TEMPE – Just over midway through the second half, Arizona State had already climbed out to an eight-point lead as heavy underdogs against No. 13 Texas Tech. As the home crowd rose to its feet, the Sun Devils forced a five-second turnover due to a pressuring full-court trap.
When the whistle blew and the referee’s hand raised, Desert Financial Arena rose into an uproar, with players dressed in gold waving their arms up and down to incite the crowd to continue to make noise. It was one of the many turnovers forced by the Sun Devils, serving as a mark of a successful game plan devised by Coach Bobby Hurley.
This sustained defensive energy paid off, as a relentless effort carried Arizona State men’s basketball (14-12, 5-8 Big 12) past a surging Texas Tech (19-7, 9-4 Big 12), 72-67, at Desert Financial Arena Tuesday night.
“I’m just thrilled for our guys who really fought,” Hurley said postgame. “It’s probably as good a defense as we played all year … It’s hard to find a lot of faults in our effort tonight.”
From the first three minutes of game time, the Sun Devils already showed a newfound energy on the defensive side. Sophomore guard Noah Meeusen beautifully read a pass from a player in red, nabbing his first steal of the game.
Meeusen finished the game with 38 minutes played, the team’s most, and quality minutes for his squad. The Belgian-native also sent back a driving layup in the second half, raising his bench to its feet and giving the Maroon and Gold all momentum.
“Today, I really think we’re stuck together,” Meeusen said about his team’s defensive chemistry. “We just fought for 40 minutes. We knew they were tired from the last game, because they (Texas Tech) played 45 minutes of a dogfight.”
The Sun Devils ended the night with five blocks recorded in the stat sheet. Sophomore forward Santiago Trouet and freshman center Massamba Diop led the charge with two of their own, respectively.
Texas Tech boasts two Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 25 selections with junior forward JT Toppin and sophomore guard Christian Anderson. The duo has combined for 48% of the Red Raiders’ points throughout the season and served as a challenge for the Sun Devil defense.
While Toppin left the game with an injury suffered in the second half, the Sun Devils managed to hold the duo to a 14-for-28 shooting clip.
“We knew they had two main guys that they’re gonna start wearing down because the game went along in the second half, Anderson and Toppin,” Trouet said. “We just stayed and trusted the coaches and what they told us to do, and we stayed disciplined.”
The impressive defensive performance led to a speedy Sun Devil team recording 21 points off turnovers and nine fastbreak points. Numerous times down the floor, the speed of the ASU fastbreaks wore down the Texas Tech offense.
After fastbreak buckets for the Maroon and Gold, Texas Tech carelessly threw the ball away multiple times, leading to even more takeaways. The Sun Devils finished the game with nine steals, tied for the fifth-most this season.
“I feel like our effort was there tonight,” graduate guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson said about his team’s energy. “We really helped each other on defense, and we had each other’s backs.”
Coach Hurley’s squad now starts a two-game Texas road trip, taking on Baylor and TCU on Saturday afternoon and next Tuesday night. Both teams have a star offensive player ranking in the top-25 in total scoring in the Big 12, with sophomore guard Cameron Carr (5th) and sophomore forward David Punch (24th).
“I’m not looking at it as, like, we just beat Texas Tech, so we can take our foot off the gas,” ASU’s senior guard Moe Odum said. “So, we have got to come into the gym, come the next two games, and be level-headed and still play with that chip on our shoulder.”
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