Kansas State’s Early Three-Point Barrage too Much for the Sun Devils to Overcome

(Photo: Emma Gonzalez/WCSN)

TEMPE- With the Waste Management Phoenix Open on the horizon this upcoming weekend and golf on his mind, Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie was all smiles after the Wildcats’ 74-67 upset win over ASU.

“I’d have probably had a tee time if I was in Arizona,” Mittie said. “I might try to get one tomorrow.”

Kansas State, which averages just over seven three-point field goals per game, converted that many in the first half alone against the Sun Devils as the Wildcats shot 60% from downtown for the whole game.

“You can’t expect to win a ball game after giving up 12 threes,” Miller said. “And most of them were in that first half. So then you’re digging out of a hole. I mean, a really big hole, and that’s hard to do.”

The Sun Devils defense lacked communication on the court, leaving far too many shooters wide open or giving up easy backdoor layups.

“It goes back to what she was saying about lack of focus,” junior forward McKinna Brackens said. “Cause I feel like we practice that all week, the communication piece, finding in transition, was like the main thing we worked on. So, lack of focus that’s on us.”

Kansas State had three different players convert three or more field goal attempts, including sophomore guard Izela Arenas, the daughter of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas.

“[Three-point shooting] was a big part of our game plan coming into this,” said Mittie. “Arizona State is not a team that hunts the three, so we wanted to have an advantage in that area, and I did feel like we needed to get up a good number of threes.”

It has been the same song and dance from the three-point line all year for the Sun Devils, who put up another dreadful performance from the arc Saturday afternoon, shooting just 5-of-22 from distance. 

The Sun Devils have not made over five three-pointers since they opened conference play against Colorado back on Dec. 21.

“I don’t know if I can magically, you know, have a player shoot five percent better right now. But the defense, the defense, the defense, the defense, is where we have to create our offense. And like I said 67 should have been enough to win this game.”

ASU attempted to make the game competitive after a 12-2 run to end the third quarter and refused to quit entering the fourth.

“We’re not going to lay down when we get down, and I’m proud that my teammates fought back and went on a run, and we’re resilient,” Brackens said.

Brackens was the leading scorer and rebounder for the Sun Devils in the game, putting up 20 points on an efficient 8-of-13 from the field along with six rebounds. 

Despite allowing the high shooting percentage, the Sun Devils were able to force 22 turnovers after the game began to get sloppy down the stretch.

“Let’s give Arizona State credit,” Mittie said. “They got the chaotic game in that stretch. Let’s give them credit for doing that. So many times with our particular group, we get caught up in our immaturity, and we’ve struggled.

ASU has now lost three of its last four games and, after starting 13-0 with a weak non-conference schedule sit at just 5-5 in the conference, and its March hopes are very much in the balance despite what the overall 18-5 record would suggest.

The road does not get any easier for the Sun Devils, as half of their remaining games are against top 35-ranked teams in the NET Rankings.

The Sun Devils next game will be against Oklahoma State at home in Desert Financial Arena next Wednesday, Feb. 4.

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