ASU Basketball: Analysis of loss at the U of A

ASU fans are understandably frustrated by the outcome of last night’s rivalry basketball game against the U of A.  There was always hope that the emotions of this game might have fueled an upset.  But it was not to be.

     For starters, it’s hard to win any conference game on the road.  It’s a little more difficult in Tucson because the U of A basketball team is the biggest ticket in town.  Throw in the fact that it’s a rivalry game and you’ve got a hostile crowd paired up with a Wildcat team that is ready to go to the mat to defend its turf. 

And then of course, there is the fact that this U of A basketball team is pretty darned good.  They are undefeated and number one in the nation for a reason.  They can play.  The Wildcats took control right from the start and never looked back.  Not having senior forward Jermaine Marshall available due to injury did not help matters at all.  The prevailing wisdom, however, is that his presence probably would not have changed the outcome.  That, of course, is arguable.

The most obvious advantage that the U of A has over ASU right now is their athleticism on defense.  The Sun Devils were out-matched.  Good looks at the basket were hard to come by.  The Arizona defenders did an excellent job of preventing penetration by point guard Jahii Carson. (and everyone else)  When any Sun Devil did manage to penetrate the defense, they were closed on immediately and their shot was either blocked or challenged effectively.  Easy passes to the wing or the post were almost non-existent, due to the denial and pressure of Arizona’s man to man defense.  It got so tough, ASU had a 5 second violation called on an inbounds pass under their own basket.  You don’t see that very often.

The effort put forth by the Sun Devils is not really in question.  They played hard.  Starting guard Jahii Carson looked pretty motivated the entire time he was on the floor.  But ASU just didn’t have enough physically to really challenge Arizona.

So, now coach Herb Sendek and his team must regroup.  They have played two of the conference’s best teams in back to back games, earning a loss in both.  Now they know what they are up against.  They still have enough talent to compete with Arizona.  They’ve just got to commit to improving.  Specifically, in their man to man offense, they’ve got to screen better, use the screens more efficiently and use a little more patience to try to wear down the defense throughout each possession.

ASU fans should put this one behind them and hope that the Sun Devils will recover, go on a run against the rest of the conference and wait for the rematch with Arizona next month.  Perhaps playing at home with a healthy Jermaine Marshall and a little momentum will change the dynamic of that game.