Fresh off an upset victory over No. 20 Michigan in the Legends Classic, Arizona State cruised to an 80-49 blowout win over Grambling State at home.
The Sun Devils never trailed the Tigers and put together a convincing performance that found separation in the second half. Senior guard Devan Cambridge picked up where he left off in Brookly by leading the team with 16 points, while junior guard D.J. Horne kept pace with 15 of his own. Frankie Collins and forward Warren Washington both posted 11 points apiece.
“Just kept applying pressure,” Cambridge said in a postgame press conference. “We’re playing together now, feeling everybody out, and it’s fun. You see, that’s what happens when you play together.”
Cambridge galvanized the crowd throughout most of the night as he crashed the rim for stylistic dunks. Horne splashed three of seven field goals from beyond the arc, highlighted by a wide-open shot from the wing that cemented Arizona State’s 30-point lead under eight minutes to play in the second half. The Sun Devils collectively enjoyed a profitable night in the bonus, getting to the free-throw line often and sinking 23 of 31 attempts.
It was the dominating performance coach Bobby Hurley required after fearing a possible hangover from the tournament win.
“On the heels of a trip to New York, this was a game that concerned me (about) just making sure the guys were grounded,” Hurley said. “Very emotional wins in the Barclay Center, especially the Michigan game. Winning a championship and then traveling back across country, and a couple of the teams who we beat struggled in their very next game because you’re playing back-to-back games.
“So from a scheduling standpoint, to have maybe one or two extra days, I thought, helped us,” Hurley said. “We were able to practice a couple times. Thought our defense again was really, really strong, and gotta clean up the rebounding a little bit. Happy to see 21 assists and 25 made field goals – that shows unselfishness, and guys are moving the ball.”
Collins acted as the main distributor for the Sun Devils, grabbing six rebounds and dishing the ball to his teammates on seven assists. A strong first half put him on alert for a triple-double, but Collins did his part to stoke the offensive flow. He created looks all over the court and had a number of feeds both in and out of transition.
“Frankie really wants to find his teammates,” Hurley said. “He’s great at finding guys, had six assists, I think, at halftime. We had good cutting off the ball, good movement off the ball. Devan Cambridge a couple of times, D.J. Horne had a nice back cut in the second half. And then it was good to see Warren get some touches and be productive because I think that’s where you can take further steps in your offense. You can play through him and play inside-out a little more.”
Horne said Hurley’s offseason plan to bring in a guard like Collins to foster balanced production across the lineup is “coming to fruition” and would like the Sun Devils to sustain that type of output.
“Guys sharing the sugar, man. It’s fun to see when everybody’s out there smiling,” Horne said. “So, I feel like that’s what we’ve just kind of been emphasizing – everybody just play as a team, and if everybody does that, we eat.”
“I know when we don’t move the ball, it looks real bad, so that’s been the emphasis,” Cambridge echoed. “It’s good basketball when it happens.”
Grambling State was chaotic in the face of Arizona State’s teamwork and strong defensive showing, turning the ball over 18 times. The Tigers shot 27 percent from the field and an abysmal eight percent on three-point tries. No player scored in the double digits. The Sun Devils blocked six shots and snatched four steals.
However, Hurley made sure the team did not overlook the matchup after Grambling State surprised Colorado earlier in the month. The Buffaloes topped No. 11 Tennessee and No. 24 Texas A&M but also fell short in softer matchups against UC Riverside and UMass. Arizona State also got off to a streaky start to the season but was able to stabilize, parlaying its momentum to take care of business without much issue.
“Tarleton State played really hard, and Texas Southern played hard. We knew we had to be ready to play, or else they can embarrass you by their effort, and certainly, we didn’t want to be in a situation like that,” Hurley said. “We discussed it a lot and made the guys aware that they had a high double-figure lead versus Colorado and beat a Pac-12 school already, so they had our full attention.”
Junior guard Marcus Bagley warmed up but did not play. Hurley cited the team’s high-level perimeter play and “didn’t want to disrupt anything.” Jamiya Neal made his season debut, collecting three points, three assists, and four rebounds. Sophomore Enoch Boakye (illness) was spotted on the bench with a mask over his face. Hurley expects the forward to return on Sunday against Alcorn State.
With a potentially healthier lineup and the continuation of spreading the shooting wealth, Cambridge believes Arizona State is poised to contend with the best once conference play begins.
“Like I said, just playing together, I feel like we can compete with anybody.”
BLACK FRIDAY THROUGH CYBER MONDAY SALE!!!
New annual subscribers will enjoy nearly 80% savings. This is the BEST deal of the year!
No one was dialed in as we were on the ASU head coach search. Why miss out on any other insider news in the new and exciting era that is about to begin in Tempe, as well as the detailed film analysis we provided which is second to none?
Sign up with code RIVALS22 and enjoy the BEST deal of the year
