Arizona State defeated Washington 75-63 Saturday night, tagging UW (19-5; 10-1) with its first conference loss of the season and ending its 12-game winning streak. ASU (16-7; 7-4) shot 61.7 (29-of-47) percent, dominated on the boards, and controlled the painted area.
"I think bad teams or just average teams or mediocre teams would go in the tank after a game like Thursday (loss vs. Washington State)," said Bobby Hurley. "After we were beaten and not having a lot of time to recover and play a team that has just won 12 in a row, but it shows what we are capable of and the potential there."
Zylan Cheatham said that ASU wanted to come out and prove the Washington State loss didn't define them. They did just that in the winning effort, recording ASU's best shooting night in conference play since Feb. 2, 2013, at Washington.
Romello White paced the Sun Devils with his efficiency against the 2-3 zone.
"The way he was going after the offensive rebounds, not only getting his touches, but he had several big-time offensive rebounds early in the game and set a really good tone in the paint for us," said Hurley.
White scored a team-high 17 on 8-of-9 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. He was tenacious on defense and forced Washington's Noah Dickerson to rack up his third foul before the second half begun.
When White wasn't protecting the rim, he was waiting at the high post to either find the man in the corner or drive to the bucket.
"We usually score when we get it to the high post," said White. "We just focused on getting it to the high post and feeding down low. Everything was working good."
60 PERCENT SHOOTING BY ASU IN PAC-10/12 GAME (PAST 13 SEASONS)
.651/28-43 vs. Oregon State (Jan. 8, 2009)
.638/37-58 at Washington (Feb. 2, 2013)
.617/29-47 vs. Washington (Feb. 9, 2019)
.611/22-36 at USC (Jan. 5, 2012)
.600/24-40 vs. UCLA (Feb.12, 2009)
Up eight at halftime, the Sun Devils knew they had to put together a full 40-minute contest to hold of Washington. In the first possession, Lugentz Dort was on the ground fighting for a loose ball that resulted in a triple from Rob Edwards on a dump off pass from Dort in the following sequence.
It was those type of plays that carried ASU to victory.
"He did a lot of things besides scoring the basketball," said Hurley on Dort.
For 36 minutes, Arizona State led Washington. The Sun Devils flirted with a double-digit advantage most of the evening and held off the Huskies when there was a possibility of a momentum swing.
Edwards helped control the energy, scoring five of his 12 points early in the second half. Remy Martin was the Sun Devil who gave the gut punch to the Huskies, connecting on two three-point baskets that made the game feel out of reach.
"He is a really good player, and he had a really poor night on offense and great to see him bounce back like that," said Hurley on Edwards.
Martin and Cheatham have stated in the past that they will do whatever the team needs them to do to win a game. Cheatham embodied that on Saturday, dishing six assists and grabbing four rebounds at the break with zero points.
His final line: nine points, nine rebound, seven assists. A little bit of everything (Zylan Cheat Code).
Arizona State is the first opponent to score more than 70 points against Washington in the last 13 games. They held the visitors to 36.8 percent shooting from the field and have now held 10 opponents under 40 percent shooting (five Pac-12 teams).
"For me, the rebounding was much improved, and again we outrebounded them by 17, so that is huge," said Hurley. "I thought Luguentz's [Dort] defense was as good as I have seen a guy guard a player like [Jaylen] Nowell. He did a great job moving his feet and kind of locked him down for a lot of the game. I thought his individual defense was pretty special."
The 12,686 in attendance brought the spark ASU needed. A refreshing win in a nationally televised game, with four in double figures, was the remedy the Sun Devils needed heading into a stretch with five of their last seven away from Tempe.
"It was an outstanding college basketball environment, it really was," said Hurley. "The guys had the right focus tonight and they were thinking about the right things."
Arizona State plays next at Colorado on Wed., Jan. 13, at 8:30 p.m. on FS1.
