TEMPE — With 32 seconds to go, Arizona State found itself only trailing Colorado by three points, placing the ball in the hands of senior guard Moe Odum in hopes of completing a double-digit comeback.
As two defenders closed in on Odum, he tossed a pass to freshman center Massamba Diop, who had a mismatch in the man-to-man defensive look. Yet, with the game on the line, the typically steady Odum turned the ball over, shutting the door on the Sun Devils’ late efforts and silencing a raucous Tempe crowd.
ASU (9-5, 0-1 Big 12) saw its comeback bid fall short against Colorado (11-3, 1-0 Big 12), as it fell to the Buffaloes 95-89 at Desert Financial Arena on Saturday afternoon.
“They are a good team,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said about Colorado. “Hats off to Colorado, they outplayed us, and they are the winners.”
The Sun Devils struggled from the opening tip on both sides of the ball. Through the first 10 minutes, the teams held serve with the visitors leading 21-17.
However, in the back half of the first half, ASU’s defensive struggles came to light, as the Devils failed to slow down the Buffaloes. As a result, Sparky went into halftime trailing 48-38.
Despite the Maroon and Gold’s difficulties throughout the afternoon, the play of graduate forward Allen Mukeba helped will his team back into the game.
“He is certainly a difference maker for us,” Hurley said. “He practiced all week and practiced very well. He falls into that same category as some other guys who fell behind because of injury.”
In the highlight of the night, Mukeba drove down the lane, elevated and posterized a Buffaloes defender, earning a free throw through the contact dunk. Then, following a Colorado turnover, Mukeba made a layup to cut the deficit to just four before notching two blocks on the defensive end.
After Odum found freshman center Massamba Diop down low for a three-point play, the Sun Devils held their first lead since the 13:30 mark of the first half.
Mukeba played well alongside his guard pairings, senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson and Odum, most with the trio combining for 57 of ASU’s 89 points.
“When you see them score, you want to score too,” Mukeba said about the guards. “When you see them pass the ball, it hypes you up, so in the first half I was just doing my job but I could have done better, but when I see what they do, it gives me the will to do what I need to do.”
Still, the Sun Devils’ defensive woes held them back. The 95 points given up mark the most points they have given up this season.
“We had no discipline,” Hurley said. “You are not going to win many games in this league with as good as it is if your defense is as bad as ours was, and that is just the reality.”
Additionally, bench production, something ASU has relied on heavily this season, wasn’t present on Saturday.
Mukeba, a usual bench player, was inserted into the starting lineup in place of sophomore forward Santiago Trouet, who missed the contest with an injury. Consequently, the second unit lacked a physical presence and edge in its minutes off the bench.
Johnson was the lone bright spot off a bench that saw one player foul out multiple players struggle to shoot efficiently.
“Our second unit did not do a good job,” Hurley said. “They did not breathe any life into the game for us. We have got to get back to where there is a bench.”
Foul trouble, 3-point shooting and rebounding continued to haunt Hurley and his squad.
The Sun Devils committed 24 fouls against Colorado, sending them to the line to shoot 38 free throws — Colorado converted 31 of those chances. Three players fouled out, including two starters, Mukeba and sophomore guard Noah Meeusen.
“31 points at the free throw line, that is a lot of points to give up there,” Hurley said. “We did not do a good job of playing without fouling.”
During the Sun Devils’ recent three-game losing streak, ASU has shot around 20% from beyond the arc. The trend was exemplified against Colorado, as the Maroon and Gold shot 6-for-28 from the 3-point line.
Furthermore, ASU got outrebounded once again Saturday night, 42-32, and allowed 14 offensive rebounds.
“We have to solve our rebounding and our interior defense,” Hurley said. “If we cannot solve those things, I am going to keep coming in here and telling you all the same things.
“We have always gotten outrebounded. We are trying to talk about rebounding. We are looking to be as creative as we can to go get a rebounder, but there is no one out there that we could bring in to rebound.”
Arizona State will look to snap its three-game losing skid when it tips off against No. 10 BYU at 7 p.m. MST at the J. Willard Marriott Center.
“(We’ve) just got to keep our head(s) up,” Mukeba said about the losing streak.
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