Bobby Hurley's men's basketball team came into Salt Lake City lThursday night looking to play the role of spoiler in the Pac-12 conference. That prospect lasted all of two minutes before the Utes took off.
The No. 22 ranked Utah team only missed one of their first six shots. Those other five shots were all three-pointers.
At the first media timeout, the Sun Devils had already spotted the Utes a 13 point lead. Things only got worse for ASU in the first game without junior guard Andre Spight, who left the team earlier in the week.
The Sun Devils reached ten turnovers before they scored their fourth point of the game, and by that time, the damage had been done. Utah held a 33-4 lead while shooting 48.5 percent from the field.
Junior forward Obinna Oleka scored eight of ASU's 10 points at halftime. He also had 12 rebounds, which was more than the amount of points the Sun Devils scored in the first 20 minutes. Utah senior forward Jordan Loveridge single-handedly scored more points (14) than ASU had at the break.
With ASU getting outshot, out-rebounded, out-hustled and outplayed throughout the entire first half, the Sun Devils went to half with nothing to build on in preparation for the second half. They continued to lack intensity and not display a high basketball IQ, throwing the ball around wildly and not making extra passes. It led to another ugly half of play.
One thing ASU did well was defend seven-foot sophomore forward Jakob Poeltl, a player of the eyar candidate. As an undersized team, ASU needed to crash the paint and force him to pass it to the perimeter. Poeltl scored seven points on just five shots attempts.
However, Utah took advantage of ASU's pressure on the big man. The Utes attempted 40 three-pointers, making 16 of them (40 percent). They came up only two three pointers shy of their season record.
ASU's shooting percentage in the second half improved from its first half self-destruction, but the 34.4 percent in the half wasn't enough to make a dent in Utah's lead. The Utes won 81-46.
Oleka ended as one of ASU's lone bright spots, scoring nine points and displaying a ravenous desire on the glass, grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds.
As the Pac-12 analysts eluded too throughout the game, ASU simply looked like a team that had lost its will and its bearings on the season. With just three games left this season, ASU looks to send its seniors out on a high note and gain some experience for the returning players in preparation for next year.
Losing is something new for ASU head coach Bobby Hurley. It will be interesting to see how he responds in the weeks and months to come.
Reach the reporter at Braxton.Fox@asu.edu or follow @braxton_fox_II on Twitter.
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