Sun Devils on the rise
ASU challenges for Pac-12 lead
ASU swept the Los Angeles schools this week, beating UCLA 84-66 on Thursday and slipping past USC 66-64 on Saturday.
Six weeks ago the Arizona State men’s basketball team took on Utah with the winner staying out of last place in what was expected to be a competitive Pac-12. The Sun Devils were just 1-3 after their first four conference games but coach Bobby Hurley was quick to point out his team seemingly had the toughest opponents first, three of those on the road.
Fast forward and Hurley’s Sun Devils (15-8, 6-4) have steadily worked their way up the standings, winning five of the last six games and now sitting third, a game and a half out of first place.
ASU swept the Los Angeles schools this week, beating UCLA 84-66 on Thursday and slipping past USC 66-64 on Saturday with those games won in dramatically different fashions.
The Sun Devils turned in perhaps their most efficient performance of the season in beating the Bruins, shooting 50 percent (29for-58) and making 14 3-pointers, including eight of their first 10 tries. They also totaled 16 assists, seven of those from junior point
guard Remy Martin.
But ASU ranks 11th of 12 conference teams in both field goal percentage (42.2) and 3-point percentage (31.6) as well as assists per game (11) so that showing was more the exception rather than the rule.
The Sun Devils’ showing 48 hours later was more typical of the manner in which they have been winning. They shot 31.3 percent, significantly lower than their season average of 42.2. They also had a stretch of 11 minutes without a field goal during which they were 0for-15 from the field but found a way to win.
That way was defense, as ASU forced the Trojans into 24 turnovers, the most by an ASU opponent in a Pac-12 game in the last 10 years. Of those 24, 18 came in the second half in which ASU rallied from a 13-point deficit.
It was something ASU players say they picked up by watching a lot of film of the Trojans, particularly of the guards. So when ASU went into the locker room down by eight, Hurley demanded his team turn up the pressure and it turned the tide in the contest.
ASU leads the conference in steals and has forced their foes into a Pac-12 best 16.4 turnovers per game.
“Pressure busts pipes,” junior guard Alonzo Verge said. “That’s what it came down to.”
While Martin and others, most notably Verge and junior forward Romello White, have shown the ability to shoulder the offensive load, others have stepped up on the defensive end and they have been the players with little impact offensively.
Sophomore forward Taeshon Cherry has struggled miserably on the offensive end of the floor, shooting 33.6 percent from the field and 22.4 from long distance. He has scored just 18 points in the last six games despite averaging 19 minutes per game.
Freshman guard Jaelen House is at 31.1 percent with only 14 points in his last nine games but the two were perhaps the biggest factors in Saturday’s win. Cherry had a plus-minus of 13 while House was a 9, the top two ASU players in that department. That was not overlooked by their teammates.
“Jaelen House, he comes in and he gives us energy,” Martin said. “That helps us a lot. (Sophomore forward) Taeshon (Cherry), a guy that’s not hitting shots, a lot of guys would just carry that over to the defensive end. He’s been doing a great job of just playing defense and not worrying about the offensive end.”
Hurley also singled out Cherry and said he could not afford to not have him on the floor in crunch time.
“He (Cherry) was throwing his body around and being physical. I know he didn’t make any shots but he was having an impact on the game and his energy in our press was very effective. It was more his defense than what he had done on offense. We also needed his size because we were having some issues rebounding late in the game.”
There are eight games left in Pac-12 play and ASU has an equal split of four at home and four on the road. Next up is this week’s swing through North California with a game a Stanford (16-7, 5-5) on Thursday and Cal (10-13, 4-6) on Sunday.
The other road trip will be to Los Angeles for rematches of last week’s games.
ASU has not swept a conference road trip in more than a decade.
The home tilts left are against the Oregon and Washington schools.