Arizona State basketball suffers second loss: By the Numbers
Nov 26, 2014, 3:28 AM | Updated: 5:56 pm
Arizona State and Alabama don’t see each other on the court often, but when they do it’s been a close game each time.
In 1975, the Sun Devils got the win by a mere three points; in 1989 overtime saw Alabama get the win by one.
And Tuesday night, ASU lost a tight one to the Crimson Tide, 76-71 in the CBE Classic in Kansas City, MO.
This is the second consecutive loss for the Sun Devils — what’d it look like by the numbers?
21-9-2
The good news for the Arizona State is the emerging talent seen in guard Gerry Blakes. Described by his teammate Shaq McKissic as a player who would “want to know everything,” and worked to improve in the offseason; the effort he’d put in was clear in his 21-point performance against Alabama.
He also added nine rebounds, two assists and a steal to his resume, and shot 50 percent from the field.
3
Though starter McKissic only saw 19 minutes in the matchup, he failed to capitalize on these, scoring only three points and making just one of four shots attempted.
He did manage to grab four boards and doled out an assist but also had a turnover — his third consecutive game with at least one.
58.3
Free-throws continue to be a concern for the Sun Devils. Against Alabama, they shot only 58.3 percent from the line in 24 attempts.
Alabama had the edge in that category, making 89.7 percent of their free-throws on 29 attempts.
43.1/30.4
ASU went 25-of-58 from the field, making 43.1 percent of their shots and also made 30.4 percent from behind the arc.
And Alabama was similar, shooting 42 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from the three-point line.
Yet the Crimson Tide did what ASU could not — especially ‘Bama guard Levi Randolph, who went 10-for-10 from the line (he hasn’t missed a free throw all season). In fact, only one Alabama player of the six who shot free throws did not make 100 percent of them (Ricky Tarrant, 7/10).
30-27
ASU showed defensive dominance throughout the first half, holding Alabama to only 27 points — its lowest score at halftime on the season.
Yet a 28-point game from Randolph followed by another solid showing from Tarrant (21 points) couldn’t be staved off throughout, and the Tide rolled right through ASU to hand the Devils their second loss on the season.
Arizona State (3-2, 3-0 at home) will return to Tempe to take on the Colgate Raiders on Nov. 29.
