As Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley looked across to the opposite bench on Tuesday night, he saw a team that overmatched his Sun Devils in nearly every facet. ASU (12-14, 3-11 Big 12) faced a program in the No. 5 Houston Cougars (22-4, 14-1 Big 12) with an established culture, identity and collection of talent that rivaled the best in the conference.
It’s fitting that the Cougars came to Tempe donning their jet black jerseys, as Houston coach Kelvin Sampson’s team provided a dark reminder of where Arizona State sits now 26 games into the season: under .500 and second to last in the Big 12 standings.
Deprived of a home victory since Jan. 4, ASU continued its trend of winless basketball on its home floor with an 80-65 defeat to Houston.
Houston set the tone before the game even started. Hurley noticed the Cougars’ attention to detail before the game and fonded at the cohesion of the visiting squad.
“I watched them in pregame warm-ups and they were all talking and super engaged … So I knew we would have our hands full,” Hurley said. “A lot of coaches throw around words like culture and identity as cliches and stuff but they have it.”
It showed on the floor, with the Cougars dominating the Sun Devils from the opening tip. Although the Maroon and Gold managed to hang around for the first ten minutes, multiple scoring runs from Houston to end the half garnered them 47 points on the scoreboard and a 16-point lead heading into the break.
Senior point guard LJ Cryer led the charge for the visitors with his team-high 18 points on the back of four three-pointers. Junior guard Emmanuel Sharp also found his stroke from beyond the arc by adding four triples and 17 points.
The Cougars also pounded the glass and used their physicality to take advantage of an Arizona State team that struggles to keep up in the rebounding category. Houston out-rebounded ASU 36-25 and matched its season average of 13 offensive rebounds per game.
The rare bright spot on the night came from the Sun Devils’ backcourt.
Hurley wore a “Guard U” sweatshirt, which proved to be appropriate for the evening. Senior guard Alston Mason tallied a season-high 26 points, while his running mate, senior guard BJ Freeman followed close behind with 17.
The only problem for ASU?
The two accounted for 43 of the team’s 65 points, as Houston’s ferocious defense relentlessly pursued the Sun Devils with a flurry of blitzes and traps. Overall, Sampson’s group held the Sun Devils to just 43% from the field.
Meanwhile, Houston didn’t slow down on offense.
Even after ASU showed signs of life with 10 minutes to play, the Cougars responded by effortlessly shaking off the Sun Devil press and finding Sharpe who swished back-to-back three-pointers to send the home crowd packing.
After the game Hurley, didn’t talk to his team for long in the locker room.
“Sometimes it’s very simple,” Hurley said. “It’s like they outplayed us, they were better than us tonight. There was not a lot that we could do tonight to have a legitimate chance of beating this team.”
On the other side, Sampson had the opportunity to dish praise to his players who looked the part of one of the top teams in the country.
“We’ve always had talented teams, but our kids have great value in being a Houston Cougar. It means something to them,” Sampson said. “I have one of the best jobs in America because I get to coach these kids every day.”
Maybe some of that program-wide pride is lacking for Hurley’s operation now, as his team navigates through rough waters, likely destined for a subpar finish to a once-promising season.
The Sun Devils will take a few days off before heading off to Manhattan, Kansas, to take on the Kansas State Wildcats on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. MST.
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