From the opening tipoff it was crystal clear that Oregon didn’t want to lose to last place ASU for a third time this season.
ASU’s long and frustrating season came to an end on Thursday night. A feverish attempt at a late comeback came up short and the Sun Devils fell 76-69 in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Fresh off two wins, including one against the Ducks, ASU thought it had momentum coming into the conference tournament.
That momentum was nowhere to be found, as the Sun Devils didn’t play with near the amount of energy and effort needed to win until it was too late.
“The last two games we had control,” senior guard Jamelle McMillan said. “They made a lot of adjustments that we couldn’t figure out. We couldn’t find a rhythm.”
One of those adjustments was UO coach Dana Altman giving ASU different looks on defense that it hadn’t shown them all season long.
The Ducks gave ASU so many different looks that McMillan admitted they were in “chaos.”
His most effective one was implemented to try to bottle up reigning Pac-10 player of the week Ty Abbott.
Altman ran a box-and-one defense with the focus on Abbott. The strategy worked to perfection.
Abbott was held scoreless and took just one shot, while ASU was thrown for a loop offensively for just enough time, allowing UO to build a big lead.
“They played a box-and-one on him,” Sendek said. “They decided they were going to take him out of the game and they did a good job of it.”
From the start, the tempo favored the fast paced Ducks.
UO used a 14-6 run to turn a one point game into a 38-29 lead going into the half.
Early in the second half, the Ducks connected for four straight 3-pointers to stretch the deficit out to 20.
ASU’s perimeter defense struggled, allowing UO to get open looks from distance all night long. The Sun Devils also struggled to get back in transition, leading to easy points for the Ducks.
Down big, Sendek turned to the press and it was at that point that ASU finally turned up the intensity.
The Sun Devils chipped away and eventually narrowed the lead down to seven, but couldn’t get any closer.
The energy came way too late.
UO made 11-of-19 from beyond the arc, with the vast majority of them good looks at the basket because of defensive breakdowns from ASU.
“Our rotations were slow all night,” McMillan said. “They spread us out. They did a lot of good things off the bounce. They did what they had to do and they worked to their strengths.”
Another major factor in the game was the difference in free throws.
The Sun Devils got to the line just three times, while the Ducks attempted 27, making 19 of them.
“That’s a big impact,” Sendek said. “That’s a huge disparity at the free throw line. Only getting to the free throw line three times in a basketball game is hard to overcome. That’s not very many attempts.”
A bright spot for ASU was the play of sophomore Trent Lockett, who scored 22 points. Lockett connected on his first 10 field goal attempts, one shy of the tournament record.
Seniors Rihard Kuksiks and Jamelle McMillan each added 11 points in their final collegiate game.
Sophomore EJ Singler led the Ducks with 22 points on four-of-five shooting from three. Junior guard Malcolm Armstead added 11 points, while junior guard Garrett Sim had 10.
For the second time in Sendek’s tenure, ASU will miss the postseason completely.
Thursday’s loss marks the end of a very long season, one that failed to come close to expectations.
“It has been a challenging season,” Sendek said. “Our guys stayed together and continued to work hard and battle. We’ll have time to reflect as we move forward.”
