Watch: ASU’s Zylan Cheatham learns he is NCAA Tournament-bound

Zylan Cheatham has been Arizona State’s heartbeat this season, his only one suiting up in a Sun Devil uniform.

A microcosm of his importance to the team showed when the senior forward fouled out of ASU’s Pac-12 Tournament semifinal game against Oregon a minute into overtime Friday. The Sun Devils trailed 69-68, but the Ducks answered a fifth personal on Cheatham by going on a 7-0 run over just 1:12 of game time.

Oregon scored three more points in the final 2:52 to hold off ASU 79-75, putting ASU’s NCAA Tournament hopes at the feet of the selection committee.

And so Cheatham, a First Team All-Pac-12 selection, needed to sweat out Selection Sunday. The Sun Devils’ leader went through all the feels while watching the selection show with his teammates, and ASU sports information director Doug Tammaro caught his range of emotion with a sneakily-placed cell phone.

Cheatham’s nerves built up as CBS pushed the play-in game selections toward the end of their reveal show. When the Sun Devils finally heard their name called, Cheatham’s anxiousness turned to overwhelming happiness.

26 years at ASU not sure I have felt happier for a kid than @1KingZ4 at this moment. Also I’m pretty sneaky with my phone. Got you man! pic.twitter.com/MEgnxrhy62

— Doug Tammaro (@DougTammaro) March 18, 2019

ASU head coach Bobby Hurley told Pac-12 Networks after the show that he took a superstitious approach to the watch party.

“It was a similar setting,” he said. “I think most of the people that were at our selection show last year who came back, we all kind of tried to sit in the same places as we were. I had a pair of socks on before the show and then I took them off as the show started. I knew everything that I did last year and we tried to replicate that as much as possible. It came to fruition. We’re going back to Dayton again.

“All our guys are really juiced to play Wednesday.”

For Cheatham, the day was especially emotional. A product of South Mountain High School, his season playing for his hometown team was on the line. This year, he lost his brother, Wanyaa Stewart, who was shot and killed before New Year’s.

Cheatham didn’t miss time, speaking openly about wanting to play for his brother.

As a No. 11 seed, the Sun Devils will face St. John’s at 6:10 p.m. The game will air on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station and Tru TV.

DANCING 😈 pic.twitter.com/MbmHLcgbKI

— Arizona State Sun Devils (@TheSunDevils) March 17, 2019

We knew it all along 😅 pic.twitter.com/qJA9qZgGxo

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) March 17, 2019

Embrace the Bubble 😈 pic.twitter.com/GxG1ZVcQds

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) March 17, 2019

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