ASU unable to sustain effort with shortened bench in loss at No. 11 Kansas

Jayden Quaintance used his elite motor to assert himself against Kansas but ASU couldn’t sustain offense while shorthanded, falling 74-55 at Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday.

Head coach Bobby Hurley entered the game 2-0 against the Jayhawks while at ASU with a win in Lawrence to boot, but he couldn’t complete the hat trick after leading at the half.

Hunter Dickinson had his way with the ASU defense early keying a 6-0 start for Kansas, but some quick adjustments paid dividends when Basheer Jihad was taken off the assignment in favor of Quaintance and some help digs from the guards on the perimeter.

Dickinson scavenged some better shots by turning to his floater which is among the best for collegiate big men, but he was largely neutralized by the frenetic pace ASU played with to prevent him from setting up shop in and around the paint.

Quaintance’s effort stood out as he grabbed nine rebounds in just the first half while anchoring the Sun Devils defensively. The guards did well to keep the ball in front of them and helping in the right spots.

The strong defensive play, however, came when the offense was firing on enough cylinders to complement it, which was not sustained into the second half.

ASU offense stumbles out of gates to start halves

ASU has too often started halves slow offensively. On Wednesday, it was 9:38 of combined game time passing before the Sun Devils’ first buckets in each half, meaning they went nearly a quarter of the game without any points scored.

Prior to the respective dams breaking, it took three and eight straight misses before getting on the board. They were droughts of 2:36 to start the first half and 7:02 to start the second.

The Sun Devils held a 42-36 lead to start the second half, but by the time that first bucket finally came, the Jayhawks had already rattled off 11 straight to take a five-point lead. It grew to a 20-3 run and 11-point lead before ASU’s next made basket with 10:12 left in the game.

Alston Mason steadily produced points for a team-high 19 points, but the Kansas defense forced him into a game-high six turnovers. He played all 40 minutes with the ASU bench thinned out.

Joson Sanon, who had the team lead in scoring when he last played, has now missed two straight games with an ankle injury. He was considered a game-time decision, and Hurley said the day before Sanon was “desperate to play.”

The Sun Devils were also missing depth guard Austin Nunez, who underwent successful foot surgery on Tuesday, and depth forward Brandon Gardner, who was reportedly suspended for a team rules violation.

The shortened rotation was further thinned as Jihad and BJ Freeman, the Sun Devils’ only double-digit scorer (10 points) outside Mason, fell into early foul trouble.

Kansas won the second half, 38-13.

ASU will come back home for a Saturday matchup against Baylor at 7:30 p.m. MST on ESPN+. It will be the Sun Devils’ second home game since Dec. 3.