Through No. 18 Arizona State’s first two contests at the 2K Empire Classic in Uncasville, CT, the Sun Devils had shown flashes of the talent and ability that drew unprecedented hype to the program in the opening weeks of the 2020 college basketball season. First-week opponents Rhode Island and specifically No. 3 Villanova, tested ASU’s defensive capabilities and offensive facilitation, as the Sun Devils worked to iron out their early woes.
However, on Sunday afternoon, as the Sun Devils made their return to Desert Financial Arena to face Houston Baptist, all of the woes and preseason predicaments seemed to fade away as ASU dominated HBU in all aspects of play for the first twenty minutes, en route to a 100-77 win.
Although the contest opened with the two sides trading blows, just as ASU head coach Bobby Hurley’s squad had done with URI and Villanova last week, the Sun Devils established superiority after a matter of minutes.
With just under 14 minutes to go in the first half, ASU led by five. Sophomore forward Jalen Graham drove across the baseline, going up-and-under the cup before depositing a slick reverse layup off the glass and in. As the Huskies dribbled the ball up the court, an eager, attentive Jaelen House poked the ball out of the hands of his opponent, starting another Sun Devil drive down the court.
For the next 13-and-a-half minutes, the Sun Devils displayed the powerful potency and exceptional talent that garnered a flood of attention ahead of the season. Beginning with Graham’s layup, ASU went on a 48-19 run to close out the first half. Every player in maroon and gold who stepped on the hardwood across the run to close the period seemed to contribute on both ends of the floor, as the offense flowed and facilitated, while the defense halted and hindered any significant scoring threat.
“You saw what we’re capable of doing,” Hurley asserted after the contest. “It’s not only our firepower on offense, but our commitment to activity on defense and trying to force some tempo which we were able to do and that also got us out in the open court some.”
ASU’s defensive prowess in the first 20 minutes of play was instrumental in sparking the electric results seen on offense. The Sun Devils forced 14 turnovers and scored 22 points off of those turnovers, translating their aggressive, pressurized defense into potent offensive opportunities for all to share.
Possession after possession, Arizona State seemed to dominate. Sun Devil guards took opportunities to drive, and when they didn’t elect to finish at the cup, they somewhat seamlessly kept the offensive effort going, electing to kick the ball out beyond the arc or emphasizing ball movement to create shot opportunities. 20 of Arizona State’s 65 first-half points came in the paint, 30 from 3-point range. HBU head coach Rob Cottrell described the difficulties of constraining the hot hands of ASU.
“I thought our guys came out and competed hard to start the game and really played pretty well for the first seven minutes or so, then we hit a stretch and didn’t do a very good job on three-point defense and let them have some open looks,” the Huskies coach said. “We just didn’t do a good job running them off the line, and that got them going offensively.”
Freshman forward Marcus Bagley led the way at the half with 13 points, with 4 out of 5 makes from beyond the arc, along with an assist and a rebound. Senior guard and preseason All-American Remy Martin had 12 points, was a perfect 2-2 from three, and held four assists to his name.
However, it was sophomore guard Jaelen House’s 11 points, coming by way of a perfect 3-3 mark from range and a pair of free throws, that were the most convincing for the Sun Devils. House also dished three assists and poked out a pair of steals in the first 20 minutes, reinforcing the defensive commitment and effort that he displayed during his freshman year in maroon and gold.
With senior guard Alonzo Verge Jr., the 2020 Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year, out due to an unspecified reason (Hurley: "day-to-day. it's not a disciplinary issue and he's not hurt."), and limited opportunities for House in Uncasville, the door opened for the second-year guard to register some quality minutes in the rotation against the Huskies. With his dad, former NBA Champion and all-time leading Sun Devil scorer Eddie House doing color commentary on the Pac-12 broadcast, the younger House displayed his talents in emphatic fashion.
“Jaelen had a good practice yesterday, he had a good attitude about not playing (against No. 3 Villanova), and some guys will put their head down (in that situation),” Hurley explained. “He proved that in quality minutes, not mop-up minutes that he could be a difference-maker…I thought he put as good a stretch in the first half as really anybody on our team. It’s a testament to him staying ready and being prepared when he gets his opportunity.
House’s commitment and effort was also praised by his teammates.
“I think he’s a spark off the bench – a spark defensively, a spark offensively, (he gives) a lot of energy,” senior forward Kimani Lawrence said of House. “If we come out flat, we can definitely depend on him to come in the game and turn us around. He kind of puts a battery in everybody’s backs when we need it the most.”
House added another bucket in the second half, along with another assist and another pair of steals. His 13 points matched the amount Lawrence put up, at the senior forward made his debut on Sunday after missing the trip to Uncasville to finalize rehabilitation on a healing knee, one which he received surgery to repair on Sept. 1.
“I felt really confident in the work that I put in at physical therapy and recovery, I wasn’t really thinking about (the knee) much when I was out there playing,” Lawrence admitted.
“I’m glad to see him out there,” Hurley said of the veteran Lawrence. “He’s a big, physical guy; he’s put on some weight, some upper body (strength). He rebounded the ball pretty well, and I was pleased with what I saw from him, considering the time he’s missed.”
In a year where the Sun Devils possess significantly more talent in the backcourt than the frontcourt, Lawrence’s impact could not have come at a better time. After being outrebounded by an imposing Villanova team on Thursday night, Lawrence adds his skillset to the assortment of Sun Devil bigs, giving the group an extra asset to rebound, play defense and produce under the bucket. Against the Huskies, Lawrence added three rebounds, an assist, and a pair of steals to his double-digit scoring effort.
Along with House and Lawrence, Martin, Bagley, and freshman guard Josh Christopher finished the contest with double-digit scoring efforts. On a night where offensive productivity was at a season-high entering the second half, it all of a sudden fell apart as the game came to a close.
Arizona State rode the wave of a dominant first half for the first several minutes, as the team's elite scorers continued to produce on the offensive side of the floor. ASU led by 45 points shortly into the period, a lead which dwindled as the clock wound down and Hurley took his regular rotation players out. Although the Sun Devils won 100-77, Hurley described the post-game mood: “it wasn’t fantastic.”
“I’m kicking myself a little bit, to be honest, I think I jumped the gun about three minutes too soon on getting our core rotation guys out of the game, and I maybe should have let that develop a little bit more,” the Sun Devil head coach described. “Majority of the game we were dominant, and we were awful the last 12 minutes. It’s tough because you want to put together a complete game; you want to put together 40 minutes. That’ all we need to do to beat anybody that’s any good, and we played about 24 minutes of really good basketball and then not so good at the end.”
Although ASU’s positives shined brightly on Sunday afternoon with an offense that is meeting the gargantuan expectations laid out for it, as is with any team, there are still some issues to iron out, foremost among them being rebounding and free-throw shooting. Although slightly skewed due to a diverse range of players checking into the contest in the final 12 minutes, ASU was outrebounded by HBU 38-34 and shot a measly 66.7 percent from the charity stripe. In order to be competitive for a Pac-12 crown and beyond in 2020, these issues are most pertinent as ASU inches forward to open Pac-12 play this Thursday against Cal on the road.
“(Rebounding) is something we definitely have to work on as a team, crashing the boards,” Lawrence admitted. “It’s something we struggled with last year, and it’s definitely a big emphasis this year.”
“(Free throw shooting) is something that we talk about quite a bit, and in big games against quality opponents, you have to connect,” Hurley said. “We didn’t do a great job of that versus Villanova in a game where we needed all those points, so we’re going to have to step up to the line and do a better job of connecting.”
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