ASU can’t contain fiery No. 25 BYU offense in historic 91-81 loss

Syndication: Arizona Republic

TEMPE – Arizona State men’s basketball entered Wednesday looking for back-to-back wins for the first time in December and left it with another devasting defeat. ASU was without freshman center Jayden Quaintance, which gave No. 25 BYU the greenlit offensively to let it fly anywhere in the half-court. The Cougars shot 54.8% from the field and 50% from the 3-point line, thanks to junior guard Richie Saunders, who dropped 26 points on 6-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc.

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ASU had an above-average night offensively, with freshman guar Joson Sanon and senior forward Basheer Jihad picking up the slack for the program, combing for 37 points. Regardless, the defensive pressure wasn’t the level it needed to knock off a rank opponent, losing 91-81. ASU has tied the record for the longest losing streak at Desert Financial Arena in program history, with eight in a row.

BYU is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the Big 12, and it proved it in the opening minutes, going on a 16-4 run. The sequence had Saunders and graduate guard Trevin Knell go 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, which gave the Cougars an early double-digit lead.

While BYU shines from the perimeter, so does ASU when it guards the opposing 3-point shot. The Sun Devils are third in opposing 3-point percentage, and after the Cougars’ hot start, they forced them to miss six straight 3-pointers that brought the deficit to a single possession.

However, the offense couldn’t match the defense’s success. After cutting the deficit to one possession in the first half, ASU went on a six-and-a-half-minute field goal drought. Without Quaintance, the Sun Devils had no dominating presence on the interior and were forced to take perimeter shots, which they shot 4-for-14 in the half.

One of the few aspects that ASU succeeded in offensive against was getting to the line. The Sun Devils depended on Jihad and Sanon to drive the half-court offense. The result was ASU shooting 11-for-16 from the free-throw line. While the number of attempts is pleasing to the eyes, the real eye-sore is the five missed free throws, allowing the deficit to remain at double figures at halftime, 47-37.

Senior guard Adam Miller injured himself grabbing a rebound in the first half but returned after halftime to spark some light early in the second half. Miller scored eight of ASU’s first 10 points and brought some needed toughness for his team. Despite his best effort, Miller was limping and hurt. Hurley had no choice but to protect his player, which allowed BYU an opening.

The Cougars brought the energy to the Sun Devils, beating them off to the dribble often. BYU started the half shooting 9-for-14 and had 12 paint points. ASU couldn’t keep up with the tempo, even with its improvement on the offensive end to start the half.

Anytime the Sun Devils scored, the Cougars matched them. A back-and-forth exchange wouldn’t work for ASU, as it couldn’t bring the deficit below double digits. Saunders made timely buckets to kill any momentum inside Desert Financial Arena from the fans and the Sun Devils, leading to the Cougars’ 91-81 win.

One step forward, two steps back for Hurley and ASU, losing once again at home for a historic seventh time. The Sun Devils travel to Utah to play the Utes to get back on track.

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Reporter Tanner Tortorella covers general assignment for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @TannerTSports