(Photo: Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)
TEMPE – Fans were still getting settled into their seats when the Sun Devils opened with a sequence that would set the tone for the game: Physical dominance and point separation.
Just moments after center Massamba Diop won the tipoff, the ball made its way to Santiago Trouet. The sophomore forward muscled his way into the paint before making a normally difficult hook shot look easy over a much smaller opponent.
Continuous plays like this led to a 73-48 win for Arizona State (8-2) over their northern neighbors, NAU (4-5). With a change of pace from Odum and guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson’s usual offensive dominance, the Sun Devils’ four leading scorers were forwards or centers.
Coach Bobby Hurley’s belief that they can win games inside the paint was reinforced.
“I thought the inside play was really the difference,” Hurley said. “I just told the team hat we got to have better recognition in games like this. If we literally threw the ball inside every possession down the floor, we would have gotten a high quality shot of some kind.”
Hurley’s confident words were backed up by the numbers in the statsheet. ASU led paint points 40 to 22. Once again Diop was a monster inside, making eight of his 10 shots for a team high 19 points.
Diop’s impressive total was joined by forwards Trouet, Markus Adams Jr. and Allen Mukeba, totalling 49 points between the four of them. While Trouet and Diop scored the most, it was Mukeba’s big plays giving the Sun Devils momentum and getting the crowd on their feet.
“I knew I had to dominate in there,” Mukeba said. “Got the ball, did what I do, and here I am.”
Mukeba didn’t start hot, though. The graduate student only scored two points in the first half, part of the reason the maroon and gold got off to a relatively slow start.
While ASU had a combined tied and trailed time of 1:07, it did allow an 8-0 run in to put the score at 27-24 late in the first half. Unfortunately for the Lumberjacks, the score would never be that close again.
The Sun Devils had a run of their own. They scored 13 unanswered points as part of a 19-2 run after the halftime break. That run seemed to kill any chance NAU had at closing the gap, but Adams Jr.’s 3-pointer on a fast break guaranteed it.
Coming off an injury this offseason, Adams struggled to make an impact. That all changed this week as he’s made five shots behind the arc in the last two games. He credits his point guard and coaching staff for motivating him.
“Moe [Odum] and the rest of the team and staff have been pushing me to do extra work,” Adams Jr. said. “Extra sprints after practice, early morning workouts. It’s just paying off by the day.”
The whole team’s work is paying off defensively, the spot where ASU excelled the most in the second half. It held NAU to 25.9% shooting from the field and just two of 15 on three point attempts.
With everything from the perimeter defense to interior offense clicking, this game was a near-perfect showing. Near-perfect because of ASU’s 13 turnovers.
Coming into the game the Sun Devils averaged 10.2 turnovers per game, a spot Hurley noted as a strong point. Tonight they overshot that average by three. Not a lot, but too many for the caliber of team they faced, especially since they only lost the ball 10 times against ranked Gonzaga.
Odum’s only points came off two free throws with 30.6 seconds left in the game
The other issue, Odum’s performance. He averages 18.9 points but only mustered two tonight. They came on a pair of free throws with under a minute left in the game.
Coach Hurley acknowledged his poor performance but used it as a chance to praise the senior’s character.
“You could never tell that he was having that kind of game,” Hurley said. “Watching how he was interacting with his teammates and in huddles when he wasn’t in the game, supporting his teammates. That’s what a real leader does. He doesn’t get hung up on his personal success and allow that to determine his attitude.”
For the first time this season, the Sun Devils received votes to be ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll. While the votes haven’t translated to a spot in the rankings yet, they are a positive sign for a team picked to finish last in their conference. Still, Adams Jr. isn’t satisfied.
“We’re gone get more votes,” Adams Jr. said. “Once league’s, Big 12 play starts, and once we go undefeated this December. We’re gonna get much more votes for sure.”