QUOTES FROM BOBBY HURLEY
Bobby Hurley vs. Washington 2/9/19
"First of all, I thought the crowd was unbelievable. Lets get on good terms again, we are all happy and we are all of the same page. How they got behind the team really was dynamic and pushing us through that game in tough stretches. It was an outstanding college basketball environment, it really was. The guys had the right focus tonight and they were thinking about the right things. We really defended to our ability level and what we are capable of doing. To hold them to 63, we are going to win a lot of games if we keep doing that. Our offense was vastly improved from Thursday, so I was happy to see how we converted and how we made plays at that end of the floor. It was a great night."
What allowed you to score so many points at the rim?
"Naturally their defense is going to get spread out and they bring their wings pretty far out, so if you can get it to the high post successfully them you are going to be able to throw it in to Romello [White]. I thought there were other times we could have gotten it to him (White) and we didn't, but he was terrific considering having injured his knee. He was very limited yesterday and had a great game for someone coming of an injury. Zylan [Cheatham] was excellent in the high post passing. I think he had six in the first half and finished with seven (assists). There was no predictable movement and we just did some really good things."
On defensive performance…
"For me, the rebounding was much improved and again we outrebounded them by 17, so that is huge. I thought Luguentz's [Dort] defense was as good as I have seen a guy guard a player like [Jaylen] Nowell. He did a great job moving his feet and kind of locked him down for a lot of the game. I thought his individual defense was pretty special."
What were the 48 hours between this game and last game like?
"I think bad teams or just average teams or mediocre teams would go in the tank after a game like that (2/7 vs. Washington State). After we were beaten and not having a lot of time to recover and play a team that has just won 12 in a row, but it shows what we are capable of and the potential there. If we could just harness that and bottle it up to take everywhere we go."
Did you get a sense the team was hungry to make up for last game?
"I felt that in how they responded to a really difficult film session and then a practice that where we didnt take a shot on Friday. Every drill we did ended in a pass and no shot, so for us to shoot 57 percent for the game and not take a shot the day before, that is pretty good. They responded in practice and you could tell Zylan and Remy [Martin] were locked in for this game. It was a great team effort."
Is that something you have done before, not having them shoot in practice?
"No, some if it was childish on my part being frustrated with our inability to make shots on Thursday night. I think that made some of the guys upset. I think Remy was mad, he said at one point 'hey coach you're really not going to let us shoot today?' We had some back and forth in practice, but that was that."
Did guys get up shots on their own after that?
They did and we shot a lot today in shootaround, so it's really not that big of a deal.
On Rob Edwards bouncing back…
"I think he just fell into the same category as Zylan and Remy. I'm not sure if there is one thing that would trigger it for him, but he fell into the category of Thursday was unacceptable and I am not going to allow it to happen again. He is a really good player and he had a really poor night on offense and great to see him bounce back like that."
On the multiple highs and lows this season…
"Everyone saw the game against Washington State and I am not making any excuses at all. We were pretty bad and it's hard to find an area we were good and we dug a hole for ourselves and we couldn't get out of it. Washington State played very well tonight at Arizona and that is still a very difficult place to win, so we found them on a good week. They have a player that is one of the best players in the conference, the leader scorer (Robert Franks), and he couldn't miss a shot, so there were things going on in that game that made it tougher for us to compete. That is college basketball you are going to have night where you are not yourself and we didn't find a way to have our defense be dependable enough that we could survive playing that badly on offense. That is going to be the thing moving forward every game, we have to guard with that energy and rebound with that energy. If that happens regardless of how we are shooting we are going to be in the game."
How much does Romello White dominating the paint help your team?
"I just want to see that every night from him. The way he was going after the offensive rebounds, not only getting his touches, but he had several big time offensive rebounds early in the game and set a really good tone in the paint for us."
How does Remy Martin's penetration provide a spark for your offense?
"We knew they'd be trying to steal it from behind and back tip it. Remy, I thought, did really well at maintaining his dribble and having good awareness of where their defense was and just trying to pick about where the available play was."
How much are you going to need Luguentz Dort after some of his struggles mid season?
"As good as Zylan and Remy were versus Arizona teams are going to start to gameplan. They start to say, 'we have to take these two away,' and even Rob [Edwards] against Arizona was very good shooting the basketball. He (Dort) can get lost in the shuffle, so I just like seeing him doing a lot of things well. That tip dunk he had was tremendous early in the game and his defense. He had a couple of key defensive rebounds late in the game, so he did a lot of things besides scoring the basketball."
