(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
The final game of conference play for Arizona State Men’s Basketball had the potential to send the Sun Devils into the Pac-12 Tournament with some momentum.
ASU would earn the conference’s No. 7 seed with a win against Utah on Saturday afternoon. After the crazy season the Sun Devils have had, a road split against the Utes and Colorado could’ve sent the team into Las Vegas with confidence.
However, things got ugly in Salt Lake City on Saturday for ASU. The Sun Devils (10-13, 7-10) finished their regular season on a low note after a 98-59 loss to the Utes (11-12, 8-11). ASU gave up more points to Utah on Saturday than it had to any opponent since January of 2017.
“It was disappointing,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said. “We did have a 14-11 lead, and then just didn’t play the last seven or eight minutes of the [first] half with any efficiency at either end of the court.”
It was an off-game for ASU as a whole offensively – the Sun Devils shot just 38 percent from the field – but it also was another uncharacteristic game for senior guard Remy Martin.
Martin – who averages 20.5 points per game – is the Pac-12’s leading scorer, but on Saturday the point guard notched just eight points and didn’t score until the 16:20 mark of the second half.
“He hasn’t been in a good place the last two games,” Hurley said of Martin’s recent struggles. “He hasn’t been in a good rhythm, so we got to find a way to get him more connected to the game and get him going. That’ll be my job the next couple of days.”
A pivotal moment at the end of the first half seemingly put the Sun Devils away.
Sophomore guard Jaelen House stole the ball and attempted to start a two-on-one fastbreak. A Utah defender slid in front of House at mid-court and drew an offensive foul, which Hurley and the rest of the Sun Devils disagreed with. After a would-be layup turned into a turnover for ASU, Utah junior forward Riley Battin sank a buzzer-beating three that put Utah up 14 going into halftime.
After that moment, the Sun Devils looked flat the rest of the game.
Utah got up big on ASU due to a balanced and consistent offensive attack. Eleven different players recorded baskets, and five of them tallied double-digit point totals. The plethora of buckets the Utes’ bench players put in the net buried the Sun Devils. A 13-2 run in the last four minutes of the game put an exclamation point on the day for Utah, as the Utes’ bench jumped up and down watching different teammates continuously knocked down shots.
The standout for Utah was sophomore forward Mikael Jantunen. The Finland-native came into Saturday afternoon averaging 8.3 points per game, but finished the contest with a team-high 15 points on an efficient 6-for-8 shooting.
Despite the rough showing on the court, it was a big day for a member of the Sun Devils’ program. Assistant coach Rashon Burno was announced as the new head coach at Northern Illinois prior to tip-off on Saturday. Burno spent six years with ASU and was considered to be Hurley’s right-hand man.
“Nothing is going to dampen my happiness and perspective for coach Burno right now,” Hurley said. “I am so proud and I have been so fortunate to spend six great years with coach Burno and his family.”
Hurley said the search for Burno’s replacement would take place after the conclusion of the season.
ASU will now set its sights on Las Vegas. The Sun Devils will square off against Washington State in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament, which the Sun Devils will have to win if they want to make the NCAA Tournament.
Last time out against the Cougars, Martin scored 23 points and was the hero after he nailed the game-winning shot in overtime on Senior Night. ASU might need a similar performance from Martin to beat Washington State and get the Sun Devils back on track.
“We’ve had one goal this entire year,” senior guard Holland Woods said. “We’re not going to let two games, we’ve built up a little momentum, just kill that. [Today] was just unacceptable and we’ll be ready to bounce-back on Wednesday.”
