No paradise: Arizona State blown out by Kentucky in Bahamas

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Freshman De’Aaron Fox posted the second triple-double in school history with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to lead a dominating effort by No. 1 Kentucky in Monday night’s 115-69 victory over Arizona State.

Fellow rookie Malik Monk scored 23 points for the Wildcats (7-0), who dominated an undersized team and quickly turned the game into a romping display of their athleticism and ability to run in transition.

Kentucky led by double figures roughly 6 minutes in, led 58-30 by halftime then scored the first 12 points after the break to go up 40 with 15 minutes left.

Sam Cunliffe scored 14 points for the Sun Devils (4-3), who shot just 34 percent while the Wildcats scored 21 points off turnovers.

The game, billed as the Atlantis Showcase, was played at the same ballroom-turned-arena that hosted last week’s Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.

BIG PICTURE

Arizona State: Coach Bobby Hurley knew it would be a tough task to slow the Wildcats and noted his team would have to avoid turnovers to do so. Instead, the overmatched and undersized Sun Devils had as many turnovers as baskets in the first 8 minutes and could manage little more than to fire up 3-pointers.

Kentucky: Coach John Calipari said Sunday he wants to see how his team handles a close game. The Wildcats still haven’t gotten one; their closest margin has been 21 points and this one was no different than the rest. And one day after Calipari praised the way his team shares the ball, Kentucky managed 33 assists on 44 baskets.

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Arizona State: The Sun Devils host UNLV on Saturday.