TEMPE, Arizona — Coming off an emotional Civil War sweep, No. 11 Oregon State faces its latest Pac-12 test at No. 23 Arizona State Friday night.
And there’s a great chance it’ll be a defensive showdown. The Beavers and Sun Devils are the top two scoring defenses in the Pac-12 at 54.6 and 55.5 points allowed per game, respectively, while OSU also ranks fifth nationally in opponent field-goal percentage at 33.5.
OSU and Arizona State, however, play vastly different styles on that end of the floor. The Sun Devils’ trademark is their pressure man-to-man look, while the Beavers rely on playing pinpoint position to get opponents out of rhythm.
“It’s such a different defensive scheme that it takes a little more getting used to,” senior guard Gabby Hanson said of Arizona State’s defense. “We have the (scout-team) guys come in and have them get up in us. (ASU is) just super aggressive. They don’t let up. Their whole defense for 30 seconds is they’re gonna be in your faces.
“It’s just knowing that any moment, you’re aggressive (offensively). We’re always thinking, ‘To the basket. To the basket.’ They’re not going to let us just pass the ball around like maybe some other teams do. They’re gonna be in us and aggressive, and so everyone has to be in attack mode at all times.”
The Sun Devils are led by All-Pac-12 post Sophie Brunner, who averages 13.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. OSU’s Sydney Wiese averages 15.4 points, 4.6 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game while ranking second nationally in three-point field-goal percentage at 49.2.
OSU is currently tied atop the Pac-12 standings with No. 10 Stanford, which hosts USC Friday.
What: No. 11 Oregon State Beavers (20-2, 9-1 Pac-12) vs. No. 23 Arizona State Sun Devils (14-7, 5-5 Pac-12)
When: 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3
Where: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Arizona
TV channel: Pac-12 Networks
Radio: KEJO 1240 in Corvallis; TuneIn
Live stream: Pac-12.com/live
Series history: Arizona State leads the all-time series 37-24, but the Beavers have won four meetings in a row and five of the last seven.
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