Halftime deficit comebacks should never be taken for granted, but with Arizona State, especially away from Tempe, that seems to be the norm, not the exception.
All of last season, ASU had three contests on the road going down to the locker room trailing on the scoreboard just to come back and win the game. Tonight, in Boulder, ASU recorded already its second such victory this season, erasing a 15-point deficit at halftime, the largest halftime deficit comeback under Hurley, and winning in dramatic fashion with a three-pointer by guard Desmond Cambridge with 2.6 seconds left to squeak out a 60-59 victory in their Pac-12 opener.
Here are our five takeaways from Thursday night’s victory:
Frankie Collins’ absence was painfully felt - in the fog of victory (if there isn’t such a term, I just made it up now), it may be easy to lose sight of how much ASU had suffered with the absence of its point guard who stayed back home in Tempe due to a non-COVID illness.
The ASU offense lacked any flow converting just 29 percent of their shots in the first half and going ice cold beyond the arc missing all of his 13 attempts in that period. True freshman Austin Nunez certainly had his baptism by fire, having a hard time not only guiding his teammates on the court but also trying to find his own shot. His backup, Jamiya Neal, basically playing a point forward role, did not fair much better.
In order to run an effective half-court offense, something that the Colorado defense dictated quite a bit in the first half, ASU will need its floor general back. That has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. But to the Sun Devils’ backcourt’s credit, they did let their defense fuel their offense as both aforementioned players combined for ten points in the last 20 minutes. The team’s 50 percent shooting in the second half is one example of how that tandem played much more under control.
Coaches will often tell you that it’s always easier to learn from your mistakes following a win, and this may be a contest that will allow Nunez, who’s already shown more than just a couple of flashes this season, to grow and play better if a similar circumstance would present itself.
Defensive identity rears its menacing face – on that end of the court, the game went as planned, if you will, as Colorado’s 59 points scored matches the average that ASU defense has been yielding this far in this 2022-23 season. It did a horrible job in the first half, where perimeter defense and lack of on-floor rotations were fully taken advantage by Colorado, who was 6-13 from three-point range. Furthermore, not only did the host shoot a formidable 43.8 percent from the floor in the first half but had a commanding 29-17 edge on rebounds, including 9-5 on the offensive end.
ASU effectively stifled the Colorado offense, as the Buffs scored their first points of the second half nearly four minutes in. Even though Colorado was still enjoying a double-digit lead of 53-42 with 7:35 left, it was relying too much on its three-point shooting. In fact, it wasn’t until 8:08 left in the contest that Colorado scored its first two-point field goal. Colorado was living and dying by the lone range shot, and their demise did show down the stretch as not only did ASU outscores them 18-6 in the last seven and half minutes, as the Buffs did not have a field goal over the final 6:40 and missed a trio of three-point shot attempts.
Furthermore, ASU came up just about even in rebounding in the second half (CU with an 18-17 edge), scored 14 points off of 12 turnovers by the hosts, and recorded nine steals in the last 20 minutes. It was a pleasant reminder that when ASU can force its will defensively, it can not only rout teams wire-to-wire as it did against then-no. 20 Michigan, but it also pulled itself up from a sizeable hole to notch a precious conference road victory.
Feel that flow – ASU wasn’t too far off from recording its third consecutive 20-assist game, tallying 16. And the smoothness on this end of the court wasn’t more evident than its 12 assists on 15 field goals in the second half. When the Sun Devils settled down, had better shot selection, and again let their stellar defense fuel their offense, everything fell into place. It would have been easy for ASU to play desperate in the negative sense of the word seeing how they cut down the deficit to 48-42 with 8:43 left just to see the Colorado lead in a blink of an eye grow to double digits again. The Sun Devils’ last six field goals of the night were assisted, so the chemistry on both ends of the court was undoubtedly clicking on all cylinders for Arizona State. Its 50 percent shooting in the second half is a positively blunt example of the level of effectiveness ASU displayed.
Granted, coaches and fans alike had wished there wasn’t such a sharp contrast in both halves and not to belabor the Collins’ absence, but it may be impossible to overstate the gravity of that aspect. Yet, to their credit, Arizona State found a way to overcome the obstacles that stood in their way.
Colossal Cambridge duo – the season may be just eight games old, but suffice it to say that when both Cambridge brothers are playing well, ASU, at the very least, will be a tough out. Desmond Cambridge may not have been the consistent cold-blooded assassin on the court, but scoring all of his 11 points in the second half, shooting 50 percent both of three-point range and overall, from the floor, just proves what a dangerous weapon he can be for ASU. Without Collins and fellow guard DJ Horne saddled with foul trouble and a cold night shooting, the older Cambridge brother stepped up in a major way and stuffed the stat sheet to boot.
Devan Cambridge can do it all, mix it up in the paint, utilizing his athleticism, be on the receiving end of a couple of alley-oops each contest, but also drain the jumper when the opportunity presents itself. His 10 points (18 total) and four rebounds in the second half were crucial in this come-from-behind win. It’s no coincidence that both brothers scored nearly half of ASU’s 60 points in victory. Between and Collins, hard not to be impressed, at least so far, with how well ASU did in the transfer portal.
A road win statement was needed - As impressive as the victories against Michigan, and VCU were a couple of weeks ago, they were still not true road games. In fact, ASU’s only blemish on their record thus far was a bitter road loss in overtime to Texas Southern. So, one can forgive the ASU fans who, if not pessimistic before tonight’s tip-off, were uttering, “here we go again,” staring at a 15-point halftime deficit.
And truth be told that in recent years ASU hasn’t always played its better games away from the friendly confines of Desert Financial Arena. Even though this Colorado squad may be the ultimate Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of team, that does not serve as an excuse for what ASU was able to accomplish in Boulder. This Arizona State team is already showing some traits that are necessary ingredients to be dancing in March, and if they can consistently play better on the road in general, then that might be the missing piece of the puzzle that allows ASU for a change, not to sweat out Selection Sunday.
The overall maturity of the team is an element that I felt this group of players would have, but it was anyone’s guess as to how it actually would materialize on the court. We may be beyond the “it’s too small of a sample size” caveat to make reasonable determinations about the Sun Devils at this stage of the season. Therefore, it’s unrealistic to have a high expectation level of this team to play good basketball regardless of the venue’s geographical location.
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