ASU Men’s Basketball: Sun Devils’ offense too hot for Michigan

(Photo: Alyssa Buruato/WCSN)

Four days ago, Arizona State Men’s Basketball suffered its first loss to Texas Southern, which remains the Tigers’ lone win in five games. With a stout Pac-12 schedule, every nonconference game has immense value, and a loss could set the Sun Devils back.

Fast forward to Thursday night, ASU (4-1) will leave Brooklyn, New York winning the Legend Classic tournament, defeating the No. 20 Michigan Wolverines (3-1) 87-62, in its largest win against a ranked opponent in program history. The Sun Devils knocked off the Wolverines in the team’s most impressive scoring output in recent memory.

ASU shot 60.4 percent from the field and 57.9 percent from behind the arc. The shooting splits jump out from the box score, especially considering they averaged less than 40 percent from the floor and 30 percent from three.

The first half was a Sun Devil clinic in every aspect of the game, which is personified by Michigan shooting 9-of-30 from the field while ASU shot a scorching 8-of-14 from behind the arc.

The difficult shot-making was the biggest factor for the Sun Devils, as the offense made numerous contested jump shots. The shooting stampede was led by a trio in the backcourt of freshman guard Austin Nunez, fifth-year guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. and junior guard DJ Horne, who all scored double figures in the first 20 minutes.

Horne was coming off a 3-for-15 shooting performance but managed to establish a hot start, scoring eight of ASU’s first 18 points. His backcourt partner, Cambridge, was finally able to showcase his scoring prowess after injuries had limited his minutes in previous games.

The duo fueled 12-0 and 11-1 for the ASU offense in the first half that completely stunned a Michigan defense. The fifth-year guard matched his season-high points last game in the first half with 10 points, a sign of more to come in the second half.

Nunez had a strong performance behind the arch, draining three of his five attempts. He would finish the first half with 11 en route to finishing with 15. Albeit only five games into his time rocking the Maroon and Gold, the freshman has been an essential bench piece, leading the second unit to a combined 33 points.

His fellow freshman, forward Duke Brennan, also made his presence felt on the defensive end of the floor. Brennan and senior forward Warren Washington made the paint a no-fly zone for the Wolverines, combining for three of the Sun Devils’ six blocks. Michigan made only one layup on eight tries, in large part due to Washington and Brennan’s length, which helps them disrupt shots.

In addition to the blocks, the two big men helped ASU win the rebounding battle 35-31, which has been key for both sides as each team entered Thursday undefeated when they win the rebounding battle.

The Wolverines’ offense ran through junior forward Hunter Dickinson, who came into the game averaging over 21 points per game in the young season. To stop the prolific big man, head coach Bobby Hurley gambled by crashing onto Dickinson’s possession inside the paint, leading to triple and even quadruple teams. The defensive effort proved effective as he was scoreless through the eight minutes until halftime.

ASU exploited Michigan’s 32.9 percent 3-point shooting heading into the game, by having its guards abandon their man on the wing and helping on the weak side to swarm the 7-foot-1 center. The ploy paid off, as the Wolverines finished the game shooting a measly 18 percent from the perimeter.

The second half wasn’t much better for Michigan, as ASU’s scrappy and physical interior defense was starting to become a recurring nightmare. Starting the half 5-for-17 from the field, the Wolverines looked to be declawed by the Sun Devils. While Michigan’s demeanor started to look blue, Cambridge’s shot became gold.

The former Nevada guard made the most of his second start of the year – due to the injury to sophomore forward Marcus Bagley (hip-pointer) – scoring ten straight points in the second half. Cambridge finished his night leading ASU in scoring with 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

A tournament win over a top-20 team will certainly increase the Sun Devils’ confidence and momentum. They’ll return to Tempe to face Grambling State Tuesday, Nov. 22, where they look to reciprocate an ounce of the offensive firepower displayed Thursday night.