ASU Men’s Basketball: Sun Devils offense erupts on 51-24 run

(Photo: Max Zepeda)

After Arizona State Men’s Basketball win over Stanford, senior center Warren Washington explained how basketball is a “game of runs,” which can come in all shapes and sizes.

On Wednesday night, the Sun Devils (9-1, 2-0 Pac-12) accumulated a 51-24 scoring run, spanning two halves and over 20 minutes of game time to seal a 75-57 comeback victory over the SMU Mustangs (3-6).

Both teams entered the game with similar profiles despite drastically different records. So far, ASU is putting on a defensive masterclass of a season, ranking 16th on Kenpom’s defensive efficiency rating. But SMU is still solid defensively. Similarly to the Sun Devils, the Mustangs have been a poor 3-point shooting team, with both teams shooting under 30 percent from deep this season.

Despite the low shooting percentage, SMU broke out of its shooting slumps early, sinking six of its first nine threes. The source was not just a single player, as four Mustangs sank a 3-pointer for SMU in the first half.

With 3:37 left to go in the first half, SMU’s sophomore forward Stefan Todorovic sank the Mustang’s sixth 3 of the first half to put them up 33-23.

It would be their last point for nearly nine in-game minutes.

In a stretch spanning the final three minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second half, the Sun Devils outscored the Mustangs 15-0. ASU began the run with two layups from freshman forward Duke Brennan, followed by a monster dunk from sophomore guard Frankie Collins to close out the half.

Collins opened up the second half with another layup, but then it was the DJ Horne show, as the junior guard accounted for the game’s next seven points.

The quick run from the Raleigh native highlighted arguably his best night of the season, dropping 22 points on 60 percent shooting, adding seven rebounds and four assists.

The second half was all ASU, as it relied on the long ball, knocking down six of its eight attempts from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes. The Sun Devils also received scoring from four players, like the Mustangs’ first-half performance.

An aspect that separated ASU and SMU was second-chance points. On Wednesday night, despite only having two more offensive rebounds than SMU, the Sun Devils outscored the Mustangs 23-10 on second-chance points, taking advantage of their opportunities on offense, and limiting the Mustangs’ second-chance opportunities with strong defense.

Only 10 games into the season and ASU has made a habit of second-half comebacks, erasing the five-point deficit at halftime, marking the Sun Devils’ third second-half comeback this year.