Arizona State basketball runs all over USC in blowout win

The Arizona State Sun Devils are at their best when they’re running and pressing, which is exactly how they dominated the USC Trojans 82-67 at Desert Financial Arena on Saturday.

After much of the first half was back and forth with each team leading their own short spurts, the Sun Devils got the last laugh of the half with an 8-0 run that included three layups in a 32-second span, each from a different player and a different player earning each assist.

First, Jose Perez found Jamiya Neal, then Neal returned the favor finding Perez, capped off by Frankie Collins dishing to Adam Miller, who found the bucket after missing his first four field-goal attempts, all from 3-point range.

ASU ended the first half against USC on an 8-0 run, including this crazy sequence. pic.twitter.com/zUQTAdH8AO

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) January 20, 2024

ASU ended the half with a 43-36 lead, and outscored the Trojans 19-5 in the fast break column.

The Sun Devils played their high octane defense leading to nine first-half steals, including six by Collins. He already holds the program record with eight in a single game but wouldn’t add any more in the second half on Saturday.

Overall, USC turned it over 15 times in the first half and seven more in the second, and ASU capitalized by scoring 24 points off those. Conversely, the Sun Devils turned it over just nine times, leading to nine points for the Trojans.

When the Trojans were knocking on the door down five with 8:34 remaining, the Sun Devils rattled off a 17-2 run to gain a 20-point lead with 2:43 remaining, their largest of the game.

Perez led ASU with 20 points while Collins and Neal added 17 more each. Vincent Iwuchukwu led the Trojans with 14 points along with 12 rebounds, the game’s only double double.

USC’s Bronny James hit back-to-back buckets in the middle of the half but did not score otherwise over the game’s first 20 minutes, adding just one bucket in the second half for a total of seven points.