Sun Devils replicate defensive performance in Utah rematch

(Photo: Aiden Longbrake/WCSN)

TEMPE – 24 days ago, Arizona State men’s basketball head coach Bobby Hurley directed his team toward using more zone defense. The shift came at a time when ASU was allowing 80.1 points per game, and it immediately paid dividends, helping the Sun Devils hold Utah to one of its weakest offensive outings of the year.

Since the adjustment, ASU has allowed 74.5 points per game across six contests. Even with that improvement, opponents began to exploit the Sun Devils’ lack of post presence, averaging 34.7 points in the paint across three matchups against Texas Tech, Baylor and TCU. The Horned Frogs, ASU’s most recent opponent before facing the Utes again on Saturday, scored 38 of their 90 points in the paint.

And when Utah came to Desert Financial Arena for the rematch, the Utes made it clear their plan was to attack inside and put points on the board early. In the first five minutes, that approach worked as Utah surged to a 14–5 lead, scoring 10 of those points in the paint. Over the remaining 35 minutes, the Utes (10–19, 2–14 Big 12) managed only 16 points inside as ASU (15–14, 6–10 Big 12) refused to let the opening stretch dictate the night.

“I obviously haven’t watched the tape, but I think it goes back to offense,” Utah head coach Alex Jensen said. “It’s frustrating that we replicated some of the same mistakes we made in the first game.”

The Utes scored 60 points on Saturday, three fewer than their total against the Sun Devils when they first met in early February. Utah also mirrored its 23‑for‑59 shooting line from its first game against ASU. The Utes have shot below 40% in five games this season; two of those performances have now come against the Sun Devils.

Once again, ASU effectively limited junior guard Terrence Brown, who leads the Utes in scoring with 19.7 points per game. Brown looked poised for a productive night after scoring four points in the first three minutes; however, he never regained that early rhythm and finished with eight points, only two more than he scored in the first meeting.

After the game, Hurley emphasized how much attention ASU put on Brown, particularly keeping him out of the paint. He noted that Brown’s ability to get downhill can warp a defense on its own, which made limiting his space a central part of the plan.

“Brown is a nightmare to keep out of the paint,” Hurley said. “If you just allow him to have space to work in a man defense the whole game, we would have had a lot more guys potentially in foul trouble. He’s the one guy on the scouting report we were concerned about.”

The Sun Devils blocked more than eight shots for just the third time this season on Saturday, finishing with nine – more than double the four they recorded in the first matchup. In that earlier game, freshman center Massamba Diop led the team with three blocks, and he again set the tone in the rematch, this time recording four.

Redshirt sophomore forward Santiago Trouet joined the block party with a season‑high three blocks, giving ASU seven combined between him and Diop. Jensen said Utah’s issues at the rim came from players hunting shots instead of making the extra pass, a tendency he felt played directly into the Sun Devils’ transition game.

“We took on Diop and them at the rim, and those blocked shots, instead of passing the ball, led to fast break layups for them,” Jensen said. “I think it’s one of the more selfish games that we’ve had this year.”

The Utes’ struggles at the rim became the clearest example of how ASU refused to let the opening five minutes define the night. After giving up 10 points in the paint and finding themselves in an early 14–5 hole, the Sun Devils tightened their rotations, protected the interior and turned Utah’s drives into rushed looks.

That ability to settle and adjust mirrored the defensive shift ASU has leaned on since turning to more zone. The Sun Devils changed the look just enough to take away Utah’s early comfort, forcing the Utes into a different game than the one they controlled in the opening minutes.

“We played zone, it worked for a little bit, then they figured it out, so we just changed a couple things,” Trouet said. “I think it just really messed them up, and we were able to go on runs.”