The 78-70 loss to Colorado on Saturday night created fresh questions about Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley. He was tactically deficient, and his leadership was questioned by the fact that it was yet another loss in the Big 12.
Internal Warfare is expensive
Arizona State could do nothing about the size and physicality of Colorado. The Buffaloes mastered the glass and out-rebounded the Sun Devils, 40 to 26, and mastered the paint, which stood at 42 to 26. The efficiency of Colorado in the frontcourt continuously stressed ASU, and they couldn’t make efficient adjustments.
Coming back to the field with the advantage of one point, Arizona State soon lost the momentum of its attack. The Sun Devils had gone nine straight without making a shot in a crucial period of time, leading to an easily manageable deficit being stretched into a 10-point difference in no time. Poor shot selection and a lack of ball movement stalled the offense and stopped any sustained momentum.
Second Half Adjustments fail
The issue of halftime adaptations reoccurred later in the game. Although Arizona State kept pace at the beginning, a 7-goal Colorado run at later stages of the half practically sealed the game. ASU was not very successful in counterattacking, a tendency that has manifested itself quite often during the conference games.
Arizona State was heavily dependent on a narrow rotation and was able to utilize eight players. Hurley has already admitted that these restrictions limit the error margin, especially when working on roads such as Boulder, where the elevation and speed may aggravate fatigue.
Beyond Leadership Issues
Within recent weeks, Hurley has publicly vented his frustration, admitting that he is having a hard time penetrating the roster and has cited a lack of discipline. After the defeat, Arizona State dropped to 3 8 in the Big 12 action, and has not won a conference winning streak since its entry into the league. The media has speculated more on the long-term future of Hurley due to the turnover of the roster and the lack of cohesion, which is still evident.
The defeat finished a season sweep by Colorado and highlighted the problems of Arizona State as the season continues.