ASU basketball loses to Princeton in final non-conference tilt

TEMPE — Call it a Kansas hangover or rust from the Christmas break.

No matter the reason, No. 17 ASU men’s basketball didn’t look like a team coming off its best non-conference home win in recent memory.

Instead, the Sun Devils looked like their Pac-12 opposition in non-conference play – a mix of underperforming and disappointing.

It resulted in ASU on Saturday losing its first non-conference home game in three seasons, 67-66, to Princeton.

The loss leaves the Sun Devils (9-3) with a poor taste in their mouths before the start of Pac-12 play next week and raises some doubts about whether ASU is indeed the best team in a subpar conference.

“There’s no positives to this at all, really, that I can think of at the moment,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said. “Just the kind of non-conference that we had and the level of wins we’ve had, this is a step back.

“But if we’re going to play like this, then our resume isn’t going to mean a whole lot.”

Before the loss, ASU was overwhelmingly the favorite on paper to win the Pac-12.

The Sun Devils were the only ranked conference team and had a resume that trumped all with wins over ranked foes Kansas and Mississippi State.

Of course, one home loss to a defending conference champion doesn’t mean ASU isn’t the same team that won those games, but its same problems surfaced.

The Sun Devils shot 28 percent in the first half and trailed 37-30 at halftime. It was the fourth game in a row ASU trailed at the half.

A strong first-half performance from Romello White – 13 points and 10 rebounds – was the only reason the Sun Devils were within seven points at halftime.

“We’re digging a hole for ourselves at the offensive end of the floor,” Hurley said. “We’re putting way too much pressure on our defense. We’re just not converting.”

ASU’s offensive struggles were widespread throughout.

The Devils made 2-of-15 (13 percent) 3-pointers and finished with just eight assists.

Luguentz Dort, Kimani Lawrence and Zylan Cheatham combined to shoot 2-of-19 (11 percent) from the field.

Remy Martin (19 points) and Rob Edwards (11 points) each had moments of brilliance, but neither shot over 40 percent.

Two sequences summed up the offensive performance for ASU.

First, a Martin breakaway layup following a steal deep in the second half that would have given the Sun Devils the lead dinked off the front of the rim.

Second, ASU had three chances in the final seconds to win the game, including two 3-pointers. The Sun Devils missed all three shots.

#ASU loses 67-66. The final Sun Devil possession: pic.twitter.com/t49yzxqQGt

— Danny Shapiro (@DannyShapiro13) December 29, 2018

“We definitely didn’t play well today at all and the tables turned,” Cheatham said. “Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way.”

Give credit to Princeton, too.

The Tigers had chances to fold in the second half against a hostile crowd on the road and never wilted.

They made shots down the stretch and their free throws, including two from Richmond Aririguzoh in the final minute that proved to be the game winners.

Utah and Colorado will be in Tempe next week on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, to open conference play.

Like Princeton, they likely won’t be fazed by the crowd or an ASU team with an impressive resume.

It’s up to the Sun Devils whether they want to wear the crown of the Pac-12’s finest or fall in line with the rest of the conference and its mediocre start.

“It’s obviously not the result we were hoping for,” Hurley said. “It’s not the response you would hope for just off what happened last week.”

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