ASU Men’s Basketball: Offense Stalls as No. 4 Devils fall 90-81 in Colorado

(Photo: Tyer Rittenhouse/WCSN)

The combination of a tough road crowd and a poor shooting night proved too much for the No. 4 Arizona State Sun Devils, who fell 90-81 in overtime to Colorado on Thursday night.

The affair seemed like a typical game for the 2016-17 Sun Devils (12-2, 0-2 in Pac-12).ASU has only scored under 80 points three times this season, boasting one of the top offenses in the conference, if not the nation. They started this game 3-for-3 from long range with an 11-0 lead.

 While it seemed like ASU was primed to run another team off the floor, the Buffaloes did not quit. They broke down ASU’s interior defense and went on an 11-2 run to keep things close going into halftime. Colorado managed to control the inside in a key way: they collected 17 second chance points, compared to only nine for Arizona State.

The Devils’ offense has powered them through rough waters at other points in the season, but that was not the case this time. Colorado deployed an effective zone that no one on the Devils’ side could consistently crack.

ASU shot 35 percent overall and 26 percent from three. Shannon Evans shot 3-of-14 from the floor and 0-of-8 from three. Remy Martin and Kodi Justice both wen 4-of-12.

With so many players having poor shooting nights at once, there is a statement in the fact that the Sun Devils took this game to overtime.  ASU closed regulation on a 7-1 run, with chaos ensuing as the clock reached zeros.

Trailing by two with 29.9 left, Holder heaved a three as head coach Bobby Hurley was trying to get a timeout called. ASU fielded the offensive board in traffic and did get the break whistle with 24 seconds left.

The ensuing play broke down when forward Mickie Mitchell fell in the paint with the ball. As ASU scrambled to get a shot off in the waning seconds, Mitchell swooped back into the play and collected a putback two-handed dunk, keeping the Devils’ dreams alive.

In the last few ticks, Colorado’s frantic attempt to bring the ball up resulted in a turnover, but a desperation heave by Holder was too far right to make the miracle a reality.

The breakdowns on the ASU side returned in overtime. The Devils didn’t make a field goal in OT until halfway through, by then it was too little, too late.

Fouling also proved to be a massive issue for the Devils. By the end of the game, Mitchell and Holder had fouled out. Seven ASU players had three or more personals for a total of 27 team fouls. Colorado did not effectively convert those free chance, shooting 68 percent from the line. Still, the fouling issues forced ASU into lineups it didn’t want and mandated Hurley’s boys to play less aggressively than they tend to.

Following a road loss to rival Arizona, their first defeat of the season, Arizona State was coming into this game looking to regain confidence and find peace of mind. Instead, the Coors Event Center became the site of an upset win for the Buffalos, as it was against Xavier and Oregon last season.

Now, rather than clarity, the Sun Devils have some questions to answer when they said to Salt Lake City on Sunday.

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