"I think bad teams or just average teams or mediocre teams would go in the tank after a game like Thursday (loss vs. Washington State)," said Bobby Hurley. "After we were beaten and not having a lot of time to recover and play a team that has just won 12 in a row, but it shows what we are capable of and the potential there."
Zylan Cheatham said that ASU wanted to come out and prove the Washington State loss didn't define them. They did just that in the winning effort, recording ASU's best shooting night in conference play since Feb. 2, 2013, at Washington.
Romello White paced the Sun Devils with his efficiency against the 2-3 zone.
"The way he was going after the offensive rebounds, not only getting his touches, but he had several big-time offensive rebounds early in the game and set a really good tone in the paint for us," said Hurley.
White scored a team-high 17 on 8-of-9 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. He was tenacious on defense and forced Washington's Noah Dickerson to rack up his third foul before the second half begun.
When White wasn't protecting the rim, he was waiting at the high post to either find the man in the corner or drive to the bucket.
"We usually score when we get it to the high post," said White. "We just focused on getting it to the high post and feeding down low. Everything was working good."
60 PERCENT SHOOTING BY ASU IN PAC-10/12 GAME (PAST 13 SEASONS)
.651/28-43 vs. Oregon State (Jan. 8, 2009)
.638/37-58 at Washington (Feb. 2, 2013)
.617/29-47 vs. Washington (Feb. 9, 2019)
.611/22-36 at USC (Jan. 5, 2012)
.600/24-40 vs. UCLA (Feb.12, 2009)
Up eight at halftime, the Sun Devils knew they had to put together a full 40-minute contest to hold of Washington. In the first possession, Lugentz Dort was on the ground fighting for a loose ball that resulted in a triple from Rob Edwards on a dump off pass from Dort in the following sequence.
It was those type of plays that carried ASU to victory.
"He did a lot of things besides scoring the basketball," said Hurley on Dort.
For 36 minutes, Arizona State led Washington. The Sun Devils flirted with a double-digit advantage most of the evening and held off the Huskies when there was a possibility of a momentum swing.
Edwards helped control the energy, scoring five of his 12 points early in the second half. Remy Martin was the Sun Devil who gave the gut punch to the Huskies, connecting on two three-point baskets that made the game feel out of reach.
"He is a really good player, and he had a really poor night on offense and great to see him bounce back like that," said Hurley on Edwards.
Martin and Cheatham have stated in the past that they will do whatever the team needs them to do to win a game. Cheatham embodied that on Saturday, dishing six assists and grabbing four rebounds at the break with zero points.
His final line: nine points, nine rebound, seven assists. A little bit of everything (Zylan Cheat Code).
Arizona State is the first opponent to score more than 70 points against Washington in the last 13 games. They held the visitors to 36.8 percent shooting from the field and have now held 10 opponents under 40 percent shooting (five Pac-12 teams).
"For me, the rebounding was much improved, and again we outrebounded them by 17, so that is huge," said Hurley. "I thought Luguentz's [Dort] defense was as good as I have seen a guy guard a player like [Jaylen] Nowell. He did a great job moving his feet and kind of locked him down for a lot of the game. I thought his individual defense was pretty special."
The 12,686 in attendance brought the spark ASU needed. A refreshing win in a nationally televised game, with four in double figures, was the remedy the Sun Devils needed heading into a stretch with five of their last seven away from Tempe.
"It was an outstanding college basketball environment, it really was," said Hurley. "The guys had the right focus tonight and they were thinking about the right things."
Arizona State plays next at Colorado on Wed., Jan. 13, at 8:30 p.m. on FS1.
QUOTES FROM BOBBY HURLEY
Bobby Hurley vs. Washington 2/9/19
"First of all, I thought the crowd was unbelievable. Lets get on good terms again, we are all happy and we are all of the same page. How they got behind the team really was dynamic and pushing us through that game in tough stretches. It was an outstanding college basketball environment, it really was. The guys had the right focus tonight and they were thinking about the right things. We really defended to our ability level and what we are capable of doing. To hold them to 63, we are going to win a lot of games if we keep doing that. Our offense was vastly improved from Thursday, so I was happy to see how we converted and how we made plays at that end of the floor. It was a great night."
