ASU Basketball head coach Bobby Hurley questions free-throw differntial agaisnt No.3 Iowa State

(Photo: Spencer Barnes/WCSN)

TEMPE — Defeating the No. 3 team in the country in college basketball is a considerable challenge. When that team is the 11th-rated offensive team in the country on KemPom, the defensive effort becomes even more paramount.

Pulling an upset — even at home like Arizona State Mens Basketball (11-8, 2-6 Big 12) was against Iowa State (17-2, 7-1 Big 12) Saturday afternoon — while surrendering a mass amount of free throws is a nearly impossible task. Add in the mix ASU’s two 5-star freshmen Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon both fouling out of the contest and the task proved insurmountable.

For 35 of the 40 minutes of play, ASU stood to the Cyclone test but a 19-3 run in the last five minutes that included eight Iowa State free throw attempts created a final score that painted a different story on the scoreboard.

The fact that the foul differential was so large, while ASU was at home in Desert Financial Arena, wasn’t exactly in the pre-game expectations for the Sun Devils.

“This was our largest free throw differential game of the season,” ASU Head Coach Bobby Hurley said. “On our home court… it was disappointing. It was certainly disappointing that we couldn’t play better in those last few minutes, but the fouls were an issue.”

The 12 differential in foul shots between the two sides accentuated a 76-61 Cyclone win over the Sun Devils in Tempe. Sanon’s last two fouls of the night were met with great contempt from ASU’s headman.

With three-and-a-half minutes remaining Sanon found himself the last man defending a Cyclone fast break. Iowa State senior guard Keshon Gilbert seemed to launch himself in the air into Sanon initiating the contact and eventual hard fall that resulted in a flagrant I foul assessed to ASU’s freshman guard.

That was his fourth.

Just 45 seconds later, Sanon found himself on the low block watching a lob sail considerably over his head. He probably made to contest the lob but it was out of reach of even the most athletic of players considering he didn’t even turn his head to see the lob’s recipient. His back found the answer. Cyclone junior guard Demarion Watson jumped through the back of Sanon, who still hadn’t turned around, initiating yet another hard fall. To Hurley, the contact didn’t seem at the fault of his player.

Instead, Sanon’s fifth foul was assessed and he was tossed, putting the proverbial nail in ASU’s coffin.

“It was a fiasco at the end,” Hurley said. “The intentional foul and flagrant foul I thought was a joke. You can’t control someone just launching your body laterally. Sorry. That’s normal that happens. It seems to happen to us quite a bit”

To Hurley, the calls seemed so egregious that he was forced to reflect on fouls in general. This was especially true considering his Sun Devils were playing at home, which traditionally in basketball means a more favorable whistle.

“If you’re going to have those types of things happening,” Hurley said. “You’re going to wonder why on your home court or your home neutral you shot any less free throws than your opponent. That hasn’t been the tale of the tape all year. We’ve either shot more (free throws) than our opponent or right there with our opponent, and it was a bigger differential than normal.”

Fouls weren’t the only factor in ASU’s eventual collapse. A 33-point outpouring from Iowa State’s senior guard Curtis Jones showed a consistent lack of ability to push the Cyclones scorers off the ball. Even with Jones’s scorching shooting, ASU led by seven at halftime and still held a single-point lead with just over five remaining. Allowing free throws wasn’t the sole conclusive reason, but Foul trouble was undoubtedly the principal downfall late in the contest.

“(The large free throw differential) is extremely frustrating,” ASU senior big man Basheer Jihad said. “We still have to play through it. Play basketball”

Iowa State took advantage of the seemingly favorable tilt in calls to convert 24 of 30 foul attempts to ASU’s 11 for 18. For what it’s worth that is 13 free points afforded to the Cyclones in what became a final 15-point differential. ASU has now dropped five of its last six conference games and will have to find stronger defensive grounds moving forward if they hope to leave a positive first impression in the Big 12.

“I don’t think we’re sending anybody a message right now,” Hurley said. “We’re two-six. It’s a results business. We’re not getting results.”