In its penultimate road game as Pac-12 members, Arizona State (14-16, 8-12 Pac-12) couldn’t overcome an eye-popping offensive night from Boogie Ellis, who racked up 28 points in an 81-70 win for USC (13-17, 7-12). Just one year after an NCAA Tournament bid, the Sun Devils have now guaranteed a losing regular season, as the ultra-talented Trojans were simply too much to handle on Thursday.
Boogie Ellis remains an unsolvable problem for ASU
Saying one player can knock a team out of the NCAA Tournament is hyperbole. But Boogie Ellis came probably as close as a player can to doing so against Arizona State last spring. Dropping 18 and 25 on Bobby Hurley’s boys in their two regular-season clashes, Ellis’s contributions as a bouncy, three-level scorer were too great to defeat, as the Sun Devils lost both contests at critical junctures in the campaign.
Finding their stride when it mattered, the Sun Devils would clinch their bid to the big dance with a Quarterfinal victory over the Trojans in the Pac-12 Tournament but still surrendered 15 points to the dynamic ball-handler. Missing their matchup in Tempe due to injury, the Sun Devils took advantage of the shorthanded Trojans in a comfortable win over Andy Enfield’s battered squad in January.
On Thursday, with a healthy Ellis, Sun Devil fans found out fast how outstanding the senior from San Diego is. Making his impact from the opening plays, ASU seemed so threatened by Ellis’s ability to dribble-drive, thus leaving him with plenty of room on the perimeter. Being the aggressive player he is, Ellis would pull the trigger and hit his target for six three-pointers en route to a 28-point explosion that would carry the offensive load for Southern Cal.
Since transferring to USC prior to the 2021-2022 season, Ellis now averages 18.7 points per game against the Sun Devils.
The whistle disrupted ASU’s desired offensive gameplan
For all their defensive masterclasses, Arizona State’s issues putting the ball in the basket have been well-documented this season. Entering tonight as the 211th-ranked offense by adjusted efficiency on KenPom, the Sun Devils’ solution to their offensive woes has been primarily to score off their stops, running out quickly off the glass to try to beat the opponent down the floor. In the worst-case scenario, ball handlers would try to find a way to get fouled and redeem the points there.
However, a happy whistle in Galen Center rendered such a strategy inapplicable.
The Trojans and Devils combined for a whopping 60 free throws on the evening. While SC made just three more from the stripe than ASU, the Trojans’ sparkling shooting night won out, as the final 10 minutes of the contest bogged down into a faceoff at the free-throw line.
Even with ASU shooting 50 percent from the field and making 22 of 30 attempts at the line, their 3-16 mark from beyond the arc would ultimately drag them down.
Three-point struggles for ASU continue in defeat
As a bottom-50 three-point offense in the country per KenPom, it’s hard to expect much from beyond the arc from ASU. Perhaps it makes a mere 11-point loss despite making just three triples all night a little more promising, but it can also serve as a signature of the one-dimensional attack. On the night, no Sun Devil was able to hit multiple treys, which, looking at the near-even performance at the free throw line, was the ultimate difference in ASU’s loss.
Rubbing salt in the wound, the notion of ASU’s overall solid play inside the three-point line makes its struggle from deep even more frustrating. Shooting a quality 24-48 from the field, ASU was able to break inside for closer looks at times while converting their free throws at a high rate to keep up with a lights-out shooting night from USC. Making all 11 of his attempts from the stripe, Jose Perez nearly matched Ellis’s excellence with 25 points of his own. Adam Miller knocked down his first five shots, totaling 18 points for him on the night. Before fouling out late, Frankie Collins added in 11 points on efficient numbers as well.
Depending on who you ask, though, 54 of 73 points coming from three players isn’t always a recipe for success. While this trio got it done for two points, none made an impact from three, and only Jamiya Neal was able to cash a longball beside them.
USC’s zone defense worked in accordance with their hot shooting night
While Ellis lit up the scoreboard himself, he wasn’t the only sweet-shooter for the Trojans on Thursday. Coming out of the gates with a purpose, SC had reached 15 points in the first five minutes of play with a 4-5 start from deep. Kobe Johnson was one of those contributors, with a trio of triples en route to 15 points, while Oziyah Sellers and DJ Rodman combined for 19 of their own to pick up an off night by Isaiah Collier. Building a lead as big as nine in the early goings, SC’s quick start would taper off, but their zone defense held ASU behind them.
Pressuring the perimeter while denying entry passes, ASU had to work to try to get clean looks with the fastbreak taken away. Having gone down quickly in this contest, combined with their noted offensive shortcomings, the Sun Devils would suffer through several drawn-out possessions in a long, taxing ballgame: the opposite of what is needed to trim a deficit on the road. While they’ve shown plenty of toughness and fortitude throughout this underwhelming campaign, the Sun Devils could only hang around, as every punch they threw was seemingly countered with a Boogie Ellis haymaker.
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