ASU Men’s Basketball: Sun Devils return to action against UCLA after lengthy break

(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)

It has been 22 days since Arizona State Men’s Basketball last played a game as COVID-19 issues plagued the program. Now, the Sun Devils (4-3 overall, 1-0 Pac-12) will have to face Pac-12 favorite UCLA (7-2 overall, 3-0 Pac-12 conference) at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Thursday.

As a result of the COVID-19 issues, the Sun Devils have missed their last three games. ASU last played against UTEP on Dec. 16, where it failed to keep an eight-point halftime lead in a 76-63 loss.

Unlike the Sun Devils, the Bruins have had the opportunity to continue playing without any interruptions. However, UCLA will face ASU without its best player, senior guard Chris Smith, who is out with a torn ACL in his left knee sustained last week in a game against Utah.

“My heart goes out to (senior guard) Chris Smith from UCLA (after he suffered a torn ACL),” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said. “And now that we’re obviously playing them [Thursday], [I] just feel for a guy [with] the difficulty of this year and what he’s meant to the league and the caliber of player that he was and the competitor he is – just really sad to see that injury.”

UCLA freshman guard Jaylen Clark is expected to play a much bigger role with the loss of Smith, as Clark is the team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder.

In their first game without Smith, the Bruins defeated Colorado 65-62, but UCLA committed 14 turnovers. The Sun Devils lead the conference in turnovers per game, forcing 17.3, and must keep the Bruins from playing keep away or hoarding the ball.

Although ASU has offensive power when its in rhythm, the team’s biggest challenge this year has been rebounding. The Sun Devils average 31.1 rebounds per game, the lowest figure in the Pac-12. Hurley said improving that is a key against UCLA.

“With [UCLA junior forward Jalen] Hill and [UCLA junior forward] Cody Riley, they have two big, physical interior players, UCLA does,” Hurley said. “We’re obviously thinking about USC after Thursday, but you’re right, just the size and their ability to rebound and defend are all things. And we’ve been focusing on rebounding and we know it’s been an issue in some of our losses. So it’s something on the practice floor the last couple of days that we’ve been really dialing into, understanding that we have teams coming in that are focused on that area and are very good at it.”

A bright side of the three-week layoff is the return of ASU freshman forward Marcus Bagley, who missed the last three games with a calf issue. The Sun Devils’ rebounding struggles were most apparent in the three games Bagley had missed.

The last time ASU and UCLA met in Tempe, the Sun Devils earned an 84-66 win over the Bruins. ASU made 14 of 24 three-pointers (58.3%) to secure the victory.

Hurley is expecting a tougher outing this time.

“I think they really have a good identity as a team, UCLA,” Hurley said. “They reflect the personality of their head coach and I’ve watched UCLA and I’ve watched Cincinnati, where (Bruins) coach (Mick) Cronin was prior for years and they have that same intensity about how they play and a real focused group on rebounding and defending. They’re going to present a very big challenge.”