As winners of its last six, the streaking Arizona State Sun Devils took the floor for the first time in 11 days with a chance to make a statement against a top-ten team. Perhaps the only thing that could stop them was an even hotter team.
While the Sun Devils competed in the first half, the undefeated No. 9 Florida Gators simply overmatched ASU, which could not keep up with their physicality or explosiveness on offense. Florida cruised past Arizona State to an 83-66 victory at the Holiday Hoopsgiving special in Atlanta.
The Gators jumped out to a 15-8 lead on the back of strong three-point shooting from senior guards Will Richard and Walter Clayton Jr.
Conversely, Florida’s defensive pressure frustrated the maroon and gold, including head coach Bobby Hurley.
The Gators stymied the Sun Devil offense with their physical play and disrupted the rhythm of ASU’s leading scorer, freshman guard Joson Sanon. He finished with just five points on 22% shooting–his lowest total since playing No. 8 Gonzaga over a month ago.
Throughout the afternoon, Hurley let the referees know of his disapproval of their calls.
Eventually, it boiled over.
After a defensive foul call on freshman center Jayden Quaintance, an impassioned Hurley flailed his arms and yelled in disbelief. The outburst led to a technical foul and free throws for Florida.
In ASU’s previous game against San Diego, the team responded well to Hurley picking up a technical. Players and coaches even attributed it to helping ignite a Sun Devil avalanche after a slow start.
But against the Gators, Hurley’s efforts to spark a turnaround proved to be no avail. Florida took a 41-32 lead into the break and didn’t look back in the second half.
With a sizable lead, the Gators flexed their muscles.
One of the nation’s top offenses–fifteenth in points per game (86.6) coming into the night–Florida displayed its offensive prowess in a multitude of ways. From beyond the arc, down low in the paint, and in transition the Gators dominated all facets of the game.
Clayton Jr. led the charge with a barrage of threes against the Sun Devils. The senior guard sunk five triples and finished with 25 points to lead all scorers.
The Gators also found success when they pushed the pace. They finished with 28 fastbreak points, compared to the Sun Devils’ mere 11, and pulled away to a blowout victory behind their transition offense.
Yet, the most jarring statistical deficit lies in the rebounding category. A known mismatch coming into the game, Florida’s commitment to crashing the glass led to a whopping 20 rebound advantage (47-27) for the Gators.
Although the afternoon proved to be one the Sun Devils will hope to forget, there were a few bright spots including the performance of senior guard Adam Miller.
Miller manufactured a season-high 18-point performance while shooting an efficient 56% from the field.
ASU will look to rebound when they head to Springfield, Massachusetts on Saturday, Dec. 21 to round out non-conference play against UMass in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.
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