Washington returns to lineup, but team shooting woes remain costly

(Photo: Haley Spracale/WCSN)

TEMPE – After missing the Bay Area road trip due to testing positive for COVID-19, senior forward Warren Washington returned to the floor Thursday night against the Colorado Buffaloes, scoring six points in 23 minutes.

Washington has started in all 25 games he’s been available for this season, averaging 8.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, with his rebounding rate ranking ninth-best in the Pac-12.

Without Washington, the Sun Devils swept the road trip, pulling out a victory against Stanford and an overtime win against California.

“Spirit-wise, I feel like I’m good, but it’s a process and I’m just trying to take it day by day,” Washington said. “But I mean, I’m just trying to do all I can and all I can do is control what I control at this point.”

Washington revealed he felt like he had his “legs underneath” him to start the second half, but fatigue set in as the game progressed, limiting his contributions.

“He just looked winded,” head coach Bobby Hurley said. “Usually, he would have stayed a few more minutes, and under normal conditions. It’s hard to simulate missing a week, and then having a few practices. So – but overall for what he’s been through – I think he did pretty well.”

ASU’s calling card has been its defense, holding its opponents to 66.7 points per game. Washington has served as the defensive anchor this season, providing the defense with a solid last-resort option at the rim, rejecting 1.8 blocks a game.

His defensive presence has been needed for most games this season, especially against some of the Pac-12’s best players in the Pac-12, such as Arizona’s junior forward Azuolas Tubelis, redshirt junior center Oumar Ballo, and UCLA’s senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.

“[Washington] did some nice things in the second half – had a good post move, had the roll for the dunk to start to the half,” Hurley said. “So, that was good to see him do that. Not a great matchup for him because of how much perimeter defense he needs to play considering their lineups.”

Colorado forces its opponents to spend more defensive resources on the 3-point line, as junior forward Tristan da Silva – who averages a team-high 16.4 points per game – is shooting 42% from downtown, forcing opponents to devote attention to the arc.

“We couldn’t make them pay. That’s why da Silva – and [Washington] playing the five – they’re a tough matchup because they really still can rebound and defend the paint relatively well. Even with that smaller lineup, we couldn’t take advantage of Warren the way maybe I thought we could have when they took (sophomore center Lawson) Lovering out of the game.”

da Silva worked ASU’s defense all night, scoring 23 points on a 7-of-14 shooting performance. The 6-foot-8 forward capitalized on the long ball, scoring three 3-pointers on seven tries, but was also responsible for seven of Colorado’s 11 free throws, draining six of them. The offense heavily relied on da Silva, who scored 35.8% of the team’s total points.

“I felt like defensively, we’re doing really good, really well,” Washington said. “Silva, credit to him, he’s a great player. Devan was doing all he can, and he was making tough buckets. So, credit to their team in Colorado. They really brought it out tonight.”

Colorado focused on a balanced offensive attack, knocking down 15 two-point shots on 33 attempts while making nine of its 24 3-pointers. The proportional shooting clips allowed the Buffaloes to outscore the Sun Devils 17-3 in the final 5:37 of the game.

ASU’s game plan relied on shots behind the arc, converting 27.6% of its 29 shots from deep. Junior guard DJ Horne and fifth-year guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. – the duo which has led Hurley’s backcourt all season – combined for 7-for-20 on 3-pointers.

Horne’s team-high 15 points kept came from the long ball, scoring three of his five made 3-pointers in the first 6:25 of the game.

“It just felt like the rim kept getting smaller and smaller,” Washington said. “I can’t really speak for that because I’m not the one out there shooting threes. But yeah, we just couldn’t hit any shots.”

Matters worsened ASU’s offense, which missed its six final shots of the game, courtesy of a Horne 3-pointer two from Cambridge Jr. Colorado took advantage of the misses, closing the game on a 9-0 scoring run.

“That’s tough, that’s tough,” Washington explained about the shot selection. “I personally feel like we could have definitely taken better shots, but I’m not the coach and I’m also not the guard so I don’t see it from their perspective. I can’t really speak for them.”