(Photo: Spencer Barnes/WCSN)
Arizona State men’s basketball has failed to win the “big game” this season, while victories against Saint Mary’s and New Mexico were nice, no performance has really stuck out to distinguish themselves and earn them signature win. On Saturday night, the Sun Devils would try to pull off an upset against previously ranked Baylor in order to win their first “big game” early in the season.
As Baylor senior guard Jeremy Roach’s second free throw clanked off the iron with just over five seconds left in regulation. Now down only two points, an opportunity opened for the Sun Devils to complete their 15-point comeback.
ASU senior forward Basheer Jihad collected the rebound and passed it to senior guard Adam Miller, who rushed down the court, drove to the right, and fired a running floater that hit the bottom of the net, tying the game and sending it to overtime.
That should have been the shot that ASU fans would be talking about all week, a running floater straight out of your favorite blockbuster movie, finally establishing a signature win for the Sun Devils. Instead, an underwhelming overtime performance, combined with yet another sluggish start in the first half, was the deciding factor in ASU’s (10-5, 1-3 Big 12) 72-66 loss to the Baylor Bears (11-4, 3-1 Big 12).
“We just can’t come out like that, especially at home,” Miller said. “Got to be juiced up, last home game, I feel like we came out. It was a little bit more of a burst. We got young guys and guys moving up from different conferences. So maybe (we’re) just still trying to get a hold of the conference, but you just can’t come out like that.”
ASU scored only 13 second-half points in their previous loss to the Jayhawks, which saw the Sun Devils lead at halftime but finish the game down 19. That second-half dullness carried over into today’s game, as the Sun Devils scored just 20 points and hit six field goals in the opening 20 minutes of play.
The theme of the first half and overall game was Baylor’s front court and its physical dominance over the smaller Sun Devil team. Senior center Norchad Omier and junior big Josh Ojianwuna combined for 31 points and 25 rebounds, nine of which were offensive.
One addition to tonight’s squad that looked to provide some hope following their previous loss was the return of freshman guard Joson Sanon. The youthful standout had missed the previous two games due to an ankle injury and was looking to contribute to ASU’s offensive attack at a time when they needed a boost.
However, that wasn’t the case tonight, Hurley said after the game that Sanon was on a “minutes restriction,” but even when he did play, he didn’t contribute much. He had the team’s worst +/- and was one of only two players who finished a negative ten or lower +/-. He finished with just five points, which marks his fourth consecutive game with fewer than ten.
“These teams are good,” head coach Bobby Hurley said. “They’re very good defensively. They’re athletic, they’re physical. We got to be able to try and win an ugly game like this man, where we don’t have maybe the best stuff on offense, but we weren’t able to get it done. We fought pretty hard to try to get it done.”
Without Sanon, the offense would need to find a way to spark a comeback. This season, the offensive has been hot and cold, but they definitely found some heat in the second half. They gained ground steadily, and the crowd got going thanks to a series of Baylor turnovers and a shift in defensive effort.
What can be directly attributed to an unexpected comeback are the contributions of senior forward BJ Freeman, who scored a season-high 22 points tonight, 14 of which came in the second half. Freeman’s career night even saw him match shot blocking sensation freshman center Jayden Quaintance with two defensive blocks.
“We wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for what he did at the offensive end.” Hurley said. So he’s really finding himself in that way. I thought he had a little bit of a stretch in overtime right away where he kind of maybe could have hit a few other guys. He kind of wanted to go make a play, but he had made a bunch of baskets. So if he would have made it, I’d be praising him right now for what a great job he did.”
ASU outscored the Bears 41-29 in the second half en route to an overtime loss. Overtime was about as flat as an offensive could get for the Sun Devils, as they began 0-for-6 from the field and finished only two for ten. It was once again a tale of two halves for the Sun Devils, who have failed to string together consecutive 20-minute periods with any consistency.
In their back-to-back games against UCF and Cincinnati, two teams that are currently positioned just above and below ASU in the conference, the Sun Devils have a brief window of opportunity to regain conference momentum. If the Sun Devils want to make the tournament this season, back-to-back wins against middle-ranked conference opponents are a necessary jump to help them get there.
“We got to be a group and doing what we do, and it’s got to be together,” Miller said. “The teams we’re going up against, they know exactly what they want to do. I can feel it. They’re more connected. It’s just certain things you just got to fix, and hopefully we can fix that within these few days and come back home and get a W.”
