BOULDER, Colo. – In the wake of Arizona State’s first five-game losing streak since 2021, Bobby Hurley was understandably frustrated after ASU fell 82-70 in its return game at Colorado. As the Sun Devils (11-12, 5-7 Pac-12) fall below .500 for the first time since their opening night loss in November to Mississippi State, their defeat Thursday yielded some of the more glaring issues in what is shaping up to be a season-wrecking skid.
Jose Perez couldn’t keep up with Colorado’s wing players on either end
After having to acclimate to the ASU system pretty much within the snap of a finger, Jose Perez’s response to this adversity was positive as the Sun Devils worked their way through a challenging non-conference slate. As the wheels began to fall off for Arizona State in January, going just 3-4 in the month, Perez served as a leading figure of the team’s resilience by scoring ten or more points in all but one contest, and before the California game on Saturday, had reached that plateau in seven of ASU’s last eight contests. After not making a field goal in the first half Saturday and being relegated to the sidelines following a halftime “incident” in that defeat, Perez came off the bench on Thursday and did not respond well.
While Hurley didn’t believe Perez’s confidence had been dinged by the events of Saturday, Perez was outmatched by the quickness of the Colorado guards. Having played in a four-guard lineup for much of the season, pinning the super-senior guard on more post-focused forwards than ball-handlers on the perimeter, Perez couldn’t adjust to the change of pace on Thursday. The Buffs racked up points through their ball-handlers both from in and outside the paint. Primarily matched up with J’Vonne Hadley, the senior guard would blow past Perezearly and often, leading all scorers with 19 points and dominating on the boards with 11 to record his first collegiate double-double. Perez’s letdowns defensively would spill into his offensive game in even more dramatic fashion, as the double-digit scorer managed just two points on Thursday, shooting a horrid 1-9 from the field, with many of those looks in close at the rim.
Having been a beacon of light in ASU’s recent struggles, Perez had his power shut off in Boulder.
The Sun Devils simply cannot compete against opponents with size
Bobby Hurley had made it no secret the void left in the paint offensively and defensively by Warren Washington when the standout center from last year’s tournament team transferred to Texas Tech after the season. Hurley and company believed they found a suitable replacement in Shawn Phillips Jr., but even they admitted he would need time to tap into his full potential. While Phillips’s play has improved noticeably over the last couple of games, as well as the flashes shown by Bryant Selebeangue and Alonzo Gaffney as defenders, Thursday proved once again that the Sun Devils can’t step up, literally and figuratively, to bigger opponents.
In an effort to match up with a long and athletic Buffs team, Hurley tweaked the starting lineup that placed Phillips as the man in the middle, creating more of an obstacle near the rim alongside Alonzo Gaffney with Jose Perez coming off the bench. This maneuver originally only made things worse, as the Buffs stampeded out to a 21-3 lead in mere minutes, but the Sun Devils would rebound and cut the deficit all the way down to four in the waning minutes of the first half.
Phillips played an integral part in that resurfacing, handling the paint well defensively while contributing 10 points of his own and managing Colorado counterpart Eddie Lampkin Jr. in the post. In the end, though, Phillips is only one player. With Gaffney in foul trouble and Selebangue being glued to the paint essentially, the smaller ASU guards were left out to dry as Colorado eclipsed 80 points on Thursday, as have four of ASU’s five opponents in their current losing streak.
Teams are beginning to figure out the once-vaunted Sun Devil defense
To be fair, Thursday wasn’t the first time this Colorado team faced off with this ASU personnel and their iteration of “in-your-face” defense. Ranking inside the top 30 of KenPom’s adjusted defense efficiency ranking earlier in the season, the Sun Devils have since slipped into the fifties and sixties. While still a respectable mark, the falloff can’t be ignored, especially since the slide has occurred against a Pac-12 conference in a down year regarding overall team quality.
The regression isn’t only limited to advanced metrics. Over its five-game losing streak, the Sun Devils have allowed 80 points in four contests, including on Thursday against Colorado. A unit that prides itself on disciplined yet disruptive defense became foul-happy tonight, as Colorado reached the free throw line an astounding 29 times, converting on 26 of those attempts in the game’s de facto difference. From the defensive identity, this team used to boast of, it’s snow and desert nowadays.
For better or worse, Jamiya Neal is becoming an offensive priority
As Arizona State hit the gas on its late-season drive to the NCAA Tournament last March, Jamiya Neal’s role evolved into a significant contribution as an athletic playmaker with the ball and a menace in stopping it. Being one of the few holdovers of real minutes into this season on a Sun Devil team that underwent a face-lift, Neal was seemingly lost in the shuffle on the offensive end, as his services were needed on the glass and defense as a whole with ASU’s loss of size.
In recent games, Hurley has once again tried to unlock Neal on the offensive end, and there hasn’t been a clear conclusion to draw from it. In defeat to Cal last Saturday, Neal led the Sun Devils with 14 points while taking 16 shots. Shouldering a similar load of 11 takes on Thursday, Neal cashed just three of those looks. Despite the variance in production, Neal is becoming a go-to offensive weapon for ASU at last, as with both Collins and Miller amid offensive funks; there virtually has been no other choice.
Hurley wasn’t lying, the team hasn’t given up
In the lead-up to their road trip to the mountain schools, Bobby Hurley told the media that in the team’s preceding practices, there had been no “mailing it in.” Hurley noted there was still a fire and a desire to turn a foundering season around and begin to build positive momentum down the stretch. Even in defeat on Thursday, especially after being down 18 points in less than five minutes, that resilience undoubtedly showed from an individual and group standpoint.
After struggling against the Bay schools at home, Frankie Collins put forth a familiar 18-point performance despite getting into early foul trouble. Adam Miller rediscovered his shooting stroke by hitting five of his seven attempts from the field, including a pair of triples. Shawn Phillips continued to show strides, ASU looked locked in defensively, and players were flying around the court and making the talent of Colorado’s roster beat them.
A record can tell you a lot about a team, as can a modicum of statistics that suggests ASU had no business being in this game with a talented Colorado team for so long. On the contrary, they were, which says a lot about the kind of culture and expectation Bobby Hurley established in Tempe.
Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, run by the longest-tenured Sun Devil sports beat writer, to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today and get your daily fix of Sun Devil news!
