ASU Basketball: Five takeaways from last night’s win over Utah

Maintaining Foul Trouble, Different Rotations

Last night wasn’t optimal for coach Hurley’s rotations. ASU finished with 26 personal fouls, and a total of six players finished three or more.

As a result, many names were forced to cycle in-and-out of the lineup. Vitaliy Shibel and Elias Valtonen were contributors off the bench, and Cherry and Kimani Lawrence each played above 15 minutes in relief.

The surprising factor was the absence of De’Quon Lake.

One of ASU’s two seniors, Lake has been a spark plug in the last two seasons. He’s made 73 percent of his shots in his career, and he blocks just over a shot per game. But last night, he didn’t play for the first time this season. In fact, he hasn’t received over 10 minutes since Jan. 31.

When asked about this last night, Hurley explained Lake’s absence was due to the game’s pace. Things did work out for ASU, but there’s cause to wonder if there’s more to this story.

On Wednesday, the 6-foot-10 forward played with tape around his shoulder. He hadn’t in the past, so this will be something to keep an eye on moving forward.

Without Lake, ASU did match up well with Utah’s perimeter play. Cherry and Cheatham even played at the ‘4’ and the ‘5’, making the Sun Devils better equipped to sustain perimeter offense.

With five games remaining, health will be key if ASU is to make a run in the Pac-12 Tournament. Lake provides rim protection in White’s absence, and without him, the Sun Devils may be forced to go small like last year.

This week, ASU faces the Bay Area schools in its final homestand. With Cal’s Connor Vanover and Stanford’s Josh Sharma on the opposing end, there should be more information about Lake’s health depending on if he plays or not.