Sun Devil women eye tournament under Miller's first-year turnaround

• They won their first 15 games of the season, and their 22 regular season wins are the most an ASU women's coach has ever notched in their first year.
• And the Sun Devils accomplished this with a starting five made up entirely of transfers.

Reality check: Their record alone probably won't be enough to get the Sun Devils to the NCAA tournament.

• Most projections have ASU among the first four teams out of the brackets.

Yes, but: The Big 12 champion gets an automatic spot in the Big Dance, so there's a lot on the line for 10-seed ASU as the conference tournament kicks off Wednesday.

What they're saying: "We're right there and going into the tournament; anything can happen," Miller said this week, per the Arizona Republic.

• "I've seen so much growth and support for women's basketball here from our first game up until today," senior guard Marley Washenitz told the State Press last week. "You can see the difference in our games and the energy."

Catch up quick: ASU hired Miller from Grand Canyon University last year, where she went 117-38 in five seasons and led the Lopes to their first Western Athletic Conference title and NCAA tournament appearance last year.

The intrigue: ASU's first test in the conference tournament is against rival UofA.

• The Wildcats are one of the worst teams in the Big 12 this year, and ASU won both matchups against them this season — their Feb. 14 overtime win against UofA gave Miller her record-breaking 21st win.
• The winner will play 7-seed Iowa State on Thursday.