What allowed you to score so many points at the rim?
"Naturally their defense is going to get spread out and they bring their wings pretty far out, so if you can get it to the high post successfully them you are going to be able to throw it in to Romello [White]. I thought there were other times we could have gotten it to him (White) and we didn't, but he was terrific considering having injured his knee. He was very limited yesterday and had a great game for someone coming of an injury. Zylan [Cheatham] was excellent in the high post passing. I think he had six in the first half and finished with seven (assists). There was no predictable movement and we just did some really good things."
On defensive performance…
"For me, the rebounding was much improved and again we outrebounded them by 17, so that is huge. I thought Luguentz's [Dort] defense was as good as I have seen a guy guard a player like [Jaylen] Nowell. He did a great job moving his feet and kind of locked him down for a lot of the game. I thought his individual defense was pretty special."
What were the 48 hours between this game and last game like?
"I think bad teams or just average teams or mediocre teams would go in the tank after a game like that (2/7 vs. Washington State). After we were beaten and not having a lot of time to recover and play a team that has just won 12 in a row, but it shows what we are capable of and the potential there. If we could just harness that and bottle it up to take everywhere we go."
Did you get a sense the team was hungry to make up for last game?
"I felt that in how they responded to a really difficult film session and then a practice that where we didnt take a shot on Friday. Every drill we did ended in a pass and no shot, so for us to shoot 57 percent for the game and not take a shot the day before, that is pretty good. They responded in practice and you could tell Zylan and Remy [Martin] were locked in for this game. It was a great team effort."
Is that something you have done before, not having them shoot in practice?
"No, some if it was childish on my part being frustrated with our inability to make shots on Thursday night. I think that made some of the guys upset. I think Remy was mad, he said at one point 'hey coach you're really not going to let us shoot today?' We had some back and forth in practice, but that was that."
Did guys get up shots on their own after that?
They did and we shot a lot today in shootaround, so it's really not that big of a deal.
On Rob Edwards bouncing back…
"I think he just fell into the same category as Zylan and Remy. I'm not sure if there is one thing that would trigger it for him, but he fell into the category of Thursday was unacceptable and I am not going to allow it to happen again. He is a really good player and he had a really poor night on offense and great to see him bounce back like that."
On the multiple highs and lows this season…
"Everyone saw the game against Washington State and I am not making any excuses at all. We were pretty bad and it's hard to find an area we were good and we dug a hole for ourselves and we couldn't get out of it. Washington State played very well tonight at Arizona and that is still a very difficult place to win, so we found them on a good week. They have a player that is one of the best players in the conference, the leader scorer (Robert Franks), and he couldn't miss a shot, so there were things going on in that game that made it tougher for us to compete. That is college basketball you are going to have night where you are not yourself and we didn't find a way to have our defense be dependable enough that we could survive playing that badly on offense. That is going to be the thing moving forward every game, we have to guard with that energy and rebound with that energy. If that happens regardless of how we are shooting we are going to be in the game."
How much does Romello White dominating the paint help your team?
"I just want to see that every night from him. The way he was going after the offensive rebounds, not only getting his touches, but he had several big time offensive rebounds early in the game and set a really good tone in the paint for us."
How does Remy Martin's penetration provide a spark for your offense?
"We knew they'd be trying to steal it from behind and back tip it. Remy, I thought, did really well at maintaining his dribble and having good awareness of where their defense was and just trying to pick about where the available play was."
How much are you going to need Luguentz Dort after some of his struggles mid season?
"As good as Zylan and Remy were versus Arizona teams are going to start to gameplan. They start to say, 'we have to take these two away,' and even Rob [Edwards] against Arizona was very good shooting the basketball. He (Dort) can get lost in the shuffle, so I just like seeing him doing a lot of things well. That tip dunk he had was tremendous early in the game and his defense. He had a couple of key defensive rebounds late in the game, so he did a lot of things besides scoring the basketball."