Ahead of No. 18 ASU Basketball’s opening contest in Uncasville, CT on Wednesday night, many questions hung above the heads of the Sun Devils, the most pertinent among them being “alarms” surrounding the group’s defensive capabilities.

Add the weight of national expectations due to a roster chock-full of proven players and highly touted recruits, and you’re looking at an immense amount of pressure.

With 53 seconds remaining and a narrow four-point lead, the Sun Devils attempted to corral the surging Rhode Island Rams, hoping not to crack under the immense pressure of their situation, rather turn it into diamonds.

Rams' redshirt junior forward Antwan Walker, who scored 16 points in the second half slugfest between the two teams received the ball at the right-side wing, just outside the three-point line. Walker, making a slight head fake to feint off ASU guard Holland Woods proceeded to take several hard steps forward before meeting ASU freshman guard Josh Christopher at the elbow. Walker, driving forcefully, slammed into Christopher, who fell to the floor, drawing a dramatic charge call, sealing a Sun Devil victory.

It took 40 minutes, 55 fouls, 14 lead changes, and 81 free throw attempts before Christopher’s heads-up effort, but as the clock struck zero and the buzzer sounded, the Sun Devils stepped off the court at the Mohegan Sun Resort victorious, squeaking by Rhode Island by a score of 94-88.

In a game where Sun Devil fans were introduced to many new faces, it was a familiar one that lead the way, just as he has for the past three seasons: senior guard Remy Martin. Returning for his first collegiate contest declaring for the NBA Draft, the pre-season All-American shined, leading all scorers with 26 points, six rebounds, and five assists.

Martin’s new supporting cast of characters also contributed significantly down the stretch, with freshman forward, Marcus Bagley standing out beyond the rest of the lot.

Bagley, a five-star recruit who grew up in Phoenix and the grandson of Sun Devil legend Joe Caldwell etched the first chapter of his own Sun Devil legacy on Wednesday night, scoring 16 points and grabbing seven rebounds. The freshman notched 10 points in just over 10 minutes, coming out of the gate hot before cooling down across the stretch, contributing from the free-throw line for the rest of the contest.

“It was surreal at first...I’ve dreamed about playing for ASU, so to finally be out there with ASU across my chest, it felt amazing,” Bagley said. “I also had to lock in and try to do whatever I could to help our team get a W, and we did that.”

Bagley’s freshman counterpart, Christopher – another five-star recruit who garnered national attention with his viral commitment to ASU scored 11 points and grabbed four boards in his first game in maroon and gold, a solid start to his Sun Devil career. The aforementioned offensive charge may have been his biggest play of the game.

“They have big expectations, and so they were really juiced to play this game,” head coach Bobby Hurley said of the freshman tandem. “They had some moments where they really excelled and made some big plays. I thought Josh’s charge that he was able to get at the end was a winning play for us. Marcus did a really good job of getting to the free-throw line; he was very active and defended pretty well for us….It was a good win, and they were a big part of it.”

Hurley’s 2020 squad, with the hot starts of Martin and Bagley, jumped out to a commanding 16-point first-half lead with just under six minutes remaining in that period. Arizona State carried over that intensity on the defensive end, causing 11 URI turnovers, scoring 11 subsequent points off of those turnovers as well.

“I think we came out with great energy on defense,” Hurley noted. “I thought we did a good job in the first half of creating turnovers; I think we forced 11. We had a nice advantage.”

Nevertheless, Hurley’s problems began to emerge nearing the end of the first half. With multiple key players such as sophomore forward Jalen Graham, who started at center, and junior forward Taeshon Cherry in foul trouble, among others, the Sun Devil ringmaster was forced to call upon a multitude of players and lineups.

“It was very difficult for me; I spent most of the half juggling six or seven guys with two fouls, Hurley explained. “I had some really unique lineups in there that we've maybe never had before in practice leading into this.”

ASU held onto a seven-point lead entering the second half before the Rams began to pick apart the Sun Devil defense. URI senior guard Fatts Russell, who had two points and four fouls in the first half, began to work the two-man game with Walker, cutting down the deficit bucket by bucket. With the facilitation from Russell, Walker scored 16 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, giving the Rams their first lead since the five-minute mark in the first half.

But ASU didn’t quit. Despite their defensive struggles, the Sun Devils battled late into the second half, swapping leads with the Rams through free throws and layups. Junior forward Chris Osten, a transfer from Lee College in Texas came up with a huge and-one with just under three minutes remaining after grabbing an offensive rebound and sinking a fadeaway jumper, turning to his right at the block. Osten went to the line and made his free throw, giving ASU a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“I think Chris was huge tonight,” Hurley said of the junior transfer. “He’s a guy who doesn’t miss practice; he works his butt off every day, and karma is good to people like that. He had great position, had a great finish; he made his free throws, he was a presence in the paint for us. He did excellent work in his first collegiate game today.”

Cherry, one of the array of players who garnered early attention from the referees with two first-half fouls was another key performer for the Sun Devils, contributing 11 points and three three-pointers before fouling out with around five minutes remaining in the contest. Cherry received a technical for celebrating after the biggest of his makes from beyond the arc, something which Hurley didn’t take kindly to.

“Tae was really good; he’s active, he’s competing, he hit some really big threes for us and had a nice drive and a finish,” Hurley described. “His energy was outstanding, so I figured I’d join him and get a T too, so he wasn’t alone and had some company.”

The performances of Martin, Bagley, Christopher, and more were certainly impressive, but many questions must still be answered as the Sun Devils progress towards the finals of the 2K Empire Classic and beyond, the most important among them being the defense.

“I wasn’t pleased with the way we came out in the second half,” Hurley explained. “Our help defense wasn’t there, we weren’t as active in the ball screen coverages, so there’s a lot of things that we have to improve moving forward at that end of the court. So, we'll watch the film on that and move on and get ready for tomorrow.”

No. 3 Villanova beats Boston College 76-67, and will face no. 18 ASU tomorrow, Thursday the 26th at 7:30 pm AZ time in the 2k Empire Classic Championship Game which will air on ESPN

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