Tempers flare as Sun Devils fade late in 81-72 loss to rival Arizona

(Photo: Hazel Foubert/WCSN)

TEMPE — Arizona vs. Arizona State is always a heated 40 minutes. Being the only two power conference schools in a state with seven million people, the Territorial Cup rivalry is all around at all times. In this state, you’re either Sun Devil or Wildcat.

It is a matchup with no love lost, but with just over 30 seconds left in Saturday’s first Territorial Cup hoops match as part of the Big 12, the game lost a Love.

In the final minutes, the back-and forth that was present all game boiled over. An interaction between ASU senior wing BJ Freeman and Arizona graduate guard Caleb Love resulted in Love and Freeman both being ejected. Afterward, head coach Bobby Hurley removed all his players from the bench and refused to shake hands.

The high tensions on ASU’s side of the floor were a result of another home loss, and you can argue that they had control of most of the game. On the back of 18 offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points, the Wildcats (15-6, 9-1 Big 12) pulled away in the final minutes, defeating the Sun Devils (12-9, 3-7 Big 12) 81-72.

“If you were right near our bench, it was relentless, constant chatter from a couple of the Arizona players that wasn’t that was not being policed properly,” Hurley said of the ejections. “They’re going to be happy with winning, but it was done with no class.”

“Freeman lost his cool because of the constant talk that was allowed to go on. I had to make a tough decision in the best interest of our team.”

To make matters even worse, it was ASU’s fourth consecutive home conference loss. However, despite none of the games being within five points, the Sun Devils have been competitive in all of them. Each time, it was something else that crushed them.

Against Baylor, it was a pathetic 20-point first half. Against UCF, it was a defensive meltdown, allowing 40 points to junior guard Keyshawn Hall. Against Iowa State, it was a 19-3 Cyclone run over the final five minutes. Now, against Arizona, it was a poor rebounding performance, resulting in a 52-38 beatdown on the boards.

All these games were close, but even with the home crowd on its side, ASU can’t quite come through for the Sun Devil faithful.

“We just haven’t gotten it done in our building,” Hurley said. “You can’t lose four [home] conference games at this point in the season, in a Big 12 race, and expect to be in the picture. We just haven’t done a good job. A lot of these games have been close, and we’ve been there, but like moral victories, who cares?”

The Sun Devils succeeded in not turning the ball over on Saturday, a problem they have been dealing with all season, losing it just 11 times. However, even with the extra possessions, ASU’s biggest problem was still prevalent. At multiple stretches throughout the game, the Sun Devil offense will just shut down.

When ASU’s offense is working well, it creates open looks from three off of good screens and off-ball movement from the guards. But for stretches of sometimes close to seven minutes, the offense will just have dribble handoffs at the top of the key, resulting in an isolation chuck as the shot clock winds down.

In the final seven minutes of the game, ASU had two stretches of two-plus minutes where they scored zero points, including the final 2:17, and that’s where the game was lost. With 7:40 left it was 62-62, but from that point on the Wildcats outscored ASU 19-10. Senior guard Adam Miller diagnosed the problem.

“I love all my teammates, but I think that it’s more of we got the superhero mentality,” Miller said. “Sometimes we get that, and it kind of backfires sometimes, when it’s okay, when it’s when it’s okay, to trust your teammate a little bit more in some situations.”

Senior wing Basheer Jihad was one of those players who struggled in those superhero situations. Taking a season-high 17 shots, Jihad forced attempts left and right, including ASU’s final chance at making the game close.

Down four with just under a minute left and coming out of a timeout, Jihad inbounded the ball and immediately went into his bag, attempting to back down the defender before shooting a fadeaway jumper.

The play encapsulated the struggles of ASU basketball this season. Even coming out of a timeout, Hurley and the Sun Devils couldn’t put together a set to get the team the three-pointer it needed.

The Sun Devils have shown they can compete in the Big 12, battling with teams until the end in each one of their conference losses, but they just can’t find a way to win. And as their NCAA Tournament chances fade, they need to find a way to turn those late heartbreaking losses into hard-fought wins.

“Good teams find a way to win. Bad teams find a way to lose,” Miller said. “Winning solves everything.”