Late game collapse leads to Sun Devils faltering to UCF

(Photo: Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)

Even the Sunshine State wasn’t able to avoid the frigid winter weather streaking across over half of the contiguous United States. With the night’s impending freeze warning looming over the heads of all in attendance at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Fla. The crowd of 6,621 sensed the chill beginning to tighten around them.

While it wasn’t that the arena strayed from its near-perfect temperature, rather, Arizona State men’s basketball’s offense seemed to have frozen over.

After taking a 72-61 lead at the 5:39 mark of the second half, the Sun Devils faltered as they didn’t score again until 1:38 remained.

By then, UCF had stormed back to tie the game before taking the lead on its very next possession.

ASU’s icy last five minutes flipped a near-certain victory to a 79-76 loss to UCF (16-4, 5-3 Big 12), leaving the Sun Devils (11-10, 2-6) still searching for their first road conference win this season.

Poor Late Game Execution

During UCF’s 11-0 run, ASU missed five shots and turned the ball over once. Meanwhile, UCF scored its 11 points through hustle on both sides of the floor, as it understandably out-rebounded the Sun Devils 6-2 during the stretch.

In the final five minutes of the game, UCF grabbed three offensive rebounds, which led to six points. With a winning margin of three points, UCF’s presence on the glass more than made the difference in their pursuit of victory, as on the night, UCF won the offensive rebounding battle 13-5.

Also, as ASU’s offense turned inefficient, the defense had far too many lapses in concentration and awareness.

One of the biggest examples came when the Sun Devils led 72-70, with UCF on the fast break. Senior guard Moe Odum senselessly grabbed senior guard Thomas Fulks and sent him to take two free throws to tie the game.

It was Odum’s fourth foul of the game, as he eventually fouled out. Odum’s fifth foul came intentionally as he turned the ball over with eleven seconds remaining and the Sun Devils trailing by two points.

Early Efficiency

Despite the Sun Devils’ late offensive collapse, in the first 30 minutes, head coach Bobby Hurley’s team thrived.

To open the second half, ASU knocked down 5-of-6 three-pointers. Yet, afterwards, the Sun Devils missed their final four looks from beyond the arc.

Even with the shooting slip-up, ASU’s 43.5% mark from three was its sixth-best shooting night of the season.

Junior guard Bryce Ford also had one of his best games since returning from injury in the 89-82 loss to No. 1 Arizona. Ford finished with 11 points while shooting 3-of-6 from three.

Mixed with the team’s hot shooting, the Sun Devils were also much more tidy with the ball. ASU started the game with only six turnovers in 30 minutes, on pace for one of its cleanest games of the season.

But like most elements of the Sun Devils’ offense this game, the ugly got ramped up late. ASU proceeded to turn the ball over four times in the final ten minutes, including the game-sealing turnover with eleven seconds remaining.

Fourth Loss in Five Games

Prior to the Sun Devils crumbling, they looked poised for a much-needed win ahead of a rematch against No. 1 Arizona this Saturday.

Hurley’s team could have got some much-needed positive momentum from a potential victory against UCF, as after the Arizona matchup, ASU are set to face three consecutive teams ranked outside of KenPom’s top-50.

Instead, ASU lost a heartbreaker before having to travel across the country to face its Territorial Cup rivals.

As Hurley has already voiced his frustrations with his team’s schedule, this week’s schedule will likely only add to annoyance. Arizona faced BYU Monday night, an almost 900-mile roundtrip. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils have to travel over 3,600 miles with one less day of rest.

Hurley and ASU will need to make the most of its next few days off, as they look to capitalize on the threat they posed against Arizona last time out.