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Tonight, your Washington State Cougars, losers of ten of their past twelve games, conclude their Weekend at Ernie’s experience in welcoming the 13-14 Arizona State Sun Devils to Pullman. The game will tip off at Beasley Coliseum at 2 PM PDT. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks and also streamed at pac12.com.
TOMORROW! Doors open at 11:30! Follow these instructions!
— ZZU CRU (@ZZUCRU) February 17, 2017
How-To: Student Section Stunt!
Check the Replies for what it will look like! pic.twitter.com/HUF5iCYcSL
The Cougs actually hold an all-time advantage against the Sun Devils with a 41-36 record. The teams are 2-2 against each other in the Ernie Kent era.
ASU checks in at #125 on KenPom's laptop, 126th in the RPI and are likely still fuming that Gabe Marks got a 5th down in 2015.
Can the Cougs pull off the upset today? There’s a good shot! Arizona State has a relatively shallow rotation, giving six players around 30 minutes per game. The Sun Devils are led by Senior Forward Torian Graham. Graham averages 18 points per game and dropped 29 on Thursday in their victory over Washington. Shooting Guard Tra Holder, averages 17 points per game and had 21 in their win against the Huskies.
Arizona State’s lineup rounds out with PG Shannon Evans, center Obinna Oleka who averages a double-double, and Forward Kodi Justice who shoots threes at a 41% clip. The roster drops off pretty significantly after their starting five, though. Most starters are averaging 32-38 minutes per game.
As mentioned above, the Cougs are in a six-week freefall, going 2-10 over their past twelve games after starting the conference season 2-0. Ernie Kent called out his team for giving in to a losing culture after getting blown-out by the #5 Arizona Wildcats, so we will see if the team answers Coach Kent’s challenge. It’s a three-day weekend in Pullman, so hopefully the Weekend at Ernie’s promotion fills today’s student section.
Pomeroy projects ASU to win this game 80-78 with a 54% confidence. So just shy of a coin flip. Vegas has the Sun Devils as a 3.5 point favorite with a 158 O/U, which means the computers value the Cougs(!!!)
This page will also serve as your game thread for this evening so feel free to cheer for the upset along with the rest of us here. Also, please regale us with your favorite memory of the 1992 Copper Bowl.
Go Cougs!