ASU Men’s Basketball: Sun Devil defense ignites third straight drubbing

After another strong defensive performance on Friday night, it’s clear that ASU men’s basketball loves to get after their opposition for a full 40 minutes. With Bobby Hurley on the sidelines, we shouldn’t be surprised.

With 1:56 remaining in a game that was well out of reach, ASU men’s basketball head coach Bobby Hurley leaped off of the bench in livid elation.

Remy Martin had just been called for an offensive foul, despite seemingly shaking a Northern Arizona defender with a spin-move down the right sideline. The Sun Devils were leading comfortably, up 93-57 with the game well out of reach.

It didn’t matter.

From his days at Duke, we know that Hurley is a stout competitor. He wasn’t afraid to go up and talk smack to the biggest guys on the court, and constantly drove to the basket knowing that heated contact could be approaching.

As a coach, that fire hasn’t changed. In his first rivalry game against Arizona two seasons ago, Hurley was ejected for disputing a call late in the game. On his way to the locker room, Hurley gained the love of all Sun Devil fans worldwide, waving his arms and motivating those in attendance to stand up and get behind their team.

Now in his third season as head coach, Hurley’s team is seeming to feed off that energy.

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In their 97-62 victory over Northern Arizona on Friday night, the Sun Devils topped themselves once again with their best defensive performance of the season. ASU was active right from the tip, constantly jumping in passing lanes to get out transition while rotating well on drives to the basket.

“We tried to put together a 40-minute game,” Coach Hurley noted. “Our defense is way improved with the percentages we allowed and the activity.”

The activity, mainly deflections and blocks at the rim, were especially noteworthy tonight. After forcing 15 turnovers total against the Aztecs on Tuesday, the Sun Devils came out and forced 13 turnovers in the first half on Friday night, which led to 17 points in transition in the early going.

“We wanted to show everybody that it wasn’t a fluke last game,” Romello White said. “[When] we come together, we have something going good.”

In his second game of his college career, White himself proved he wasn’t a fluke either. Offensively, his contributions of 25 points and six rebounds were well noted, but perhaps the most impressive part of his game tonight was what didn’t show up on the stat sheet.

Along with his counterpart in De’Quon Lake, White consistently found himself challenging shots at the rim from Northern Arizona. The rotations of the two were constantly fluid, as they sent three combined blocks out of bounds while seemingly getting a contest up on every shot.

For every player on the floor, this state of mind is a necessity if you’re going to get minutes.

“If you’re taking breaks, you’re going to come out for a bit,” Shannon Evans said. “You’ve got to play hard, for 40 minutes.”

For the Sun Devils, the “40-minute” mentality all starts with the play of their backcourt. Although they’re known for their offensive prowess, Evans, Martin and Tra Holder set the tone when opposing guards cross the half-court line.

Tonight, the trio combined for 10 steals, while Martin also took four charges to take control for ASU in the early going.

“We’re very much in attack mode,” Hurley said. “We’re in a good place right now.”

With three wins under their belt, the Sun Devils hope that these efforts will prepare them well for their next three games, which include matchups against UC Irvine, Kansas State and possibly Xavier. For these opponents, everything in their play will have to be razor sharp.

For now though, everybody can be content that they’ve turned some heads early on.

“Everybody’s taking care of business,” Evans affirmed. “We got a great thing going right now, so we want to keep it rolling.”

Next: ASU Men's Basketball: Sun Devils host NAU and UC Irvine in weekend slate

The Sun Devils will look once again to let the good times roll as they prepare to take on UC Irvine on Sunday afternoon. The game will tip off at noon MT and can be viewed on Pac-12 Arizona.

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