Arizona State looks to continue its home dominance of Oregon State when the two Pac-12 schools meet on Wednesday night at Tempe, Ariz.
The Sun Devils have won the past 14 home meetings with the Beavers and 22 of the past 23. Oregon State’s lone win in Tempe during the stretch was a 67-59 victory on Jan. 13, 2007.
Arizona State (12-12, 6-7 Pac-12) will be entering the matchup with a big dose of confidence after producing an 85-77 road win against Utah on Saturday. The victory halted a five-game skid.
“There was good ball movement and we were shooting with confidence,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said. “Multiple guys got it going so the defense couldn’t focus on one player. We had good balance in how we played half-court offense.
“To beat NCAA Tournament-caliber teams on the road, you need multiple guys playing well on both ends. We got great contributions from everybody.”
Jose Perez scored 21 points for his seventh 20-point outing of the season. He is averaging 12.8 points, second on the club behind Frankie Collins (13.7 points per game).
Collins has 72 steals, just four behind the single-season program record set by legend Lafayette “Fat” Lever during the 1981-82 campaign.
With the losing streak in the past, Perez said the Sun Devils can still make a run.
“This is the right time to get hot,” Perez said. “Our goal is to put some wins together and be playing our best at the end of the year.”
Oregon State (11-13, 3-10) has dropped four straight games with a 67-55 home loss to Washington on Saturday. The scoring output was the Beavers’ fourth-lowest of the season, and the club shot just 33.9 percent from the field.
Oregon State is averaging just 57.5 points during the four-game slide.
“It’s not easy winning as we rebuild this (program) with a relatively young group,” Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle said. “Everyone has got to look in the mirror. Our guys have got to play more consistently, one through eight, our guys that rotate in off the bench need to become more consistent. … Sometimes we get into a mental fog that costs us.”
Jordan Pope scored 19 points against Washington and leads the Beavers with a 17.3 scoring average.
Oregon State is 0-9 away from home this season, including six true road losses.
The Beavers’ most recent victory against Arizona State came on Jan. 27. Pope scored 19 points as Oregon State recorded an 84-71 win over the Sun Devils in Corvallis, Ore.
–Field Level Media
