TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
Arizona State’s Shannon Evans II attempts a layup against Longwood on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils prevailed, 95-61, and are now 11-0 on the season.
Arizona State forward Mickey Mitchell attempts a layup against Longwood during Tuesday’s game at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. After letting the Lancers hang around in the first half, the No. 3 Sun Devils kicked into gear to beat Longwood 95-61 and extend their school-best start to 11-0.
On the 40th day of this college basketball season, the Arizona State surge finally slowed. It didn’t derail, didn’t disappear, it just hit a speed bump against an opponent that usually resembles road kill.
It’s fine. The No. 3 Sun Devils found their gear in Tuesday’s second half and rolled, overwhelming Longwood 95-61 at Wells Fargo Arena. With one non-conference contest left, they improved to 11-0.
Bottom line: Nothing beats perfection, and coach Bobby Hurley’s team – picked to finish sixth in this season’s Pac-12 – is just one of four that can boast it right now in college basketball.
But this might have served as a lesson. Opponents these days aren’t intimidated by rankings or media darlings or anything of the sort. It just makes them play harder.
The Sun Devils opened Tuesday like they had better things to do – or bigger opponents ahead. (Indeed, they start Pac-12 play against rival Arizona on Dec. 30.) Longwood contributed, playing a 2-3 zone that limited ASU post threat Romello White, but mostly the Sun Devils were flat.
Perhaps this was human nature. Throughout an historic run, ASU had beaten Xavier, St. John’s and Kansas the past month, rocketing up the polls and onto the national stage. And here comes Longwood, a Big South school most college fans couldn’t locate on a map of these great United States. (It’s in Virginia.)
This affects the competitive spirit in ways coaches cannot coach. It’s how Loyola-Chicago beats Florida, Fort Wayne beats Indiana and how the Longwood Lancers – ranked 345th out of 351 teams in the Ken Pomeroy efficiency rankings – hung around much longer than they should have.
With less than two minutes left in the first half, the score was knotted 30-30. No one in Wells Fargo Arena appeared nervous – and in the end, there was no reason – but it’s a dangerous game to play. During Pac-12 travels, slow starts likely will be harder to overcome in places like Pullman, Wash., and Corvallis, Ore. But overcome, ASU did. Leading 35-30 at halftime, the Sun Devils in the second half went on a familiar scoring blitz, outscoring Longwood 16-1 to take control. And from there they kept building. Senior guard Kodi Justice came up with a steal and fed sophomore forward Mickey Mitchell, who wowed the crowd with a reverse dunk. Senior guard Tra Holder buried a 3. Order was restored, but not without a reminder.
With 10:53 left, ASU’s transition defense was slow, giving Kamil Chapman an open 3 from the corner. After the Longwood guard buried it, Hurley called a 30second timeout and lit up the Sun Devils, even with a 19-point lead. Message received.
ASU outscored Longwood 60-31 in the second half.
Although Holder scored 20, the night’s star was Mitchell. He’s everything the senior guards are not, which makes him invaluable. Like freshman guard Remy Martin, the 6-7 Mitchell does the dirty work. Against Longwood he left his touch all over the court, producing 12 points, five rebounds, an assist, two blocked shots and two steals. He also took a charge.
ASU shot just 33.3 percent in the first half but warmed up enough over the final 20 minutes to finish at 44.9. Justice pulled out of a mild shooting slump, scoring 18 points. Junior De'Quon Lake added 16 points, while Martin had 13 points, seven rebounds and nine assists.
ASU closes out the non-conference season Friday against Pacific. Tipoff at Wells Fargo Arena is at 1 p.m.