Five Takeaways from ASU's 87-86 win over Texas

When the outcome of the game was hanging in the balance, A Bronx, New York native, senior guard Moe Odum, resorted to a move that resembled what you’d expect on the asphalt of a neighborhood court. Down two points with the shot clock turned off, the 6-foot-2 guard rejected a screen, swiftly spun back toward the center of the court, and fired without hesitation from beyond the arc. 

String music and the rattle of the rim sounded, and Odum scored the go-ahead bucket for Arizona State (5-1) to snatch a victory from Texas (4-2) grasp 87-86 in the opening round of the Maui Invitational Monday night. 

Here are the five takeaways:

Moe’s Magical Night 

Odum scored a career-high 36 points Monday night. His game-winning three-pointer was his sixth bucket from three-point land. In 35 minutes, he heavily carried the offensive scoring load with 21 of ASU’s 48 second-half points. 

Not only was Odum scoring in bunches, but his baskets were extremely timely. Odum’s night started slow, missing his first five field goals, but after getting on the board with just 7:20 to play in the first half, he stole the show. Scoring 15 of the Sun Devils’ final 21 first-half points, including consecutive three-pointers to take a 39-34 lead headed into halftime. 

Odum did struggle at times; he hit just one two-pointer, shooting 1-of-9 from inside the arc, but it didn’t matter because when Odum wasn’t hitting three-pointers, he was getting to the free-throw line. He hit 16-of-18 attempts from the charity stripe and unapologetically went on runs by himself, including nine straight points for ASU deep in the second half. 

Odum’s crafty play allowed him to do all of this. Playing against athletic Power Conference opponents, he struggled early to handle the physicality of the defense, leading to multiple turnovers, but once he got into a rhythm, the game became easy for him. He was able to dictate coverage on pick-n-rolls and make game-winning plays time and again. 

Game of not so many runs 

Although ASU led for just under six minutes of action, they stayed without the ball for the entirety. The largest lead either team held was 10, and the game had seven lead changes and eight ties. Neither team had commanding control, and the flow was always headed for a crash course in the final moments. 

Why this occurred is due to both teams still figuring out how they’ll maintain consistent offensive production. In the first half, ASU led by just five points despite shooting 46% from the field and 50% from three, Texas shot 36/15.4% splits but its bread and butter was on the inside, scoring 12 second-chance points on six more rebounds. 

Positively for the maroon and gold is their ability to stay in competitive ball games; this skill was flashed against No.12 Gonzaga despite the Bulldogs’ talent taking over in the end. However, against the Longhorns, timely plays were made on both ends of the floor. 

Texas turned the ball over 19 times to just ASU’s 11, so despite a major uptick in scoring efficiency as the Longhorns shot 19-of-25 from the floor in the second half, their excessive turnover kept ASU in the ball game. 

The Odum and Pig Paradox

All is well when a team is collecting wins, and the Sun Devils have now won three straight in non-conference play, but head coach Bobby Hurley could have a problem in the future if his team can’t find ways to get others involved. 

Odum’s 36 points will be a talking point for weeks to come, but it was Anthony “Pig” Johnson who carried the offense for the first 13 minutes of the game. 

Coming off the bench, he was an immediate spark. ASU had scored just three points through the opening five minutes until Johnson came on and scored 10 of the next 12 points for the Sun Devils, shooting 4-of-5 from the floor and finding his way to the line. 

Beyond combining for 61% of the Sun Devils’ total points, the duo leads the way for all of their production. Odum had three of their four total assist on Monday. 

Outside of Odum, ASU’s starters combined for 25 points while the bench produced just nine points beyond Johnson. Having Marquee scorers is never an issue, but having just two players notch double figures while the opponent had four and another just one point shy, it’s definitely cause for concern.

Big man Growing Pains

ASU fans will probably face a love-frustration relationship with the cast of bigs that Hurley runs with. Freshman center Massamba Diop has taken the program by storm for his incredible athleticism and skillful movement at 7-foot-1. The big man has hit step-back three-pointers and run the floor with speed for ferocious dunks, but on Monday, he failed to score 10 points for the first time this season. 

Diop’s production was limited due to classic coverages Texas threw at ASU, forcing the guards to swing the ball around the arc by hedging the ball handler and sending a weakside help defender into the paint to prevent an entry pass. This style forces big men such as Diop to create a rhythm outside the usual means. Diop barely had touches with just six points on 3-of-5 shooting. 

Diop can’t be exused for his quiet night; however, he got into foul trouble, picking up four in just 24 minutes. This restricted his ability on both ends of the floor and allowed Texas guard, junior Dailyn Swain, to attack the paint without fear, scoring 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting. 

ASU’s other interesting agenda item inside concerns its two 6-foot-11 starting forwards, juniors Santiago Trouet and Andrija Grbović. They do have slightly different games, with Trouet operating as an interior scorer and rebounder; he does possess a silky jump shot to stretch the floor. Grbovic, however, prefers his role as an off-the-ball sniper who can use his back-to-back game from deeper waters. 

The issue, however, is that they both have similar weaknesses: not strong enough to play as centers and certainly too slow to be secondary ball handlers or perimeter defenders. This awkward in-between led the Sun Devils to a slow start on Monday. Although both players provide value and should be on the floor often, playing the pair together has led to minimal success for Hurley on either end of the floor. 

Maximizing Maui

The Player’s Era Tournament in Las Vegas has been stamped as the marquee Men’s basketball Feast Week tournament with five Big 12 programs and eight AP top 25 programs. This has left the Maui Invitational with just one ranked team, No. 23 N.C. State, which lost on Monday to Creighton, putting the Wolfpack in the “losers” bracket of the week. 

The Sun Devils passed a major test in the tournament and face Washington State (3-3), a team that came back from a 20-point defecit to beat local Maui university Chaminade 90-85 in the tournament semifinals on Tuesday. ASU ranks 80th in the KenPom after Monday’s slate, and the Courgars 155th. 

If ASU were to win Saturday, it would play the winner between Southern California and Cerighton on Wednesday. Beyond having a shot at earning bragging rights, the win could propel the Sun Devils into or around the AP top 25 and set them up for success in the rest of non-conference play. 

Wins against Power Conference programs give the Sun Devils the validation and proof of concept in Hurley’s squad, building a team around length, size, and skillset rather than aiming for the signatures of the most talented mesh of players they can attract.