(Photo Courtesy: Sun Devil Athletics)
Arizona State men’s basketball was steamrolled in its season opener against Mississippi State Wednesday night in the Barstool Sports Invitational, with 10 new players on its roster, head coach Bobby Hurley has his work cut out for him with a squad trying to find its rhythm.
The Bulldogs ran away with the contest with their junior guard Trey Fort scoring 14 first-half points, hitting four shots from beyond the arc, and finishing with 21 points, yielding a 71-56 win for Mississippi State
The Bulldogs took over the first half following a back-and-forth opening 10 minutes. They mounted a 24-6 run which saw the Sun Devils failed to score for the final 2:27 of the first half.
ASU was outplayed in multiple facets of the game, but none more apparent than the rebound battle, starting sophomore center Shawn Phillips Jr. only finished with five boards while forward Jimmy Bell Jr. on the other end finished with nine rebounds to his name. The Bulldogs also ate up on the offensive glass scoring 12 second-chance points while holding ASU to just three.
Scoring will be the first area Hurley looks to improve, as the Sun Devils left much to be desired beyond the arc, missing all nine 3-point attempts in the first 20 minutes. ASU only shot 32.6 percent from the field as a team and 23.8 percent from deep.
The Bulldogs however were on fire from range, finishing the night at 38.5 percent as a team. Hitting at a 50 percent clip in the second half.
Despite the loss sophomore forward Kamari Lands was a bright spot for ASU, Lands had a team-high 13 points on 40 percent from the field as he was able to get to the rim consistently off the dribble drive and scored multiple buckets through contact.
While Lands was able to shine, junior guard Jamiya Neal struggled, being held to just 5 points on 2-8 shooting while turning the ball over twice. Neal was unfortunately a bailout option for ASU and he failed to take quality looks settling for multiple contest jumpshots.
Sophomore guard Adam Miller, who is expected to be a contributor for ASU if he plays this season, missed Wednesday’s game as he waits for the NCAA to rule on his eligibility waiver
The Sun Devils’ stagnant offense was on display in Chicago, as graduate guard Jose Perez, who joined the team on Oct. 15, failed to hit a field goal and scored only five points from the line in his debut game.
There are positives to take away from Wednesday’s performance from ASU, as it was only its first game and it played a quality SEC program like Mississippi State, a team that lost in the first four in the NCAA tournament last season.
The Sun Devils also have plenty of time to build team chemistry together. They still have nine games to play before conference play begins in January.
Hurley and company will return home on Saturday to face Texas Southern for a 1:30 p.m. tip-off.
