What spoiled a solid first half for ASU in loss to Oregon?
EUGENE, Oregon — The Arizona State Sun Devils marched into Matthew Knight Arena looking to remain in first place in the balanced Pac-12. It didn't happen. Oregon used a strong second half and surged past the Sun Devils 80-61 Thursday night behind the 19 points of Jermaine Couisnard.
Oregon (14-5, 6-2) and ASU (11-8, 5-3) started the night tied for first along with Arizona, which was playing Oregon State on Thursday night.
ASU shot 42.3% (25-for-57) which was above its season average but Oregon countered with a 50.9% (28-for-55) and it went 18-for-26 in the second half. Oregon finished with a 35-27 advantage on the boards
What went right
ASU played a solid first half: The first 20 minutes ended with the visitors in front 33-28, although Hurley said his team's lead should have been larger. ASU shot a respectable 14-for-30 from the field and Oregon managed just 10-for-29. The teams were even on the boards at 18 rebounds each and that is typically and area in which the Sun Devils are overwhelmed.
Stayed out of foul trouble: ASU does not have a lot of depth so it cannot afford to get into foul trouble. The Sun Devils had only four fouls called on them in the first half and all were on different players. That changed a bit in the second half because Alonzo Gaffney picked up his second 1:44 into the second half and his third 30 seconds later. He went to the bench for a bit but fouls were really not an issue.
What went wrong
No scoring balance: Jose Perez had 20 points, well over his season average of 13 but there was not enough contribution from others as he was the only Sun Devil in double figures. Frankie Collins scored eight and was just 4-for-13 from the field which included an 0-for-3 from long distance and he has been reliable from the perimeter. Adam Miller and Jamiya Neal combined for eight and they're both typically double figures scorers.
Not enough off turnovers forced: The Sun Devils make their living when the defense is forcing turnovers and using that to generate a fast-break offense. When they get stuck in the half court game they're rather pedestrian. Well they forced only nine turnovers and scored only five off those. Oregon actually fared better in that department forcing nine and scoring eight. In all the games in which ASU has been successful, it was because its defense led to offense.
A scoring drought: The Sun Devils hit a rough patch and never recovered. They last lead at 46-44 on a bucket by Collins 6 minutes into the second half. The Ducks went on a 25-6 run and never looked back. In the win over USC on Saturday, ASU answered opponent runs with ones of their own. But there were none of those responses this time. Oregon out-rebounded ASU in the second half 17-9.
Bench points: This is a place Oregon finished with an advantage of 33-18. ASU really relies on eight players right now with Zane Meeks and Brycen Long out with lingering injury issues. Depend on a handful of guys is nothing new, but the 33 points is a testament to Oregon's depth, something Hurley talked about postgame.
They said it
"It was almost like watching two different teams the first half and the second half. Didn't come out of the chute with the same intensity on defense, weren't able to generate any stops. At one point in the second half I think they were shooting 76% from the field. We're not going to beat a team like this if that's how we perform at that end of the floor." — ASU coach Bobby Hurley
"When you're on the road you have to be able to make open shots. The home team always has a more natural feel and they just made shots. They shot 70% in the second half and you're not going to win a lot of games when the opponent does that." — ASU guard Jose Perez
What to look for next time out
Can the Sun Devils rebound? Eugene is a tough place to win and the Ducks have really hit their stride of late. Next up is Oregon State and while it's hard to sweep a road trip and you can't afford to lose both and the upcoming contest is the winnable one that ASU just cannot afford to lose.
Using a large lineup: At one point in the first half Hurley had his three bigs on the floor at the same time in the 7-0 Shawn Phillips, along with Bryant Selebangue and Gaffney, both 6-9. The Sun Devils didn't stick with it long but Hurley wanted to see how that combination worked against Oregon's size. It will be interesting to see if Hurley tried that trio together again and if so, how much.
Up next
The Sun Devils make the one hour trip to Corvallis for a 5 p.m. game Saturday against Oregon State (9-9, 1-6) at Gill Coliseum. The game will air on the Pac-12 Network.
The Sun Devils won both games with the Beavers last season, including a 74-69 win in Corvallis. Collins had 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in that game.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: No scoring balance as Arizona State falls to Oregon in Pac-12
