(Photo: Alyssa Buruato)
TEMPE – After Arizona State men’s basketball lost a thrilling, close game against No. 5 UCLA on Thursday night, the expectation to bounce back against the USC Trojans was high.
The idea was a priority for head coach Bobby Hurley, who emphasized preparation for the game on a quick turnaround, especially after the Trojans suffered an 81-66 loss against No. 11 Arizona on Thursday.
“We got to go back to the drawing board,” said Hurley after ASU’s 74-62 loss to UCLA. “We have a quick turnaround. We have to prepare for a team that is on the rise and has played better lately in USC. And they’re going to be desperate after the result, probably in Tucson.
“And you just don’t know as a coach the damage that gets done because these dudes went to the well. They played their ass off today. So, you go do that and now it’s about damage control. And building them back up and getting them ready to come out again on Saturday night and do the same thing.”
ASU entered Saturday’s matchup with the potential to erase Thursday’s defeat, as UCLA lost its afternoon tilt against Arizona, meaning a Sun Devils victory could tighten the gap between themselves and the first-place Bruins.
But the potential fell through, as the Sun Devils (15-4, 6-2 Pac-12) lost to the Trojans (14-6, 6-3) 77-69 at Desert Financial Arena.
“We knew how hard the guys played on Thursday night. So we rested them,” Hurley said. “We didn’t over practice them yesterday. There’s no reason that guys at their age, physically, they can’t respond after 36 hours or whatever the timeframe is.”
Hurley criticized his team’s effort in his post game press conference against USC, specifically on the defensive end. The Sun Devils trailed by as many as 24 points and only led by two in the opening minutes of the game. Defensive struggles were prominent throughout the game, as the Trojans held their shooting percentage above 50 percent for most of the contest before experiencing a 4:51 scoring drought in the closing minutes.
“I think that we just mentally didn’t have the right enthusiasm to play,” Hurley said. “And that’s the responsibility of the coaches to make sure that guys are playing phonetically with great energy. We had four deflections at halftime, we had, we had zero in the first six minutes of the second half. I mean, we had over 30 vs UCLA. So, we had no activity.”
The first half provided the Sun Devils and Trojans with nearly identical results. Both sides had similar shooting performances and amounts of turnovers and rebounds. But a single category varied, which contributed to the halftime deficit.
“In the first half, if you looked at the stat sheet, the stat sheets were virtually identical,” Hurley said. “There were 14 made field goals by each team. Each team had a very similar number of rebounds, assists and turnovers. And the one difference was 12 free throws to four. And that resulted in a 9-point differential. So, we’re down 10, and we’re minus nine at the free throw line at home.”
The Trojans’ lead ballooned in the second half and was fueled by fifth-year guard Drew Peterson’s 19-point and 8-rebound performance. The 6-foot-9 guard entered the half with four points, but caught fire in the half, knocking down a perfect 6-of-6 shots.
The Sun Devils’ defense, which has been their calling court this season, struggled to limit not only Peterson but their opponent’s offense. The Trojans’ starters combined for 61 of the team’s 77 points, and the rest came courtesy of freshman forward Vincent Iwuchukwu’s 12-point game.
“It was atrocious defense out there,” Hurley said. “And that’s our responsibility as staff. And we’ve had an identity for most of the season of getting stops.”
Although the majority of the game saw ASU trail by double digits, the offense came together in the final four minutes of the game, finishing with a 16-0 scoring run. The run was highlighted by senior forward Warren Washington, who finished the game with a career-tying 21 points.
Despite the scoring run and career night, it wasn’t enough to make up for the mistakes.
“I feel like it was flat-out embarrassing,” senior forward Warren Washington said. “We embarrassed our fans, we embarrassed ourselves, embarrassing for the community. Honestly, it’s just embarrassing. I don’t have much to say about it. It’s embarrassing.”
Hurley’s playing days consisted of an energetic player, who played the game with intensity, which has carried over into his coaching career. As the game became further out of reach, Hurley couldn’t grasp why his team’s effort wasn’t there.
“I can’t understand it,” Hurley said. “I think the reason I’ve connected so much with this team and this group is because we’ve had some guys that weren’t recruited heavily. That were overlooked. That play with a chip on the shoulder. We certainly didn’t have a chip on our shoulder today. And that’s why I’ve really appreciated this team so much is because of how hard they’ve competed and how they get after it. And that’s why so many people have enjoyed watching us for most of the year but not tonight.”
The Sun Devils have experienced adversity during their season and have overcome it. Entering this season, Hurley’s squad was picked to finish seventh in the Pac-12 but responded to that with a historic start.
The last time ASU lost back-to-back games was a 37-point blowout at San Francisco and a 9-point loss to Arizona. After those two games, the Sun Devils went on a four-game winning streak, setting up a first-place event against UCLA.
“We’ve been fighters all year so it’s very hard to watch that because it’s like you’re watching an entirely different team and you’re not watching who you’ve seen most of the season,” Hurley said. “So, I’m going to have to just get after it in the film and see what all the mistakes were and try and correct them. And get guys on the floor that want to go all out all the time because that’s kind of who we are.”
