Five takeaways from ASU's 103-73 defeat to No.7 Houston
Following the Sun Devils’ narrow loss against in-state rivals No.1 Arizona last Wednesday, head coach Bobby Hurley said if his program could “bottle up” the impressive showing versus the nation’s best program, then they’ll give themselves a good chance to win games in the Big 12.
Unfortunately, Arizona State’s (10-8, 1-4 Big 12) momentum dwindled out on Sunday as No.7 Houston (17-1, 4-0) dominated in a wire-to-wire showing ending in a 103-73 victory for the host Cougars. Here are the takeaways
The Power’s at Be did ASU no favors.
For the weeks and Months leading up to the season, Hurley raved about the difficulties of the Big 12 conference, describing it as a “guanlet.” The conference is certainly one of, if not the premier league, in men’s college basketball. In the 2025 NCAA tournament, 10 of 68 programs came from the Big 12.
Regardless of how the schedule shaped out for ASU, the Big 12 was going to provide difficult opponents without failure; however, the Sun Devils’ first three in their conference slate came against three of the top four teams in the Big 12.
The daunting road test began against then-No. 9 BYU, led by the nation’s leading scorer, Freshman AJ Dybantsa, and then followed by a Territorial Cup clash against the undefeated Wildcats. Sunday’s game is the last of the maroon and gold’s slate against the conference’s best programs for weeks.
Up next for Hurley and the Sun Devils are two home games against West Virginia and Cincinnati. They’ll be aiming to take advantage of facing programs that sit closer to them in the standings to build momentum and confidence for the rest of their Big 12 season.
Houston’s Hot Start
To describe the opening minutes of the contest as lopsided could be an understatement. The Cougars watched ASU take a lead into halftime against Arizona in Tucson, and they decided the game was over as a contest when they jumped out to a 30-5 lead in less than nine minutes of play.
Defense led to transition opportunities as Houston scored four of its first nine baskets on the fast break. Junior guard Bryce Ford took the lid off the basket for the Sun Devils after nearly three minutes.
The lead remained around 30 points for the entire first half, and the Courgars led by 27 at the break. In the second half, the Sun Devils did go on a 14-0 run to create an intruiging 13 point deficient, but after the score was 79-66, Houston went on its own 18-2 run to go back up 29 points with two minutes left to play.
Diop’s first drought in Big 12 action
Regardless of its record, the freshman center Massamba Diop gave ASU fans excitement. He hit a stride in his budding college career after scoring 16 points or more in four consecutive contest including three 20-point outings. His streak of scoring 10+ was up to eight games.
Beyond his scoring ability, which is showcased on all three levels for the 7-footer, Diop was rebounding at an improved level and defending at the basket. After four games in the Big 12, he was averaging over 3 blocks per game, including a career-high seven block night against Colorado.
Against Houston, Diop struggled, scoring just six points on 1-of-5 shooting with no blocks. He has the second-worst plus/minus ratio for ASU at -34 points in 27 minutes. The young big man faced a difficult matchup on the interior against a 6-foot-8 forward, Joseph Tugler. The junior used his collegiate experience to score in the paint without a hassle, and he finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Issues with the interior
ASU failed to score at an effective rate, converting just 40.7% of its attempts, compared to 56.3% for the Cougars. Yet shooting wasn’t the issue for Hurley’s team as the Sun Devils shot over 36% from beyond the arc, hitting nine 3-pointers.
Four Sun Devils knocked down at least two shots from 3-point territory, but they couldn’t convert shots at the rim or in the midrange. Senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson was the only ASU player to hit three or more shots from inside the arc, and the team converted just 50% of its layups.
Houston deserves a large chunk of credit for this lackluster offensive display; its defense is the best in the Big 12, allowing just 60.1 points per game, while holding opponents to just 39.1% from the field, which is the second-best rate in the conference as well.
The Sun Devils ceiling
Anything can happen over the course of a 40-minute collegiate basketball game, but after five games in Big 12 play, it appears clear where ASU stacks up against the rest of the pack. The Maroons and Gold’s sole league victory is over the conference-worst Kansas State, which has yet to win a Big 12 contest.
Losing their first conference game to Colorado set the Sun Devils on a downward trajectory; their other three losses will be easy to conclude as one-sided matchups against dominant opponents.
The upcoming schedule features the difference-making matchups of the season for this team. Consecutive home games against unranked opponents need to be circled for the players. On Wednesday, the Mountaineers come to town after they defeated Colorado Saturday night. They’ve already earned their marquee win of the season, knocking off Kansas, led by one of the nation’s most exciting freshmen, Darryn Peterson.
After West Virginia, during the week is a Saturday matinee against Cincinnati. The Bearcats have played a season to remember. After falling to 8-8, their fans arrived at the game wearing paper bags over their faces, symbolizing their disappointment with the program.
The team followed that up by winning its next two games and taking down No.2 Iowa State on Saturday in front of the same home fans who displayed their grievances just days prior.
