ASU falls in Pac-12 opener to WSU
The Arizona State Sun Devils hardly went into their Pac-12 opener brimming with confidence. They were dealt three lopsided losses at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas and dropped five of seven overall to start the season.
With next three games on the conference schedule coming against Oregon, USC and UCLA, all on the road, they were in need of a win against Washington State in their own venue.
Well, the return home made little difference as the visiting Cougars chalked up a 51-29 victory on Wednesday night in the conference opener for both teams at Desert Financial Arena. It was the lowest-scoring game for ASU since 1946.
At 2-6, this is ASU’s worst start to a season since it went 0-8 to open the 1969-70 campaign.
Earlier in the week coach Bobby Hurley said his team’s biggest problem in the Bahamas was finishing halves. On this occasion it wasn’t the finish. It was the start. ASU was only fortunate Washington State wasn’t exactly stellar, either.
The first half ended with the visitors ahead 18-10. ASU shot just 16.7 percent (4-for-24) which included a woeful 2-for-15 from long distance. They were 0-for-6 from the line.
Even the simplest of shots didn’t fall. With 1:13 left in the half Marreon Jackson raced up court after a Cougar turnover, only to miss a layup.
Washington State (6-1) was only slightly better, shooting 24.1 percent (7for-29) with a 2-for-10 from deep. The Cougars were 2-of-7 from the line with the first make coming with 1:55 left in the half.
Each team had nine turnovers but the Cougars benefited from a 29-19 advantage on the boards.
ASU’s fate was sealed in the opening minutes of the second half. Its play remained stagnant while Washington State started making some shots, turning the game into a blowout.
Down 33-16 Jackson air-balled a three-point try at the shot clock buzzer and Washington State corralled the rebound. The result at the other end was a dunk by Mouhamed Gueye that gave the Cougars a 19-point lead. It got worse from there.
ASU ended up shooting an abysmal 21 percent (12-for-57) with a 3-for-26 from long distance. D.J. Horne had a team-high 12, going 5-for-13 from the field
Washington State ended up at 31 percent (18-for-59) but benefited from a 5339 advantage on the boards.
The Sun Devils have yet to a play a game with their full allotment of scholarships players with sophomore forward Marcus Bagley missing his fourth straight games after aggravating a knee injury in the Nov. 15 game against North Florida.
ASU now hits the road for a Sunday game at Oregon. It will then have four nonconference games before resuming Pac-12 play against the Los Angeles schools.