Sun Devils facing Nevada in the First Four Wednesday night
(Indianapolis, IN) Arizona State Men’s Basketball will compete in the NCAA Tournament after earning selection to March Madness this afternoon on the national selection show hosted by CBS Sunday evening.
Arizona State (22-12, 11-9) is an 11 seed heading to the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, where they will face the Nevada Wolfpack (22-10, 12-6 Mountain West). It will be the third all-time meeting between the squads. Tip is scheduled for Wednesday, March 15 at 6:10 MST/9:10 PM EST on TruTV.
ASU has made the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time in program history and third under Head Coach Bobby Hurley. It is the second most tournament appearances for a Sun Devil Head Coach.
Sun Devil Men’s Basketball has tied for its most wins in the Hurley era, including 12 wins away from home with seven true road wins and a 5-1 mark on neutral floors. The only Sun Devil setback at a neutral site came against No. 8 Arizona in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament, who was seeded second and won the tournament, beating the AP No. 2 UCLA Bruins.
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, setting a new career-high with five steals.
Cambridge Jr. landed on the All-Pac-12 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.
Stay tuned for more details on Sun Devil Men’s Basketball’s matchup with No. 11 seed Nevada. The winner would face No. 6 seed TCU in Denver on Friday, March 17 at 7:05 PM MST on TruTV.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Josh Schwam, Graduate Media Relations Intern
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