Devils in Detail
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ASU MBB: Sun Devils Fall Short Against No. 7 Arizona Wildcats

By Alyanna kathrine Harina

Nov 13, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils fans hold up their fingers during a free throw attempt against the Sacramento State Hornets during the first half at Wells-Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 13, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils fans hold up their fingers during a free throw attempt against the Sacramento State Hornets during the first half at Wells-Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
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Out-sized and out-rebounded, ASU basketball’s shooting ability couldn’t contest with rivals University of Arizona’s explosive offense and overwhelming defense, in their 73-60 loss against the Wildcats. Unable to come away with a win on senior night, the Sun Devils record drops to 14-17 overall (7-11 in the conference).

Incapable of getting into their rhythm, ASU basketball struggled offensively against the top ranked team, shooting 9-23 from the three point line and shooting at 35% overall. For a team that lives by the three and is severely undersized against the Wildcats, the Sun Devils came into the game relying heavily on their shooting ability.

According to senior guard Torian Graham, he thought the Sun Devils did enough defensively but their problem was on offense, not making shots that they were capable of making in past games.

Graham, who has been a major spark for ASU this season, ended the night with 15 points.

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There was no shortage of pandemonium at Wells Fargo Arena as the Sun Devils hung on to the No. 7 Wildcats throughout the first half. Reliant on their quick offense off of turnovers and ability to draw fouls, ASU kept it close against Arizona, trailing at the half 29-30.

“We were in the game in the first half, our defense was fairly consistently good,” head coach Bobby Hurley said. “I thought we could have possibly had a lead at the half if we had executed some free-throw shooting and made a few extra shots because we were getting stops. We just couldn’t get over the hump to get a little cushion.”

The Sun Devils managed to capitalize on Arizona’s foul trouble in the first half, sending them into bonus with eight minutes left in the half and limiting forward Lauri Markkanen to four minutes in the first.

Markkanen, who has averaged 15.4 points and 7.4 rebounds for the Wildcats this season, was an overwhelming presence in the key, the 7’0 freshman finished the night with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Coming out of the half the Sun Devils, once again displayed an inability to adjust defensively as the Wildcats opened up the second half with a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 29-40.

“They came out and hit a couple of big shots and we got a couple of good looks and didn’t make it and they just kept going,” junior guard Kodi Justice said. “It felt like the energy that we had in the first half wasn’t there in the second half.”

Justice, who sent the arena into a frenzy, hitting a deep three to end the Wildcats’ run early in the second half, recorded 17 points for the night and went 4-6 from the three point line.

The Wildcats’ big man presence in the front court continued to cause problems for the Sun Devils on both sides of the ball as ASU struggled to get inside with Markkanen and fellow forward Keanu Pinder crowding the paint. With the Sun Devils’ struggling to defend, Arizona went almost uncontested in the rebound game as the Wildcats out-rebounded the Sun Devils 50-27.

According to Hurley, the offensive rebounds hurt the Sun Devils in the second half and has been a consistent problem with their size.

Next: ASU MBB: Don’t Underestimate the Devils in Vegas

With the end of the regular season, the Sun Devils will travel to Las Vegas to face either Washington State or Stanford on Wednesday in the first game of the Pac-12 Tournament.

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