‘Cats defense absent in loss to ASU

TEMPE — The Arizona State Sun Devils saved their best punch for
the last game of the season against their in-state rivals. It was a
wild environment in Tempe as the final game before the Pac-12
Tournament for each team. The crowd was about even all game as
was the scoreboard.

Seniors Kyle Fogg and Brendon Lavender did all they could on the
perimeter to get a final regular season before graduating. Both
players had a strong showing, especially Fogg, who scored seven of
the team’s first ten points to start the second half. Fogg was
relentless attacking, scoring, and guarding whoever was hot.

In the end, Arizona came up a play and a bounce short falling to
their in-state rivals 87-80.

Down the stretch, the opportunities were there but the Wildcats
couldn’t take advantage. Josiah Turner missed a lay-in at the rim
that would have cut it to a one possession game and Solomon Hill
scored two points – for Arizona State on a tip-in. It was a far cry
from the last game played between these two, especially on the
defensive end. The Wildcats defense held ASU to 51 points in
Tucson, but couldn’t get a stop the entire game in Tempe.

What went wrong for Arizona? The defense was not in
sync all night. For the Sun Devils it was not precise execution or
great team play either. They were erratic and sloppy, but it worked
throwing the defense off all night.

When it was over? When Hill tipped the ball in the basket
with 2:05 to go on a rebound attempt (the basket was credited to
Trent Lockett) it became a two-possession game. The Wildcats were
looking up and pressing from that point forward.

Who stepped up for Arizona? Fogg and Lavender were
solid on the
perimeter while Jesse Perry worked out another double-double (13
points 11 rebounds) against another 7-footer. His energy was one
of the few bright spots for the Wildcats in this loss.

Stat of the Game: The Wildcats’ defense is the theme.
They gave up
55.8 FG% and 58.3% from three to ASU who on the season shoots
45.3% from the field and 35.8% from three-point range. The Sun
Devils had their
hottest shooting night of the season.

They said it: “There is no way we are in the (NCAA)
Tournament, we need to win the whole thing to get in.” — Arizona
guard Kyle Fogg when asked about the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament
hopes.

What it means: Coming into the game, Arizona was
locked in as the
No. 4 Seed in the Pac-12 Tournamen. Nothing changes as they split
with ASU on
the season. The seeding is locked in for both teams (ASU is 10th).

What’s Next: The Wildcats will enjoy a much-deserved
rest before taking
on the winner of UCLA v. USC in the second round of the Pac-12
Tournament. On the season Arizona is 1-1 against
UCLA and 2-0 against USC.

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