The top seed in Tempe is on the line between Drop of a Dime and Big Booty Buckets
Gabe Sandoval of Drop of a Dime
The two best teams in Tempe are facing off tonight, and the winner will finish the season undefeated and will be in contention for the top seed in the Arizona State Draft Tournament.
Both teams enter the game 7-0, and both teams have been winning games pretty easily. Big Booty Buckets have won their seven games by an average of 16.7 points, with their closest win being a 10-point win over Team Alkaline. Drop of a Dime have won their seven games by an average of 19.3 points, with their closest win being a one-point win over Run It Up.
This game will likely be much closer than many of the games these two teams have played this season, especially if attendance is not a factor.
It’ll be interesting to see who is able to dictate the pace of the game and how that affects the outcome. Drop of a Dime has the best offense in the league, scoring 104.3 per game, which is more than nine points higher than any other team in the league. Big Booty Buckets has the best defense in the league, holding teams to 74.9 points per game, which is more than four points lower than any other team in the league.
This matchup, unsurprisingly, features some of the best players in the league and in all of UH Arizona. Drop of a Dime has five players that are averaging 15.8 points per game or more. That attack is led by Juan Gonzalez, averaging a team-high 28.1 points per game. That puts him slightly ahead of Gabe Sandoval’s 26.3 points per game, but Sandoval leads in every other main statistical category for the team. He averages a triple-double this season, leading the team with 15 rebounds and 10.6 assists, adding 2.1 steals and 1 block a game.
Will Sorensen has been destroying Tempe for Big Booty Buckets this season, averaging 33 points with shooting percentage splits of 58/57/96. He also leads the team with 11.8 rebounds per game. Still the most impressive stat of this entire article is DJ Hurd’s personal win-loss record this season, which is 13-0 in the games he’s played. The one game he didn’t play came in Gilbert, which his team, G-Town Goons, lost 96-84. Hurd has averaged 24.7/8/10.4 in Tempe this season, shooting 52% from the field and 43% from deep.
It may be to reckless to call this a tournament championship game preview, as 30-plus teams will be competing for that title. But I won’t be surprised if these two teams matchup again deep into their respective tournament runs. Credit to Chris Walker for scheduling this game to end the regular season. That’s some impressive foresight.