Arizona State (10-5, 4-0 Pac 12) put their fork down against the stampeding Buffaloes of Colorado (11-4, 2-2 Pac 12), beating them 76-73 in dramatic fashion in Tempe. ASU improves to 4-0 in Pac-12 play for the first time since James Harden was a freshman in the 2007-08 season and adds two losses to the mountain schools (Utah and Colorado), who were a combined 20-4 at the beginning of this week. Head coach Bobby Hurley and his team engaged in some effective soul-searching after ending non-conference play on a three-game losing streak and are the conference’s most surprising team to date.
Bryant Selegangue’s emergence in a tight game
Although ASU at one point had a 10-point lead in the second half, there were sputters at times which had Colorado crawling back whenever they could to try and escape the state of Arizona with at least one win.
“That team (Colorado) didn’t give up,” ASU guard Adam Miller said. “I’m like geez…Simpson (KJ) was not stopping, I’m like dang.”
That said, the win against Colorado came down to a couple of X-factors, and junior forward Bryant Selebangue was certainly one of them tonight. The Tulane transfer ended the night with seven points in 24 minutes, going 3-4 from the field. All that said, those weren’t even the most impactful stats or he throughout the game.
As ASU’s defensive prowess was in full effect tonight, and as sophomore center Shawn Phillips Jr. battled foul trouble for most of the night, Selebangue stepped up with crucial defensive plays that sparked the offense. Late in the first half, Selebangue had back-to-back steals, which in turn resulted in back-to-back scoring possessions for Miller.
Compounding on those ball strips, Selebangue also had two blocks in the game, the latter block coming late in the second half in a two-point game. The 6-8 forward did his best trying to contain a stout 6-11 center in Eddie Lampkin. Ultimately, Selebangue left his mark on this game as ASU still searches for answers in the paint, with Phillips still on restricted minutes after missing over a month with a foot injury.
“I was really happy for him,” Hurley said. “He just had his motor going at a different level than he’s had it just with his activity. Finishing around the basket and, again, guarding his block. This was by far the best we’ve seen him.”
Adam Miller is finding his rhythm.
There was no question that early on in the season, it was evident that the Sun Devils were missing another offensive piece. LSU transfer Adam Miller was denied eligibility from the NCAA for being a two-time transfer in college before receiving a degree, and his void was often hard for ASU to fill. Since the junior was declared eligible in time for the next to last non-conference game versus TCU on December 16, Miller has made his presence known, but the road back hasn’t been anywhere close to being straightforward.
“Tough,” Miller stated on being sidelined for an extended period of time. “I got barely any of the non-conference games. It was upsetting, but I was just ready for the opportunity.”
Miller scored in double digits in four of his six games played, scoring 20 points in his anticipated debut against TCU. There haven’t been drastic peaks and valleys in his performance, but tonight marked an “on-beat” performance as Miller scored 18 points, as he felt this was a contest that was a step in the right direction.
“I’ve just been trying to find my rhythm,” Miller noted. “That first game, I came out pretty hot. I think I kind of thought, ‘Okay, I’m good now’, then that second game, I’m like, ‘Okay, I still have to work my way back into this’.”
“I think this week, for me, was just find your rhythm. I got a good rhythm in this game.”
Miller scored 14 of his 18 in the first half as he was the hot hand that the Sun Devils needed to score over 40 points in the first half for the second straight game. Miller made all three of his three-pointers in that period, feeding off the aforementioned defensive effort of Selebangue.
Although things slowed down for Miller in the second half, following his ‘heat check’ three-point shot from almost mid-court, Miller did what he had to do in order for the Sun Devils to keep the home win streak (7-0) alive. Miller added an assist while also making all four of his free throws as other Sun Devils managed the rest of the workload as unselfishly as possible. Miller loves this mindset moving forward.
“I just kind of found my niche,” Miller commented. “I think it does propel the team when I’m hitting shots like that.”
ASU’s defensive prowess is alive and well.
Saturday night’s win wasn’t as much of a complete offensive effort as it was against Utah; this is where the defense came through. Since tip-off, it was evident that the level of intensity was turned up a notch to try and stop a formidable Colorado attack that welcomed back one of its best players, Tristan da Silva, back from injury, who scored 17 points.
ASU was dominant in many areas on this end of the floor, most notably posting eight blocks on the night, two of which were very crucial. There was the Selebangue block and another by Alonzo Gaffney’s block on a Simpson layup that would have tied the game with 37 seconds left. Although Gaffney struggled offensively, making a lone three-pointer and going 14 from the field, it was plays like this defensively that were the focal points for Hurley.
“Alonzo Gaffney’s block was huge,” Hurley remarked. “Alonzo Gaffney just helped us win a basketball game by blocking a shot, then securing the ball.” ASU’s head coach also defended the offensive struggles of Gaffney, saying, “Tell me I’m awful at my job if Alonzo Gaffney misses a shot…please avoid the gasps when Alonzo Gaffney misses a shot because Alonzo Gaffney just helped us win a basketball game.”
In addition to the big defensive stops, ASU forced 13 Colorado turnovers, directly resulting in 27 points. Arizona State’s transition offense enjoyed another night, producing 21 fast break points, greatly aiding in the Sun Devil Win. Junior guards Jamiya Neal and Frankie Collins came alive in the second half, combining for seven of ASU’s 11 steals on the night.
“I was pleased with the activity,” Hurley said. “I think we pushed their offense out. Outside of putting them on the line too much, our defense was really good.”
ASU is motivated at home, and undefeated.
Perhaps somewhat flying under the radar is the fact that ASU is a perfect 7-0 at home this year. It’s a record that has featured some statement wins like the one over Colorado, but also some comeback victories that have aided the growth of this squad and showcased its character. The Sun Devils overall have won four of five games that were decided by six points or less.
Tonight, at Desert Financial Arena, the 8,128 in attendance came alive at various points of the night as Sun Devils battled their way through to overcome another conference foe. The ASU players were anything but oblivious to this atmosphere and knew they could feed off the energy of their supporters.
“I think we’re giving people something to believe in,” Miller explained. “I felt the aura the whole time I was in here (arena); this is something we can thrive off of. This fanbase and the people that come in this arena to cheer us on, it felt good.”
As the fans continue to file in, the team can only build on the home-court advantage it has established, with UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Arizona being some of the notable Pac-12 teams yet to visit Tempe this season.
The acclimation process seemingly came to a successful conclusion.
As this team of ten newcomers, such as ASU’s, has had oftentimes to learn to play effectively with each other on the fly. Arizona State was at its lowest point following a 19-point loss handed to them by Northwestern at the end of conference play. Hurley was adamant that the team was not where they wanted to be in terms of trust and togetherness. He said that when his players came back from Christmas break to prepare for the conference contests that, everyone was going to learn a lot from this team. With a 4-0 record in those games, suffice it to say that the coaches and players are pealed with what has been revealed.
“Now we have everybody,” Neal stated. “We’re more comfortable with each other. Now we look like more of a basketball team out there because we have everybody back, and we are playing with each other.”
The learning curve of creating the requisite chemistry is seemingly behind ASU. The degree of cohesiveness that the Sun Devils were going to be able to display was certainly going to either sink the season or propel them to success, and judging by the results in the last two weeks; there’s no doubt that cohesion is the least of Arizona State’s worries.
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