Colorado

Arizona State continues to struggle in Boulder.  The University of Colorado Buffaloes has won five straight at home against the Sun Devils.  ASU has won one game and lost eight in Boulder, a city resting at 5,328 feet above sea level.  Tempe, Arizona is 1,148 feet above sea level to put it into a better perspective.

The Denver Nuggets play down the hill (5,280 ft. above sea level) from Boulder. They are 25-4 at home and 14-14 on the road, two games back from first place Golden State.  The Colorado Buffaloes are 10-3 at home and 5-6 on the road earning them a 15-9 record. CU home losses came to Indiana State, Washington, and Oregon State. Arizona State has beaten the Huskies and Beavers. How can flatlanders from Terre Haute, Indiana (499’ above sea level) grab a “W” in Boulder when we can’t?    

.@luguentz from downtown. ?@SunDevilHoops | #Pac12Hoops

? FS1 pic.twitter.com/ftwJxiHPJF

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) February 14, 2019

Maybe Bobby Hurley missed Ray Anderson’s point about taking the Sun Devils to unprecedented heights. Hurley’s teams need to consistently operate more innovatively and efficiently and take care of business like a Fuqua or W.P. Carey MBA.  

In Boulder, the Sun Devils were not mentally prepared and looked completely discombobulated.

The elevation obviously crushed Zylan Cheatham early who seemed to lose 24 of his 33.5 inch standing vertical missing layups and turning the ball over along the way.   The Sun Devils missed six layups in the first half. Cheatham worked through the initial shock at elevation finishing with 10 rebounds and 12 points on 4-9 shooting from the field.  Another double-double!

“Players draw confidence from a poised, alert coach who anticipates changing in game conditions” – Dr. Jack Ramsay

In a game where Arizona State should have consistently worked the ball inside and then out, the plan fell apart early and Hurley failed to make any meaningful adjustments.  Arizona State went flat after missing two shots from 24 inches out,

Bobby Hurley needed to call a timeout!  We were down 56-51 at the time and fatigued.  We had traveling calls and erratic turnovers to include a White offensive charge.  

Colorado never looked back! Hurley never adjusted!  McKinley Wright and Tyler Bey of the Buffaloes almost single-handedly forked the Devils with 23 rebounds, 8 assists and 46 points between them! Colorado’s guard tandem was 17-22 from inside the arc, and 1-3 from outside.

Two guards broke down Arizona State’s entire defense!  Why didn’t Bobby Hurley default to a tough interior zone?  Lack of game awareness or management don’t you think?

Cheatham, White, and Lake were out-rebounded by Colorado Buffalo Sophomore Guard Tyler Bey 17-14.  Colorado, a team we should have absolutely dominated in the paint, finished with a 39-33 rebounding advantage.  

De’Quon Lake only played six minutes and had zero field goal attempts.  Rob Edwards was off and struggled with the Colorado guards. It’s my humble opinion ASU should have went with a two guard attack and pounded the ball inside when they were struggling.  

The starting 5 missed 30 shots! ASU as a team did shoot 43.5 percent from three-point range going 10-23. But the Sun Devils finished the game with only 11 assists, matching that with 11 turnovers!  I guess the optimistic way to view this is at least ASU had a team double-double here. The Sun Devils are being out-coached in critical spots.  

Colorado 77  ASU 73

UTAH

Coach Larry Krystkowiak has owned Bobby Hurley where X’s & O’s are concerned.  The Runnin’ Utes play at 4,226 feet above sea level using a variety of defensive looks to confuse young guards.  Utah is better than Colorado, and Krystkowiak, who played 10 seasons in the NBA, knows how to exploit the tendencies of opposing teams.  

Arizona State was picking Utah apart at The Bank in Tempe last month, but the Utes displayed a level of resiliency with in-game adjustments Bobby Hurley could learn from.  While the ASU defense was starting to fatigue, the offense started to struggle with turnovers and poor shot selection. Utah was losing by 17 points and came back to methodically crush the young Sun Devils 96-86.  

This one is going to be close, and the Sun Devils need Coach Bobby to be the difference maker.  The DieHard world is watching, and so is the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee which still has the struggling Devils on the bubble.    

Hey Jake ?@snakestakes pic.twitter.com/9TZgQtEwda

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) February 14, 2019

Four Years Of Note

Before these past four years in Tempe, Bobby Hurley spent two years as the Head Coach at the University at Buffalo for two years. This year the Bulls are 21-3 with big wins over Syracuse and West Virginia.  Offensively they are rated 28th and Defensively 39th out of 353 University Programs.  The Bulls have an SRS (Simple Rating System) score placing them 35th in the nation out of 353 Programs.  

The University of Buffalo Bulls is 85-42 currently in four years under Nate Oats.

Arizona State is 16-8 with big wins over Mississippi State and Kansas.  Offensively they are rated 139th and Defensively 109th out of 353 University Programs.  The Sun Devils have an SRS score placing them 59th in the nation out of 353 Programs.

The Arizona State Sun Devils are 66-55 currently in four years under Bobby Hurley.

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