Embarking on a crucial road trip for the outlook of the rest of the season, Arizona State (11-8, 5-3 Pac-12) got out on the right foot in Eugene. The only issue for Bobby Hurley, though, is they didn’t take the finishing steps. With conference supremacy and perhaps the reinvigoration of their at-large hopes to the NCAA Tournament, the Sun Devils folded in a second half where Oregon (14-5, 6-2) would boat race them to an 80-61 defeat en route to ASU’s third loss in the last four games.
ASU’s defensive performance between halves was day and night; in that order
Coming out of the gates locked in on the task at hand, A put on a very impressive defensive showing in the first half against one of the Pac-12’s most proficient scoring teams. In the first 20 minutes, ASU didn’t set the gym on fire offensively. Still, Oregon came out of the locker room as if they had just risen from the Arctic, shooting an abysmal 10-29 from the floor and a disappointing 5-16 from three to total just 28 points at the half, all well below their season averages. Much of the Ducks’ deficiencies on offense came in part to the high-octane effort of the Sun Devils, as defenders were quick on their feet in switching nearly every screen while keeping up on the boards, despite the disadvantage in height.
Then again, Oregon missed their fair share of good looks, as freshman sensation Jackson Shelstad went scoreless, and leading scorer Jermaine Couisnard shot just 2-7 in the half. Frankie Collins and Jamiya Neal rotated off the Ducks dynamic duo for most of the period. They were active in disrupting passing lanes, thus forcing inefficient shots from outside the paint, as Alonzo Gaffney kept up with N’Faly Dante in the post, forcing the Oregon center into four first-half turnovers, part of six for the team total. At the break, ASU’s quality defensive effort had quieted the Ducks’ offensive attack and led by as much as 12 before taking a 31-26 lead into the break. It wouldn’t last.
Out of halftime, the Sun Devils simply didn’t look the same defensively. The level of focus didn’t seem to wane to the naked eye, but as shots expectedly began to fall for Oregon, ASU couldn’t re-discover their swarming form. In total, the Ducks would shoot 69 percent from the floor in the back 20 while going 4-7 from deep and 12-13 at the free throw line, all world’s better than their first-half numbers. A strong first half became a memory of eons in mere minutes for ASU, as Couisnard and Dante maneuvered around the court for open looks, while Keeshawn Barthelemy, Kario Oquendo, and Kwame Evans made late but impactful arrivals to the scoring party with a combined 18 points, part of an astounding 33 bench total from the Ducks.
Oregon took advantage of their inside mismatches on both ends
In the days leading up to this pivotal Pac-12 contest, Hurley emphasized the need for Shawn Phillips, in particular, to step up in this game and challenge all-conference caliber center N’Falyy Dante in the post. Unfortunately for him, neither Phillips nor Bryant Selebangue could stop the Oregon center, who put up 16 points, grabbed six rebounds, and stayed out of foul trouble. The tally in the foul column on Alonzo Gaffney would ultimately be the opening of the Dante floodgates in the paint, as, after a valiant first-half effort against the bigger and stronger Dante, Gaffney was forced to the bench with three fouls at the outset of the second half.
With Gaffney off the floor and Phillips and Selebangue ineffective, Dante racked up 10 points on perfect 4-4 shooting to help lead Oregon’s charge to victory. Nate Bittle, the other seven-footer at Dana Altman’s disposal, only had seven points but would frequently be matched up with Jose Perez, causing earlier initiatives for help defense on the height difference and opening up open looks for the Ducks shooters.
The lack of size also hurt ASU in stopping drives to the rim, as Couisnard and Barthelemy both did considerable damage inside the arc to contribute to Oregon’s 28 points in the paint. While ASU had 36 inside of their own, their lack of offense from distance would desist them from staying with Oregon’s standout shooting performance in the second half, as would 35-27 disadvantage in rebounds. It was simply too much, figuratively and literally, to overcome.
ASU was overly reliant offensively on Jose Perez
As good as any single player is, five players are always on the floor offensively, and if only one of them is scoring with consistency, it is usually a losing recipe. While Jose Perez cooked on offense for his sixth 20-point game of the season, no Sun Devil could provide the senior guard with any relief in defeat, as Perez was the only double-digit scorer for the maroon and gold on Thursday.
ASU’s leading scorer, Frankie Collins, shot a measly 4-13 from the field as Oregon collapsed on his drives to the rim to make close looks contested, while the standout guard whiffed on all four of his three-point shots. Gaffney tried to stretch the floor to take Dante out of the lane, which was highly beneficial for Perez, but only shot 3-8 in the process. Adam Miller had an inefficient shooting night without a three-pointer, while Jamiya Neal only got three shots up the entire game. Selebangue did provide seven points off the bench, but they would be for naught in the blowout loss.
While Perez was sharp from all three levels, ASU’s cold offensive night forced the ball into No. 12’s hands to the point where it became telegraphical, something an experienced team was quick to prowl in with traps and double-teams, in which nobody could take advantage of for ASU.
Oregon’s press defense neutralized ASU from the top, down
Having been the undoubted engine of Arizona State’s strong Pac-12 start, Frankie Collins has been Hurley’s best and most important player in a season that has had plenty of peaks and valleys. When they’ve needed him most, Collins has been no stranger to rising to the occasion. Just ask UMass-Lowell or SMU. But if you proposed the same question to Oregon, the arguable frontrunner for Pac-12 Defensive Player of The Year, gave them little trouble on the defensive end but was utterly taken out of the game on offense.
After going down double-digits thanks in part to an ice-cold shooting start, Oregon brought out the full-court press in an attempt to disorient the ASU offense, thus keeping the score manageable while the Ducks found their stroke. Despite being one of the quickest and most skilled ball handlers in all of Division 1, Oregon was able to force Collins to give the rock up before ASU could even pass the halfcourt line, forcing someone else to facilitate the offense and find ways to score. This may not have deterred Perez on offense, but Collins thrust into an off-ball roll through the entire offense off track while surely playing a part in Collins’ poor shooting night.
With this loss, ASU’s at-large NCAA Tournament hopes are in peril
There’s still over a month to play in the regular season, but it’s not an overreaction to having called this one a must-win game for the Devils. Although few can blame Arizona State for coming up short of Matthew Knight Arena, as has every other Oregon opponent so far in this current campaign, this tilt represented one of ASU’s last opportunities for a statement win on the road. Having been historically valued by the NCAA Selection Committee, the Sun Devils’ lone true road wins at Stanford and California aren’t exactly head-turning. Now 1-4 in NET Quad 1 contests, with all of those losses coming by 15 points or more, the Sun Devils don’t have the benefit of the doubt in a substantially weak Pac-12 Conference, with only four more chances against current Quad 1 opponents, two of those against top-ten-ranked Arizona, and revenge games on the road at Colorado and Utah.
With most of their biggest challenges still ahead, ASU will have to rise to them fast if they want to have less pressure in Vegas and hear their name called on selection Sunday.
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