PHOENIX – It only took a minute and a half for Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley to turn to his bench, subbing out his entire starting lineup in a hockey-style substitution.
After a slow start against Oklahoma, in which ASU was administered a technical foul before the ball was even tipped, the group of subs entered the game and injected a jolt of energy into the Sun Devils. Following the changes, the Maroon and Gold ripped off a 27-2 run, ultimately allowing Arizona State to cruise to an 86-70 win over the Sooners in the Jerry Colangelo Classic at Mortgage Matchup Center.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Hurley said about the five-man substitution. “All I knew is that we talked about rebounding … My thought was, if I don’t do anything about this after giving up two offensive rebounds right away, then what I’m saying is, is meaningless.”
The bench proved crucial to ASU’s success, steadying the rebounding totals and tallying 24 points in the first half — 43 in total.
Sparkplug senior guard Pig Johnson continued to make an imprint as a scorer off the bench, notching 16 points against Oklahoma.
Another welcome sight for the Sun Devils?
The emergence of junior forward Marcus Adams Jr., who, coming off a foot injury, has struggled through the non-conference with limited playing time. Against the Sooners, he posted his most points as a Sun Devil (11) off the bench, swishing three 3-pointers and shooting 50% percent from the field.
The second unit also contributed a dominant showing on the defensive end for Coach Bobby Hurley’s squad.
In non-conference play, the Sun Devils have showcased an ability to maintain steady scoring output, averaging just under 81 points per game coming into the night.
However, for seemingly the first time all season, ASU dominated on the defensive end, blanketing the Oklahoma offense, surrendering just 28 points in the first half and holding the Sooners to an abysmal 28% from the floor through the first frame. Oklahoma managed just six points through the first 10 minutes amid ASU’s early avalanche.
“We had very specific things that we worked on defensively that needed to change, and we needed to get back to getting stops, protecting the rim and rebound(ing),” Hurley said. “We won the paint. We held them to a very low number relative to their ability that they’ve shown (in) other games getting to the basket. And the guys were really dialed in to (the) scouting report.”
Its tenacious defensive effort yielded seven blocks and nine steals in a strong defensive outing for the Sun Devils.
On the other end, Arizona State’s offense picked up where it left off in Hawaii. The Sun Devils shot an efficient 55% from the floor in the first half and lit up the scoreboard from beyond the arc, shooting a whopping 7-for-10 from the 3-point line. Moe Odum led the charge, finishing with 17 points on the night.
After the hot start, Sparky took a 47-28 lead into the break.
In the second half, ASU found much of the same success offensively, working the ball around to find open shooters to the tune of another six 3-pointers in the second half. In total, Arizona State finished shooting 43% from deep.
“I think sometimes if you concentrate on defending and playing hard and rebounding, then all of a sudden, like the shot just becomes a natural thing you do,” Hurley said.
“I thought we outworked them today, and because we did that, we, you know, we were rewarded”
Although Oklahoma showed improvement on the offensive end in the final 20 minutes, jumping up to 42% shooting in the second half, it still couldn’t help it climb out of a major hole on Saturday night.
The victory marks ASU’s fifth win in its last six games, including a 2-1 trip for the Sun Devils in the Maui Invitational. Hurley’s noted that his squad has made strides in a multitude of areas since the start of the season in large part due to player accountability.
After the Maroon and Gold’s victory over Oklahoma, Hurley highlighted Odum’s efforts to push Adams in practice helping catapult him to his breakout performance.
“The best teams I’ve been on as a player in this thing and coaching has been guys that monitor themselves, that police themselves, that hold each other accountable … It’s great to have as a coach to have a group of people that like each other and care about each other,” Hurley said.
ASU hopes continue its winning ways when it returns to Desert Financial Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 9, to take on Northern Arizona at 7 p.m. MST.
Despite their recent success the Sun Devils will continue to take it one game at a time.
“When we got back the first practice, I just told them Maui’s over,” Odum said. That was last month. It’s a whole new month … The tournament starts in March.”
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