Sun Devils fight for Tournament bid on Senior Day against Utah

(Photo: Max Zepeda/WCSN)

TEMPE – As Arizona State men’s basketball progressed through the 2022-23 season, the bumps in the road have been prevalent. After a historic 15-3 start – the best start since a 15-3 start in 2008-09 – and major wins over then-No. 20 Michigan and Creighton, it appeared a bid to dance in March was all but guaranteed.

The dream continued to balloon, especially after a close battle against rival Arizona and a sweep of the Oregon road trip for the first time since 2009-10. Suddenly, the Sun Devils were 6-1 in Pac-12 play for the first time since 1980-81.

The anticipation built, cultivating a major test against UCLA, with the winner being in sole possession of the conference’s first seed.

Then, reality hit.

After a 12-point loss to the Bruins – who erupted on a 16-2 scoring run in the final 5:52 – ASU lost four consecutive games to USC, Washington and Washington State. The losing streak eventually snapped against Oregon State, but the damage had already been done. Entering Saturday’s contest against Utah, ASU had lost six of its last nine games, placing them at 72 in the NCAA NET rankings, a metric that has implications on bids to the NCAA Tournament.

With four games remaining on its schedule – with the final three on the road against the Pac-12’s top-3 teams – Saturday night’s game versus Utah marked a crucial spot to pull off a win, which the Sun Devils did, defeating the Utes 67-59.

“Well, it wasn’t even about being home,” senior forward Devan Cambridge said. “It was just about, like, we know where our season (is at). We needed that. That was a must-win game. We got to have that for the rest of these next three games. So, it wasn’t really about — also about the seniors and stuff — but yeah, that was our main focus. We know our season’s on the line.”

With Saturday marking the final home game of the season, the attention naturally would shift to Senior Day and the seniors’ final games at Desert Financial Arena. But the Sun Devils who celebrated the festivities were focused on how to prolong the season – rather than relishing the moment.

“I thought it was a gutsy win, very happy for the seniors, they’ve been great to me, great to the program this year – for the guys that just joined and (junior guard) DJ (Horne) for two years,” Hurley said. “So, to see those guys perform the way they did, you know all contributing, in a hard-fought game – it was hard game – but just happy we got a win here at home, and now hopefully we’ll use this momentum heading out on the road.”

The Sun Devil struggled from behind the arc, making only three 3-pointers on the night. Under Hurley, shooting the long ball has become a program staple, averaging 23.4 attempted 3-pointers a season. During his tenure, ASU is 2-2 when they make less than three 3-pointers in a game.

Fifth-year guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. leads the team in scoring, but struggled from downtown, knocking down his first and only 3 with 2:19 remaining. Horne also encountered troubles from deep, missing all four of his attempts. Horne and Cambridge – who both average the most 3-pointers attempted on the roster – combined for 1-of-12 from deep.

This season, the offense has struggled against zone defenses, which Utah hoped would limit the offensive production. The strategy has been used by many teams to combat ASU’s shooters and force penetration to the hoop.

“We struggled with it versus Colorado,” Hurley said. “So, you want to make sure that you can prove to yourself and have some confidence knowing that if the team shifts defenses that we can attack it appropriately. We had good cutting, good movement off the basketball. We were able to hit the high post and get a few baskets doing that and so the guys moved it was good and we attack some gaps, and I thought Des and DJ were able to get into the gaps of their zone and had some nice pull up shots.”

Now the Sun Devils will prepare for a single game week against the No. 8 Arizona Wildcats, whom they suffered a nine-point loss to on New Year’s Eve. From there, the difficulty arguably increases, with a road trip to Los Angeles against No. 4 UCLA and USC.

The fallout of a promising start isn’t new under Hurley. After a 14-3 start in 2017-18 – Hurley’s best start before this season – the Sun Devils finished the regular season losing four of their final five games. The post-season wasn’t much better, losing to Colorado in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament and to Syracuse in the First Four, marking six losses over the final seven games.

In 2017-18 ASU finished 8-10 in Pac-12 play, good for ninth in the conference. The program still acquired a March Madness berth, achieving 66 in RPI on Selection Sunday. RPI was a metric used to determine post-season seedings before the NET was introduced in 2018. The Sun Devils currently sit at 72 in the NET, and with three Quad 1 games left, a bid to dance in March may still be possible.