This article was originally published on January 22, 2023.
The Arizona State Sun Devils (15-5, 6-3 Pac-12) lacked energy after their 74-62 loss to UCLA on Thursday, leading them to an offensive and defensive struggle against the University of Southern California Trojans (14-6, 6-3 Pac-12) on Saturday.
The Sun Devils and Trojans were “virtually identical” in the first half of the game, according to ASU coach Bobby Hurley. The teams had each made 14 field goals and had similar stats on rebounds, assists and turnovers, but ASU’s inaccurate shots quickly allowed USC to win 77-69.
As the game progressed, the team similarities ended at field goal percentage as USC shot 49 percent in comparison to ASU’s 38 percent by the end of the second half.
ASU’s 38 percent from the field is the lowest percentage they’ve shot since their 36 percent accuracy against the University of Arizona on Dec. 31.
“We’ve given up now back-to-back games,” Hurley said. “Virtually 50 percent, you know, shooting from the field when we’ve been holding teams mainly in the mid-30s.”
Arizona State starting junior guard DJ Horne exemplified the low field goal accuracy with no points against USC. Horne played 17 minutes of the game before Hurley took him out, exactly half the amount of time he played against UCLA.
Horne being taken out from the game was a “rare” occurrence, according to Hurley, as he said he noticed Horne “never really was fully engaged in the game.”
As the Sun Devils struggled from the field, their 71 percent free throw rate could not compete with the Trojans’ perfection. Hurley said this caused an early start to the Trojans’ lead as they were unable to get extra points on the board.
In the final 4:35 of the game, ASU went on a 16-0 run as USC struggled with a scoring drought for almost five minutes. Hurley said he approved of the team’s scramble for points and hopes to build off that effort increase next Thursday.
“Hopefully, we could build off that and put guys on the floor that, you know, give maximum effort when they’re out there.”
Hurley said it was difficult to watch the players against USC as they looked like a “different team,” but he still feels they are in a strong position in the Pac-12 at 6-3.
“So we got to get back to the drawing board … and figure out how we could out guys on the floor that are gonna play with energy, the necessary energy, and value the defensive end of the floor because we’re not going to outscore people and shoot out,” Hurley said.
Arizona State will play the University of Washington (12-9, 4-6 Pac-12) Thursday. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. MST.
“Although these last couple of days are disappointing, we’ve still put ourselves in a strong position,” Hurley said. “We just got to go get back out there and start winning games again.”
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