutral site contest against VCU at the Legends Classic held in Brooklyn, NY.
The Sun Devils have swept two road Pac-12 series this season (Oregon, Bays). It is the first time ASU has swept the Bay schools since 2019-20 ASU's six road wins are second in the Pac-12, more than Arizona, Utah and Oregon. In fact, ASU is tied for the most road wins in conference play this season (5) It is just the third time since joining the conference and the first since the 1980-81 season that Arizona State has swept two road series in the same season. ASU was able to earn a true-road win in the non-conference schedule, the Wildcats did not contest a single true-road game outside of conference play.
PAC-12 TOURNAMENT RUN
Coach Hurley's squad is coming off a historical run at the Pac-12 Conference Tournament, making the semifinal round for only the fourth time in program history. Arizona State was seeded No. 6 after finishing the regular season at 11-9 in conference play.
The Sun Devils started their stay in Las Vegas off with a 63-57 win over Oregon State in the opening round. They then went on to beat No. 3 seed USC, 77-72, to advance to the semifinals. Playing their third game in three days, Arizona State's run eventually came to an end with a loss to No. 2 seed Arizona.
Thanks to his efforts throughout the week, Desmond Cambridge Jr. was named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team. He averaged 16.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while adding a tournament-best 3.0 steals per game. In the victory over USC, Cambridge Jr. led the way with 27 points and seven rebounds. He was extremely active defensively against Arizona, set a new a career-high with five steals.
BEST THREE WINS
Arizona State Men's Basketball's top three wins have an average NET of 24.3 (wins over NET #10, #16, and #47). It's higher than four of the seven teams ranked immediately ahead of the Sun Devils on Joe Lunardi's Bracketology. Additionally, ASU is the only team in Lunardi's Last Four Byes, Last Four in and First Four Out to have their top three NET victories come away from home.
FOR THE SAKE OF COMPARISON (According to NET Metric)
ASU has more Quad 1 wins (5) than...
#11 St. Mary's, #13 Florida Atlantic, #17 Creighton, #19 Utah State, #21 Arkansas, #27 Boise State, #29 Memphis, #31 Maryland, #32 Auburn, #34 Illinois, #36 Oral Roberts, #37 Nevada, #38 North Texas, #39 Iowa, #40 Rutgers, #44 Liberty, #45 NC State, #46 North Carolina, #47 Oregon, #48 Mississippi State, #50 USC, #51 College of Charleston, #55 Providence, #56 UAB, #58 VCU, #60 Clemson, #67 Pittsburgh and many more
- Five teams in the NET Top-25
- 21 teams in the NET Top-50
- Only 25 total teams in the country own more Quad 1 wins than ASU
#13 Florida Atlantic, #21 Arkansas, #36 Oral Roberts, #37 Nevada, #38 North Texas, #44 Liberty, #45 NC State, #46 North Carolina, #48 Mississippi State, #51 College of Charleston, #55 Providence, #56 UAB, #58 VCU, #59 Iona, #60 Clemson, #67 Pittsburgh and many more
ASU has less Quad 3 and 4 losses (1) than...
#11 St. Mary's, #18 Texas A&M, #19 Utah State, #22 Xavier, #25 Kentucky, #27 Boise State, #35 Miami, #37 Nevada, #38 North Texas, #39 Iowa, #40 Rutgers, #44 Liberty, #50 USC, #60 Clemson, #67 Pittsburgh
- Five teams in the NET Top-25
- 13 teams in the NET Top-50
#1 Houston, #11 St. Mary's, #13 FAU, #16 Duke, #18 Texas A&M, #19 Utah State, #26 Virginia, #27 Boise State, #29 Memphis, #35 Miami, #44 Liberty, #50 USC, #51 College of Charleston, #55 Providence, #56 UAB, #58 VCU, #60 Clemson, #67 Pittsburgh
- Six teams in the NET Top-25
- 12 teams in the NET Top-50
The Sun Devils are one of only four teams in the Power 5, Big East and Mountain West to have forced double digit turnovers in each conference game this season. Arizona State has had 26 consecutive conference games forcing double-digit turnovers, the most in the Pac-12. In fact, it's the 32nd time in the last 34 games forcing double-digit turnovers, and 59 of 65 dating back to the start of last season. Against the Wildcats in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, ASU committed just nine turnovers, the fewest since Feb. 18 vs. Utah.
In fact, the Sun Devils had an outstanding turnover margin at UCLA. UCLA entered the contest as the national leader in turnover differential, leading by an average of +6 per game. ASU led the turnover battle 19-16. The Bruins had won the turnover battle in 28 of 29 games played entering. The Bruins averaged 10.2 turnovers per game entering (fewest in Pac-12) and turned the ball over 10+ times in the first half twice this season; both against ASU. Additionally, the Sun Devil defense forced seven Bruin turnovers in the first 9:59.
DON'T COUNT US OUT
The Sun Devils have six halftime comebacks this year and three on the road (OSU, Colorado and SMU). Four of the six comebacks have come away from home, in addition to a neutral site contest against VCU at the Legends Classic held in Brooklyn, NY. 18 of the 39 halftime comebacks under Coach Hurley have been on the road and 23 have come in Pac-12 play. The Sun Devils trailed by as many as 16 on the road against Oregon State, making it the largest comeback since they overcame a 22-point deficit against Arizona on February 25, 2020. The win was also ASU's largest road comeback since trailing by 18 at Georgia on December 15, 2018.
