Sophomore forward Jonathan Gilling jumps in front of Arizona's Kevin Parrom as he attempts to in-bound the ball, Saturday, January 19, 2013 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. ASU traveled to Tucson and lost to No. 8 UA 73-49 Sunday night. (Photo by Molly J. Smith)TUCSON -- The ASU men’s basketball team knew it needed a near-perfect game to hang with No. 8 UA in Tucson. It wasn't close to perfect Sunday night at the McKale Center, as ASU picked up the 73-49 loss. The Wildcats only lose at home on rare occasions, with its last home defeat occurring in the 2012-13 season.
To pull off the upset, ASU needed to maximize its possessions by not giving the ball away – a major weakness from the team all season, but the Sun Devils (8-6, 0-1 Pac-12) could not, committing a season-high 22 turnovers in a 73-49 loss to begin Pac-12 play. Even though UA (13-1, 1-0 Pac-12) had only two steals in the first half (five for the game), ASU had 13 turnovers in the half where UA pulled away. A lot of the turnovers were through unforced errors, such as offensive fouls.
“That’s something that we have to look at (improving),” sophomore forward Savon Goodman said. “I think that’s something our coaches are looking into. Our players amongst each other, we have to get better. We have to own up to that and know that we got to take care of the ball. 23 turnovers, you’re not going to beat anybody.”
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In 19 minutes on Sunday, Goodman didn’t make a field goal and was in foul trouble throughout. ASU coach Herb Sendek played him with two fouls in the first half, but he picked up a third minutes later in the half and a fourth in the second half.
As of late, Goodman had been one of ASU’s most important player since he became eligible. In his prior three games, he averaged 18.7 points, but he can’t be effective while sidelined. goodman finished with two points and three rebounds.
UA controlled the game throughout – only trailing ASU for 29 seconds in the opening minutes. After falling behind 7-6, Arizona went on a 15-1 run and the game was never in doubt the rest of the way. By halftime, Arizona pushed its lead to 20 points and ASU could never pull within single digits.
“(UA) played as a collective group,” Goodman said. “I felt like we didn’t establish or execute our offense… Give credit to them they did a great job defense tremendously helping each other.”
UA made two switches to its starting lineup – the Wildcats started sophomore Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in place of freshman Stanley Johnson (Arizona’s leading scorer) at forward and started sophomore Elliot Pitts instead of junior Gabe York at guard.
Given how deep the Wildcats are, it may not matter who starts and who comes off the bench.
Johnson, Hollis-Jefferson and junior forward Brandon Ashley tied for the team lead with 13 points. All of Johnson’s points came in the first half.
“They’re very talented,” Sendek said. “They have great size and length. You don’t get a lot of easy things at the basket. Their guards did a good job of applying pressure. Their wings are long and athletic. They’re a talented team. They’re one of the very best, most unique teams in the country.”
Even though ASU struggled handling the ball (seven assists versus 22 turnovers), Arizona only led 21-20 in points off turnovers. The Wildcats were much more efficient from the field (outshot ASU 51-33 percent).
After the game, Sendek said he was going to stick with junior Gerry Blakes at point guard (nine points and eight turnovers.
“It’s something that we got to get better at,” Sendek said about the point guard position. “The other guys have to help him. It would be unfair to shovel everything on that. There were a couple instances where guys didn’t get open and didn’t do their fair share.”
Up next, ASU plays at Oregon State (9-4, 0-1 Pac-12) on Thursday at 7 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.
Reach the sports editor at jmjanss1@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @jjanssen11
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