Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley hopes his team will have the energy displayed in a triple-overtime win over then-No. 3 UCLA last week, rather than the inefficiency it had in a loss to Arizona two days later, when the Sun Devils play at Washington on Thursday.
The Sun Devils (7-14, 3-8 Pac-12) snapped a four-game losing streak with the 87-84 home win over UCLA, but they could not hold an early 16-3 lead against No. 4 Arizona in a 91-79 loss at home on Monday.
Despite its losing streak entering the UCLA game, Arizona State held three consecutive opponents to below 40 percent shooting, including keeping the Wildcats to 32.2 percent in a matchup in Tucson two weeks ago. But in the loss Monday to Arizona, the Wildcats shot 56.7 percent from the field.
“We’ve had success this year just overall when we’ve defended at a high level,” Hurley said. “You can’t let them shoot 57 percent and really expect to have a chance. I think the reason we had a chance in Tucson was how we defended. We didn’t guard the way we needed.”
Washington (12-9, 7-4) is one of the surprise teams in the conference after going 5-21 in 2020-21, and is playing Arizona State for the only time this season. The Huskies had won three in a row before losing 87-69 at Stanford on Sunday.
Arizona transfer Terrell Brown Jr., the Pac-12’s leading scorer at 22.0 points per game, finished with 30 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals.
Washington coach Mike Hopkins believes Brown is a legitimate candidate for Pac-12 Player of the Year.
“We knew he was a scorer,” Hopkins said. “He’s all about winning. Doesn’t matter what it takes, whether it’s 50 points or 20 assists. He has a passion and drive the great ones have.”
Huskies guard Daejon Davis is questionable for the game. His right arm was placed in a sling after he fell hard coming off a screen early in the game at Stanford.
Arizona State’s three transfer guards — Marreon Jackson (from Toledo), Jay Heath (Boston College) and DJ Horne (Illinois State) — combined for 43 points Monday against Arizona. Jackson had eight assists and four steals; however, he struggled from the field, going 5-for-16 overall and 3-for-10 from 3-point range.
–Field Level Media