While they didn't qualify as comebacks, in wins over Creighton and Stanford away from home, ASU withstood 16-0 and 14-0 runs respectively in the second half and still came away with a victory. Prior to their 65-57 loss to Arizona State after leading 26-25 at the half, Utah was undefeated (17-0) when taking the advantage into the break.
SHARING THE ROCK
Arizona State has had 11 games this season with at least a 60% A/FGM ratio. It is the most in a single season since ASU had 13 such-games in the 2015-16 campaign. In fact, 484 of ASU's 850 field goals this season have come on assisted baskets. That's good for 56.9%. It is tracking to be the highest percentage of assists to made field goals in a season since 471 out of 836 field goals were assisted on in the 2013-14 season (56.34%). The Sun Devils had 15 assists on 23 made baskets against the Trojans in the Pac-12 semifinals. That's good for a 65% assist to field goal made ratio.
CONQUERING CONFERENCE CONTENDERS
Arizona State owns victories over the following teams that were among the best in their respective conferences:
- NAU – Made Big Sky Tournament Championship Game
- VCU – Won the Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championship; Won the A-10 Tournament Championship
- Grambling State – Tied for the SWAC Regular Season Co-Champs; Made SWAC Tournament Championship Game
- Alcorn State – Tied for the SWAC Regular Season Co-Champs
- Creighton – Finished third in the Big East with a 14-6 record; Made Big East Tournament Semifinals
- at Oregon – Finished fourth in the Pac-12; Made Pac-12 Tournament Semifinals
- at Arizona – Finished second in the Pac-12 with a 14-6 record; Won the Pac-12 Tournament Championship
- USC - Finished third in the Pac-12 with a 14-6 record
Six of the Sun Devils' losses have come away from home and with a key piece of their rotation sidelined.
at Texas Southern - No Jamiya Neal
at San Francisco - No Desmond Cambridge Jr.
at Washington State - No DJ Horne
at No. 4 UCLA - No Austin Nunez
at USC - No Austn Nunez
vs. Arizona (Pac-12 Tournament) No Austin Nunez
In contrast, ASU has been able to overcome players missing to earn key victories.
vs. NAU – won 84-68 without Desmond Cambridge Jr.
at Colorado – won 60-59 without Frankie Collins
at Stanford – won 68-65 without Warren Washington
at California – won 70-62 without Warren Washington
at No. 7 Arizona – won 89-88 without Austin Nunez
Oregon State (Pac-12 Tournament) - won 63-57 without Auztin Nunes
USC (Pac-12 Tournament) - won 77-72 without Austin Nunez
ASU's regular starting lineup of Frankie Collins, DJ Horne, Desmond Cambridge Jr., Devan Cambridge and Warren Washington is 16-7.
TOP 100 NET WINS
- Quad 1: 5-6 (wins over Arizona, Creighton, Oregon, Colorado)
- Quad 2: 4-5 (wins over Michigan, VCU, Utah, Washington St, Stanford)
- Quad 3: 5-0 (wins over Stanford, Washington, SMU, Oregon State)
- Quad 4: 8-1 (wins over Tarleton State, Grambling State, Oregon State, San Diego, Alcorn, Northern Arizona, California)
ASU has four wins over Top-50 teams, 11 wins over Top-100 teams and 12 wins over Top-150 teams in the NET. The Sun Devils are one of only five unranked teams to hold victories over two Top-17 teams in the NET.
- Arizona (#10)*
- Creighton (#17)*
- Oregon (#47)*
- USC (#50)*
- VCU (#58)*
- Michigan (#62)*
- Colorado (#69)*
- Washington State (#73)
- Utah (#79)
- Stanford (#97)*
- Stanford (#97)
- Washington (#122)
*Away from home
The win in Tucson marked ASU's ninth of the season in a game separated by two possessions or less. The Sun Devils have 35 wins in two-possesion games since the start of the 2019-20 season, tied with Wisconsin for the national lead. In a seven game stretch in league play 247:19 of 285 total minutes (86.7%) had been separated by two possessions or less. ASU was 5-2 in those games. In fact, in the last three, a total of 6:39 of the last 120 (95.4%) minutes were been separated by two possessions or less. Arizona State trailed by two-or-more possessions for 15:04 in the first half of its initial meeting against Arizona this year. They trailed by two-or-more possessions for just 2:34 in their second meeting.
DEFENSIVE METRICS
He had seven against the Sun Devil defense. KenPom has ASU rated as the fifth best two point percentage defense in the country. ASU also has the 10th best field goal percentage defense in the country. In 28 games this season, Wildcat big man Oumar Ballo has been held to less than 10 points just five times.
END OF YEAR HONORS
Sun Devil Men's Basketball has two representatives on Pac-12 award lists as Desmond Cambridge Jr. has been named to the All-Pac-12 Second Team and Warren Washington has earned recognition as an honorable mention for the All-Defensive Team, according to an announcement by the league office Tuesday morning.
Cambridge Jr. lands on the Second Team after leading the Pac-12 in Player of the Week Awards, as he is one of only two players in the conference that was recognized three times. The only other player to do so is the Pac-12 Player of the Year, Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA), who is also a candidate for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Wooden Award.
The seven-footer Washington safeguarded the metrically second-best defense in the conference. With Washington in the middle, the Sun Devils had the fifth-best two point percentage defense and the 12th best field-goal percentage defense nationally. Both were second in the Pac-12 behind Southern California. At the time of his recognition, Washington's 1.79 blocks per game rank 40th nationally and higher than two of the three centers who earned a selection to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team. Being the tallest player on the roster, Washington has earned the Sun Devils the fourth-best field goal percentage defense nationally on shots at the rim, best among Pac-12 teams.