ASU starts strong, can’t slow No. 9 Creighton’s shooting barrage in loss
Dec 20, 2016, 10:51 PM
Arizona State forward Obinna Oleka (5) battles for a rebound against Creighton players, including Maurice Watson Jr., bottom, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Tempe, Ariz., Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016. (Michael Chow/The Arizona Republic via AP)
(Michael Chow/The Arizona Republic via AP)
TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State’s contest with No. 9 Creighton started about as well as the Sun Devils could have hoped.
Then the threes started raining down.
Playing host to their highest-ranked nonconference opponent since Ohio State came to town in 1980, the Sun Devils jumped out of the gates to open a quick 9-0 lead on Tuesday before falling 96-85. The Bluejays methodically whittled the early ASU advantage down, taking a 23-22 lead midway through the first half.
From that point, Creighton never really looked back. The game was still close at halftime, with ASU staring at a 45-40 deficit, but the Jays had begun heating up from beyond the arc, hitting 8-of-16 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes. They had no intention of cooling off.
That’s not exactly a plot twist. After all, Creighton came in ranked ninth in the nation with an average of 89.3 points per game. And the Jays’ field goal percentage of 53.9 ranked second overall. Their 44-percent accuracy from three ranked first.
“They have a lot of shooters,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley pointed out afterward. “You know, there were times when we did possibly lose a couple of their guys with some of their set plays, but they put an enormous amount of pressure on you.”
For their part, the Sun Devils countered with some decent offensive production of their own. Torian Graham had a strong night, pouring in 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting and punctuating his evening with an electrifying 360 dunk.
Tra Holder chipped in 24 as well, and Obinna Oleka delivered another high-energy performance that resulted in an impressive 19-point, 16-rebound stat line.
Problem is, Arizona State didn’t get a whole lot of help off the bench. In fact, Creighton held a 25-4 advantage in that department.
It was a somewhat expected challenge, though. With the recent departure of highly-touted recruit Sam Cunliffe, the Sun Devils are working with a thin rotation for the time being. Graham, Holder, Oleka, Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice all played at least 30 minutes, with Evans literally spending a total of one minute on the bench.
The Bluejays pulled away early in the second half with another barrage of threes that ultimately put the game out of reach. Creighton closed the game shooting 53 percent and 56 percent (14-of-25) from three-point range. Six players scored in double-figures, led by Marcus Foster’s 29 — two players off the Jays’ bench scored 12 points on four threes each.
At one point Creighton led by as many as 20 with just over 10 minutes to play.
ASU did rally late behind a feverish defensive effort that enabled them to trim Creighton’s lead back down to 10, but that was as close as they could get.
With the win, the Jays ran their record to 12-0 and maintained their status as one of college basketball’s six remaining undefeated teams.
The Sun Devils are now 6-6, with just one game left on the schedule before Pac-12 play begins. They’ll take on Central Arkansas on Thursday at 1 pm.
