Sun Devils on a quest to complete undefeated December 

During its trip to the Aloha State, Arizona State reached the Maui Invitational Championship game for the first time since 1994, led by senior guard Moe Odum, who averaged 26 points per game, including a game-winning 36 against Texas. 

The Sun Devils were scoring at will, averaging over 87 points per game in the tournament. They shot 50% from the field and 42.4% from beyond the arc as a team. But when the Championship crown was in the balance, it showed the Maroon and Gold had areas to improve. 

“We just lost because of rebounds and effort.” Sophomore forward Marcus Adams Jr. said on the Maui Invitational Championship game.

In an 88-75 defeat against USC, it was the rebounding battle that took the cake. ASU allowed the Trojans to shoot 73.5% on 2-point field goals, the highest percentage it’s given up all year. This, in large part, was due to the 12 offensive rebounds and 13 seconds chance points they scored. 

The final rebounding discrepancy was 31-18, a dominant performance on the glass, and the margin of 13 matched the difference on the scoreboard as well. 

Since coming back to the mainland, the Sun Devils had newfound goals to strive for after an impressive trip to Hawaii. Their focus shifted to the defensive end after allowing 86 or more points in all three games; head coach Bobby Hurley felt there was much to be desired. 

“Our defense is improving over the last two games,” Hurley said Tuesday. “So that is something that was very necessary coming out of Hawaii, because our offense was making very good progress, and our defense needed to catch up.”

The other tangible area of improvement for ASU (8-2) was on the glass, and both grievances were addressed last Saturday against Oklahoma and Tuesday night against Northern Arizona (4-5), in a 73-48 victory. 

ASU faced off against the Sooners last Saturday at the Mortgage Matchup Center in downtown Phoenix. From the opening tipoff, it was clear that rebounding and defensive intensity were going to be at the forefront of Hurley’s mindset. After giving up two offensive rebounds during the second Oklahoma possession, he hooked all five starters from the contest 89 seconds in.

Hurley admitted he didn’t know what would happen after that choice, but his decision ignited a 27-2 run, and from there the Maroon and Gold led by double figures for the remainder of the contest. 

“We’ve now had two games where we got serious separation in the game,” Hurley noted. “Which is good to see. We are capable of doing that.”

That momentum needed to carry over into Tuesday night’s matchup with in-state rival NAU at Desert Financial Arena. The matchup was back-and-forth in the first half, with ASU jumping ahead by nine at the break, but ASU held the Lumberjacks to just 25.9% shooting in the second half, allowing a season-best 48 points. 

“We had a goal coming into this game; it was more [about] how many points we were prepared to try and give up, and that goal was reached,” Hurley said on the team’s target mark of 49 points allowed. “It was very close. It came down to the last possession.”

In both games, ASU outrebounded its opponent by 22 boards, as Hurley used a drill named after the program his brother, Dan Hurley, coaches to flush any poor showing on the glass down the drain.

“As you got the practice, we’ve been doing what’s called the UCONN drill.” Adams explained a drill ASU has been doing since returning from Hawaii. “It’s a drill where the coach throws, and we have to fight each other, and box each other out to go rebound the ball.”

After Odum led the way, scoring the basketball in Maui, it was exciting for Hurley to see the big guys offer plenty on the offensive end. ASU starts three players listed 6-foot-11 or taller, while the visitors on Tuesday didn’t have a single player on its roster listed above 6-foot-9.

Using their size advantage, Sun Devils forwards went to work. 7-foot-1 freshman Massamba Diop scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, all of his buckets came in the paint. His dominance was the catalyst for their 40 points in the paint.

“Every team, and what their roster looks like, will determine what we need to do,” Hurley said on facing an undersized Lumberjacks team. “We’ve got to get points in the paint, and that’s where everything starts. We can kick out, and the 3-point line is a weapon for us as well, but we have to figure out a way to get those guys involved in the offense.” 

Well, Odum in particular struggled on Tuesday, scoring a season low two points, both of which came on free throws. He wasn’t the only guard who failed to get going, as his backcourt partner, junior Bryce Ford, scored just four points on 1-for-5 shooting; nonetheless, Odum’s leadership and positivity helped the Maroon and Gold address their issues and dominate proceedings.

“Coach Howard broke a great point right after in the locker room, that you could never tell that [Odum] was having that kind of game if you are on the bench watching how he was interacting with his teammates,” Hurley said. “When he wasn’t in the game, supporting his teammates. So that’s what a real leader does. He doesn’t get hung up on his own personal success and allows that to determine his attitude. He did a very good job in that regard, being a leader.”

Odum’s leadership has paid dividends in growth for multiple players on the team as well. Maui Adams Jr saw his minutes get slashed. A player who once played 10 minutes in four of the first five games of the season went on to log 14 minutes over the course of the Maui Invitational. 

Adams had been dealing with a foot injury over the summer and had to work his way back into shape in season. Odum and the coaches inspired him to get into the gym early to do extra conditioning, and the product has paid off; he’s scored 19 points over the last two games, playing at least 20 minutes in each contest.

“I was out of shape, and the past week, Moe and the rest of the team and staff have been pushing me to do extra work, extra sprints out to practice early morning workouts, and it’s just paying off by the day,” Adams said. “I kind of needed a teammate voice, other than hearing a coaching voice. He was like, ‘We need you. You’re a key part of this team. We need you to work.”

ASU has just three non-conference games remaining on its schedule, a trip to Las Vegas to play Santa Clara, followed by two fixtures versus former Pac-12 foes, UCLA and Oregon State. The Sun Devils have started to ruffle feathers, receiving two votes in the latest AP Top 25 poll, with their only defeats coming at No. 8 Gonzaga and USC, which sits just outside the rankings. 

With three games left before the gauntlet of the Big 12 is back in the face of Hurley and the Maroon and Gold, the goal is fairly simple. 

“We want to be undefeated in December,” Adams said. “That’s the goal we set as a team. We want to beat those three teams and go into Big 12 play with a head on our shoulders.”