Sun Devil men’s basketball slowly evolving in recent gritty losses

The ASU men’s basketball team has lost three straight games, each one proving to push the Sun Devils further in their development. With 11 games left in the regular season, ASU could be on the verge of finding itself. 

In ASU’s most recent loss, coach Bobby Hurley’s squad fell short to rival No. 3 Arizona. The Wildcats took over late in their 67-56 victory thanks to improved second-half defense and perimeter shooting. 

The final score is deceiving in that game. The Sun Devils owned the first half of the rivalry matchup. Hurley’s team led the No. 3 team in the nation for nearly 17 of the first 20 minutes of the game.

The Sun Devils defense prevented one of the nation’s most potent offenses from making a single 3-pointer in the first half. Not to mention, ASU’s interior defense held its own against Pac-12 giant and Arizona forward Christian Koloko. 

Forward Jalen Graham especially stood out in ASU’s comeback attempt. Graham’s numbers may not leap off the page, but he came up clutch in some key defensive moments last Saturday. 

“We want to win these games too,” Graham said prior to the Arizona game. “But we just got to focus on one game at a time, that’s what we are going to keep on doing, we’re not looking too far in the future.”

The Arizona loss is a pivotal moment in the Sun Devils’ season. ASU’s performance is full of lessons. There is much to learn from the seven minutes in the second half where Hurley’s team went without a field goal. 

Critics could point to the offensive disappearance of guard DJ Horne, who only hit one field goal in the second half. Nevertheless, this ASU team does not quit; they are simply still learning.

“In a game like this where the guys are really juiced to play and the crowd and everything, you can get a little rattled,” Hurley said.

Sun Devil fans may not be happy with the idea of ASU struggling to play complete games. However, this is usually the case with a program that lacks true star power. 

The Sun Devils have heard the noise all season long. ASU has been written off time and again because of its lackluster record, inability to finish and so much more. Even so, this year’s team is undoubtedly improving. 

The Arizona game is just one example. Earlier last week, the Sun Devils outshined No. 15 USC for the first 12 minutes of the game. At one point ASU led the Trojans, 22-8. 

If it were not for the Sun Devils’ consistent struggle to avoid committing fouls, then the last two games may have turned out to be back-to-back wins.

In the USC game, ASU made four free throws compared to the Trojans’ 14. The issue reared its head again in the Arizona game. The Sun Devils were outscored at the charity stripe, 26-8. 

If this team can figure out how to start drawing fouls and get some easy points, there is no telling how many of these final 11 games they can win.

Sun Devil basketball’s first chance to implement the lessons learned from its last loss is this Thursday. The Sun Devils are back at home to take on the No. 19 Trojans for the final time in the regular season.