(Photo: Jack Simon/ WCSN)
TEMPE – In his first start since Arizona State men’s basketball’s loss to Oregon State on Dec. 21, junior forward Andrija Grbović got the Sun Devils scoring party started. A party that began and flourished from beyond the arc.
Just 35 seconds into the game, the 6-foot-11 native of Montenegro received a pass from fellow international teammate, Redshirt Sophomore forward Santiago Trouet, on the left wing beyond the arc and let his shot fly.
With a satisfying swish, the Sun Devils were on the board.
It was a sound that became commonplace in Desert Financial Arena on Saturday night, as Arizona State (11-9, 2-5 Big 12) connected on a season-high tying 13 3-pointers to propel itself past Cincinnati (10-10, 2-5) 82-68. The long-range assault played a pivotal role in snapping the Sun Devils three-game losing streak, and all happened just one game after head coach Bobby Hurley proclaimed, “It’s hard to see a lot of light (at the end of the tunnel).”
“We had a really good practice yesterday, and I think there was carryover effect to that to this game,” Hurley said. “It was probably the best we’ve been concentrated and focused day before a game. We looked like the team that we were early in the season.”
Whatever the Sun Devils did behind closed doors on Friday did seem to trigger a shooting barrage like one of bygone months, converting on 13-of-28 3-point attempts (46.4%). Whether the looks were open or contested, from just beyond the arc or from way downtown, it almost always seemed like the shot had at least a chance to find home.
It was similar to what ASU had done from deep through its first 11 games of the season. There was inconsistency through that stretch, with highs like converting at a 54.2% clip against Oklahoma, and lows such as a paltry 21.1% showing against Georgia State, but overall, the Sun Devils were 39.2% from three in those 11 games. They would be tied for second in the Big 12 if they had kept that up.
Instead, ASU made just 49 of its next 185 3-pointers (26.5%) leading into Saturday’s nightcap.
None of that seemed to matter, though, as Grbović’s 3-pointer set the tone for the night. Six different Sun Devils went on to hit at least one 3-pointer, but none hit more than senior guard Moe Odum.
“He wanted them shots,” fellow senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson said.
Odum entered Saturday shooting 34.8% from beyond the arc and had only made more than two 3-pointers once in the last 10 games. Yet, by the end of the night, he had scored a game-high 33 points – the second-highest mark of his career – and he did it on the back of six threes, tying his career high.
So, when did Odum know his shot was going to be this lethal against the Bearcats?
“When I woke up,” the ever-confident team leader said.
The Bronx, New York, guard didn’t just have the volume; he had the clutch gene, too. Odum’s two biggest shots came in the latter stages of the second half after Cincinnati had cut into ASU’s lead with a 9-0 run, making it a three-point game.
In a flash, Odum had converted from beyond the right wing and left wing on consecutive momentum-shifting Sun Devil possessions to push the lead back up to nine points – a lead he and his teammates continued to build upon.
“He wants to win so badly,” Hurley said. “He connected when he had his opportunities. The back-to-back threes he hit in the second half were huge when they (Cincinnati) had cut into the deficit.”
For Odum, the key to success going forward is consistency.
“If I’m off, I feel like we’re going to be off as a team,” Odum said. “I just got to be consistent and just making shots, I can’t have a good game like this then, next game go 2-for-10, or 2-for-11, or 3-for-15. That’s not possible, that’s not going to get us the win.”
Consistency and 3-pointers were part of the equation in ASU’s win, and the team will try to make those keys stick around, just like it’ll try to stop other teams from scoring beyond the arc the way it stopped Cincinnati
The Bearcats are far from the most lethal team from deep, entering Desert Financial Arena with a Big 12 lowest 30.2% 3-point percentage, but the Sun Devils, who entered with a 36.0% opponent 3-point percentage, have a habit of making their opponents look better than usual.
ASU’s previous two games were especially poor performances when it came to stopping the deep ball, with both Houston and West Virginia, which own 34.4% and 36.2% marks, respectively, shooting above 45% on 3-point shots.
Saturday’s game was a step in the right direction for the Sun Devils, limiting the Bearcats to 23.5% from deep on 17 shots, its best Big 12 defensive showing against the 3-ball this season.
Even Cincinnati’s best 3-point shooter, graduate guard Day Day Thomas, who entered the game with a 42.5% mark from beyond the arc, struggled to the tune of an 0-3.
“It was probably the best we did in scouting,” Hurley said. “Just understanding personnel and what guys’ strengths and weaknesses are. … All the perimeter guys did a good job of corralling him (Thomas).”
The light at the end of the tunnel might not be fully visible, and one look at the Big 12 standings will show you that Cincinnati isn’t comparable to the likes of Arizona, BYU or Houston, but the Sun Devils played their game to near perfection Saturday night, and walked away with a victory.
If the victories can pile up remains to be seen, but performances like this one will certainly translate into compelling basketball.
“If we play at this level on offense,” Hurley said. “13-of-28 from three, and good percentages and take care of the ball pretty, then we should have a good chance to be very competitive.”
