Next up for Mississippi State is the Arizona State Sun Devils. This is Coach Vic Schaefer’s one-time opportunity to tell his women how dangerous this Round 16 foe is. They know. They have seen the Sun Devils in person. They had played the Devils in the Cancun Challenge 16 months ago. State beat Arizona by 22-12 in the fourth quarter and won 65-57 in women’s basketball’s knock-down drag-out. Both teams were left gasping for air and needing ice packs at end. The Sun Devil’s five starters and top reserve players will all be present at the Moda Center on Friday, where the Bulldogs take on the Devils in a 8 p.m. CDT game that will be broadcasted by ESPN2. During Thursday’s pre-tournament media session and workout, the Bulldogs seemed relaxed and confident. They also know what a difficult task lies ahead. Only one starter is returned by State – Teaira Mccowan. But you already know the story of how Schaefer reloaded, rather than going through a rebuilding. Schaefer described the Sun Devils’ starting lineup as “tough, physical and aggressive” for more than 60 consecutive games. His own team could have been his metaphor. In fact, veteran Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne did use almost identical adjectives to describe 32-2 Mississippi State. She added “Tenacious.” Both sides work hard on defense and pride themselves on it. Arizona State (22-10), allowed only 57 points per game. The Devils’ opponents shot just 40%. State allows opponents to score 40 percent against the Bulldogs, while opponents can score 61 points per game. State has been the superior offensive team throughout the season. This is why the Bulldogs are a 12.5 point betting favorite. This is important to know before you take the 12.5: The Sun Devils were defeated only once in 32 games. That was when No. 7 Stanford on its home court. Arizona State faced a full schedule of Top 25 foes, and only one 21-point win was recorded. Look at how the Sun Devils made it to Portland. They played last week in the Coral Gables sub-regional at the Miami Hurricanes’ Miami Hurricanes home floor. Arizona State was the only nonFlorida team at the event. The fifth-seeded Devils defeated UCF 60-45, and then stunned host Miami 57 to 55. This is right: Miami beat No. 2 Louisville at Louisville, and good enough to beat the defending national champion Notre Dame. However, Miami was unable to handle Arizona State in March when it really mattered on its home floor. Schaefer stated, “You have got to give your hat to them beating a higher seed at their home floor.” That tells you something. State is also playing exceptionally well. State has won 10 consecutive games since losing to Missouri February 14 in what Schaefer now calls “the Valentine’s Day massacre”. All but one of those wins were by more than 14 points. The Bulldogs won their sub-regional by crushing Southern and Clemson a total of 188-107. All-American center Teaira Mccowan averaged 21.3 points per game and 13 rebounds during the 10-game winning streak. She scored 30 points, added 11 rebounds, and blocked six shots against Clemson on Sunday night. Schaefer called the Big Tea team “Locked In”. McCowan, as is often the case with these teams, would be the most significant difference. She stands 6’7″ tall and is remarkably fit. The Devils will likely use two to three players on McCowan. McCowan scored 15 points in Cancun and grabbed 14 rebounds. “We just need to be more aggressive than she,” stated Kianna Ibis (the Devils’ 6-1 forward) who will split defensive duties with Johnson Chapman and Shophia Elinga (6-1 on McCowan). Elinga said, “I think we just need to set the tone and be really, really physical with [McCowan] in the first minute. That’s something that can really bother.” We will see. McCowan has had many smaller people cheering her on all season, mostly to no avail. Schaefer says that few State opponents have the combination of toughness and athleticism Arizona State has. Schaefer stated, “They are able to match McCowan’s” capabilities. “You might be tempted to look at them and say, “Well, they’re not 6 ‘…..” They are physically capable of handling her, I assure you. It’s happened before. One more warning to those who are expecting State to win another easy win. In the NCAA Tournament, the Pac 12 made a strong case for being the deepest and best league in the country. Five of the 16 remaining teams are from the Pac 12. Three of the 16 teams still playing are from the Pac 12. If State wins Arizona State, Oregon, another Pac 10 power, would be the most likely opponent on Sunday. Oregon already has a win over State. It was not going to be easy, nobody said.