The Sun Devils have had a knack for pulling out close games this season. Thursday night’s road contest against Washington was not one of them. A close dogfight through the opening 30 minutes turned into an 82-67 Huskies rout in the final 10.
Arizona State (10-6, 4-1), winners of the last four Pac-12 games, had the chance to improve to 5-0 in conference play for the first time since the 1979-80 season.
The win streak propelled the Sun Devils out of mediocrity to the top of the Pac-12 standings with Oregon (11-3, 4-0). It raised the hopes of what the program could achieve this season. But ASU’s perimeter defense disappeared in the second half against Washington (10-6, 2-3) and Bobby Hurley’s squad left Alaska Airlines Arena with a loss.
The Sun Devils led 34-33 at the half and both teams took turns as frontrunners in the opening minutes of the second. Junior guard Adam Miller drained his second 3-pointer from well behind the arc to put ASU ahead 50-49 with 12:04 left to play.
Washington regained the lead a minute later from graduate forward Keion Brooks Jr.’s 3-pointer off the fast break.
Despite trailing by two points, the Sun Devils were in a confident, comfortable situation. ASU entered the game having won 3 of 4 conference games by three points or fewer. Conversely, all three of the Huskies’ Pac-12 defeats were by five points or fewer.
Instead, the Huskies flipped the script and went on a 20-3 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes to put the game out of hand. In that span, Washington made four 3-pointers from four different shooters.
Graduate guard Sahvir Wheeler had a career-best 5 for 5 shooting performance from behind the arc and led all scorers with 24 points. Brooks finished with 22 points, including three 3-pointers, and graduate forward Moses Wood knocked down four 3-pointers on his way to 15 points.
The Sun Devil defense had no answers for Washington’s sharp shooting and their offense was not much better.
ASU was outshot 51% to 41% from the field and 52% to 24% from behind the arc. Washington made 13 shots from three, while the Sun Devils only had four 3-pointers.
Graduate forward Jamiya Neal led the team with 14 points. Junior guard Frankie Collins had a team-high seven rebounds, five assists and finished with 13 points.
The Sun Devils outscored the Huskies off the bench, in the paint, off turnovers, and on the fast break. But it wasn’t enough to overcome their massive shooting deficit.
After a rare one-game week, ASU has a little extra time to work on their deficiencies. The extended break and next opponent present an opportunity to get their season back on track.
The Sun Devils host the reeling UCLA Bruins (6-10, 1-4) in Tempe on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. MST at Desert Financial Arena.
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