Five Takeaways from ASU’s 86-65 loss to Iowa State
The emotional high of Arizona State’s upset victory over No.14 Kansas last Tuesday had all the ingredients for a momentous ending to the regular season. A court storming, after knocking off a blue blood program featuring one of the nation’s most talented players.
Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, that wasn’t their final test of the gauntlet that is the Big 12; a trip to Ames against No.6 Iowa State on Saturday was the final opportunity for head coach Bobby Hurley’s program to stamp a marquee victory against another ranked conference opponent.
The first half invoked the same hope in ASU fans that was felt just days prior against the Jayhawks. ASU put together an 8-0 run to close out the opening half, taking a 41-37 lead over the Cyclones into the break.
However, a second half dictated by elite Iowa State ball pressure forced 13 Sun Devil (16-15, 7-11 Big 12) turnovers en route to Iowa State’s (25-6, 12-6) 86-65 win to close out the regular season.
Here are the takeaways:
The Turnover Tailspin
With 17 minutes left in the game, senior guard Moe Odum found freshman forward Massamba Diop on the elbow for a jumpshot. The 7-footer stroked the net with ease, and ASU held a four-point advantage. That would be the last time ASU would score for the next eight minutes. It wouldn’t register a field goal, however, for nearly 11.
It began with ball pressure; Iowa State ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing 65.7 points per game heading into Saturday. A major part of head coach Jimmy Rodgers’ defensive scheme is ball pressure, as the Cyclones have the second-best turnover margin in the conference, averaging 15.3 turnovers, the most in the Big 12.
Iowa State mounted a 24-0 run off the back of the mass of turnovers from ASU. The ball pressure took away any first-half momentum from the contest. The Sun Devils shot just 6-of-19 in the second half, scoring few and far between.
Second-half fall-offs have been frequent for the Sun Devils; the team has led against big-name opposition multiple times, including against No.2 Arizona in Tucson during a tightly contested matchup on Jan 14, they led 39-38 at the break, albeit a slim margin, nonetheless a tell tale sign for the next stretch of games in which second half leads were quickly erased.
“We have a lot of scares, battle scares,” Hurley said post-game. “These kids, I’ve really enjoyed coaching them. They give me what they have; we have to figure out how to put together two halves. Even in our Kansas win, we were up 40-20 at halftime, and they cut it to two. We had a lead up eight at baylor we couldn’t finish that game, UCF, another game we couldn’t finish.”
Physicality makes the difference.
Forcing a team into turnovers sounds like an ideal way for teams to play sweltering defense, but actually executing that plan is much harder than it seems. The Cyclones quickly established their physical dominance in the second half.
It started on the perimeter. Senior guard Tamim Lipsey has been a phenomenal floor general, and that continued on Saturday. He scored 16 points while dishing six dimes and collecting another half dozen steals. Paired alongside French freshman Kiliyan Toure, who guarded Odum full court as well as gathered a pair of steals, made it difficult for ASU to find any rhythm.
“Very aggressive team, they have good perimeter defenders,” Hurley said. “They really took the ball out of Moe Odum’s hands quite a bit, made it difficult to get into offense. We don’t usually turn the ball over like that, so you gotta complement what they did. It was a tale of two halves. We were so ineffective offensively.”
Early outside success
A tale of two halves it was, ASU shot 5-of-12 from beyond the arc in the first half, and in the second, it would hit just 2-of-11 attempts from the outside. The 3-pointers were not only more successful in the first period, but they were very timely. Odum hit a pair to rally the team out of an early deficit, and junior forward Andrija Grbovic hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds to play in the half, closing out an 8-0 run.
As the game progressed, ASU’s shot quality worsened. The team failed to find any open shots, often settling for contested 3-pointers that came up short.
“I thought we located the open man a lot better in the first half,” Hurley said. “If they put two on the ball and we rotated, we were able to snap a pass to someone open.”
Positive performers
When losing by 21 points on the road its hard to find any standout individuals who impressed on the day. Just three players, Odum, Diop, and senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson, finished in double figures.
Players who found their touch especially in the first half were junior guard Bryce Ford and sophomore guard Noah Meeusen. Both players finished with seven points, and Ford found his stroke with a 3-pointer,r an integral part of his game. In the second half iff he would miss all three of his attempts from deep.
Sophomore guard Trevor Best also made a brief cameo near the end of the game, scoring five points in five minutes of action. Best knocked down a 3-pointer, which is just his second made triple of the season.
The Final Push
Saturday’s defeat was a poor way for the Sun Devils to end a rollercoaster regular season. The, the gauntlet of the conference reaches its pinnacle in Kansas City next week when all 16 teams meet to play in the Big 12 Tournament.
The Sun Devils will likely be seeded 12th or 13th in the standings (final seedings were not available at press time), but they’re guaranteed to feature on Tuesday, March 10, the first day of a five-day tournament. They’d have to win five consecutive games in a row to come away with the crown and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, an unfortunate circumstance of playing near the bottom of the standings. A deep run of three wins or more, though, next week in Kansas City could provide a glimmer of hope as a bubble team.
“There’s no more time to figure that out,” Hurley noted about the team playing consistently for 40 minutes. “We’re playing now for our season every time we step on the floor.”
While this current ASU roster is playing for its season, Hurley, near the end of his 11th season at the helm, is coaching for his future at the university. With his contract set to expire in June of this year, any result short of earning an NCAA Tournament berth is a virtual guarantee for Arizona State and Hurley to part ways next week.
