(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
Arizona State (20-8, 9-6) won a rather uneventful contest over Stanford (18-9, 9-6) Wednesday night 76-64 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.
Although it was rather uneventful, the difference between the Sun Devils performance in the past three games and their effort against the Cardinal was day and night.
Jahii Carson led the way offensively with 23 points even while putting in the bulk of his offensive work in the second half.
Jermaine Marshall contributed a fair amount of damage on offense as well. However Marshall did his scoring in the first half of play, putting in 14 of his 16 points before the halftime buzzer shooting 5 of 8 from the field in the first frame.
Marshall and Carson’s production were greatly needed and came fairly easily because of the proficient ball movement that was present Wednesday night.
“I don’t recall any time this season where we’ve had better ball movement,” head coach Herb Sendek said.
Stanford could not clog the lane as the game ticked away into its latter moments because of ASU’s quick passing. Carson effectively broke down his man with numerous dribbles and spun his way into a body- contorting finish at the hoop.
“We drove gaps,” Carson said. “Our coaches told us coming into this game that they were a bad close out team and if we drove the gaps that we would have open opportunities for open shots and we did and we knocked down shots as well.”
The ASU versus Stanford matchup was a slow game that involved continuous half court sets on both ends of the hardwood. Moving the ball throughout the court was the only option for ASU to conclude the contest victorious.
The travel of the basketball around the perimeter became so mesmerizing that on a first half possession ASU passed the ball so many times that when Bo Barnes had an open shot the crowd was upset because Barnes continued to swing the ball around the perimeter. Barnes should have hoisted up the shot, but Marshall ended the possession with a converted jump shot.
Constant motion on offense led to easier offensive possessions as the game continued on because the offense has exhausted the defense as the clock nears triple zeros.
This philosophy of quick movement is why Marshall the jump shooter had the majority of his points in the first half when the constant motion was still setting in, and why Carson had his explosion in the second half.
Shaquielle McKissic and Barnes were amongst the largest supporters of this ASU win. McKissic registered an energetic 10 points while Barnes scrapped and jump shot his way to eight points and six rebounds in 21 minutes.
Jordan Bachynski and Eric Jacobsen struggled in foul trouble most of the night.
The Sun Devils needed Wednesday night’s win. If they continue this type of efficient and judicious offensive play, ASU will be in the correct position come Selection Sunday.
ASU plays Cal at home Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks
You can reach this reporter via email caneely@asu.edu or on Twitter @CammeronNeely
