By the time ASU upset third-ranked UCLA on Saturday night in triple overtime, prompting giddy Sun Devil fans to rush the floor at Desert Financial Arena, Arizona assistant coach Riccardo Fois had about 45 hours left to update his scouting report.
Except he really didnβt have to change it much.
The Sun Devils, who will host Arizona in a COVID-induced make-up game Monday night, were 6-13 entering their win over UCLA on Saturday, and had lost seven of their past eight.
Then they shocked the Bruins by holding them to 37.2% shooting, including missed layups from standouts Jaime Jaquez and Johnny Juzang in the third OT.
But Fois was not surprised. Having scouted ASU all season, he said before the Wildcats beat the Sun Devils 67-56 in a somewhat difficult game on Jan. 29 at McKale Center that they were better than it appeared.
ASU remains statistically the worst-shooting team in the Pac-12, but the Sun Devils try to grind out slow-paced wins with defense, and thatβs exactly what happened Saturday.
So Fois said it again.
βWeβve talked about it before β theyβre a team that is much better than their record shows,β he said. βYouβve got to prepare and match their energy because they have size, they have athleticism. I think they match up really well with UCLA but they still had to get the job done so it was an impressive win.β
Veteran Sun Devil forward Kimani Lawrence could have seen it coming, too.
Before UA beat the Sun Devils, he told the Star that ASU was still coming together after an offseason overhaul that included the departures of standout wings Josh Christopher (pro basketball), Remy Martin (Kansas) and Alonzo Verge (Nebraska) all took off.
Then, earlier this season, Lawrence said βcrazy shots and bad circumstancesβ made things look worse than they were.
βThereβs not a lot of college coaches who had to completely rebuild their roster and coaching staff,β Lawrence said then. βI think (ASU coach Bobby) Hurley has done a great job, regardless of what the record says. He brought in a lot of guys that want to work, who want to get better and theyβre about the the right things.
βAnd we lost a lot of close games. The ball bounces our way a few games and the record is completely different. Itβs a completely different conversation.β
It was a different conversation on Saturday night.
ASU (7-13, 3-7) broke through this time in part because, Fois said, its length and athleticism kept UCLA from creating its usual advantages with isolation plays, such as using versatile forwards such as Juzang and Jaquez to create mismatches.
And, in what was also apparent on the ESPN broadcast, the Sun Devils played with Hurley-level intensity.
βTheir activity, their excitement to be in this game far exceeded ours for the first 25-30 minutes,β UCLA coach Mick Cronin told the Associated Press. βTheir energy and effort was off the charts.β
It was the second straight loss for the Bruins after No. 7 Arizona beat them 76-66 on Thursday at McKale Center, putting them two games in the loss column behind the Wildcats in the Pac-12 race after reaching the Final Four last season.
βThereβs a great responsibility when you play for UCLA and youβre coming off a Final Four,β Cronin said. βTeams canβt wait to play you and we werenβt ready for that this week.β
Despite all of its adversity, ASU was ready. The Sun Devils not only kept UA under 70 points in what UA coach Tommy Lloyd called a βrock fightβ on Jan. 29 at McKale, but were tied with No. 19 USC with 1:07 left on Thursday before the Trojans pulled out a 58-53 win.
Three straight rock fights, and finally a win.
βItβs been tough but our guys have persevered and theyβve really been playing really good basketball last two weeks,β Hurley said on ESPN after the game ended Saturday. βSo itβs exciting that they can see that hard work pay some dividends β¦ we were really good against Arizona at Arizona and again the other night against USC, so to see us find a way to win ...β
As fans chanted and romped all over the floor behind him, Hurley then told ESPNβs Dave Pasch and Bill Walton that βit hasnβt come together but itβs starting to now, and I canβt wait to see what this building looks like on Monday.β
Tubelisβ injury opened doors
UA coach Tommy Lloyd said forward Azuolas Tubelis is βpretty close backβ to expectations after suffering a severe ankle sprain on Jan. 20 at Stanford, and that reserves Oumar Ballo and Pelle Larsson have taken advantage of additional minutes with Tubelis playing a limited role since then.
Lloyd has used both Ballo and fellow 7-footer Christian Koloko on occasion, while also using Larsson to defend forwards instead of Tubelis at times.
βIβve been cautiously optimistic every game and Iβve just kind of let it play out but I have had backup plan if he didnβt look good,β Lloyd said. βMaybe him getting hurt wasnβt great for him or our team, but it may have allowed us to grow a little bit.
Wildcats forward Azuolas Tubelis, right, is feeling good again, and his injury last month allowed some teammates to grow by earning more playing time.
βObviously, since that injury Oumarβs taken off and Pelleβs played really well, too. β¦ It gives us more options going forward, which is a good thing.β
In his first media interview since spraining the ankle, Tubelis said it was βreally painfulβ at Stanford and, after he sat out UAβs Jan. 23 win at Cal, still didnβt feel right at UCLA on Jan. 25.
βI tried to play at UCLA because I told coach that I will play no matter what but it wasnβt me,β Tubelis said. βI got better against ASU and then I kind of felt that I can play against UCLA (in the rematch last Thursday) and I just gave everything that I had.β
Sitting next to Tubelis at the postgame interview podium Saturday after UAβs 72-63 win over USC, guard Kerr Kriisa repeatedly said that Tubelis is fine now β and Tubelis agreed.
βTonight, I donβt know,β Tubelis said. βJust like he said, I didnβt feel it.β
Scary Terry moment
Like Tubelis, Terry had the sort of production that suggested he was fine Saturday, too, with nine points, four assists and four rebounds plus a block. But just 53 seconds into the game, Terry bumped shoulders and heads with USC guard Boogie Ellis, then went to the locker room for an examination with trainer Justin Kokoskie.
βJustin told me he was fine and and then he played really well after,β Lloyd said. βDalenβs a really good player and you guys know what I think of him. He had a plus minus of 17 .That can be a little bit of a dodgy stat but that says something.β
Short rest
While Arizona will have something of a rest advantage over ASU, which played 55 minutes of basketball and didnβt finish until nearly 11 p.m. on Saturday, the Wildcats still have to travel to Tempe β and also make the Washington trip later this week.
NCAA rules now allow teams playing three games a week to not have to take an off day, as long as they make up for it in the preceding or following week.
UA can skip the off day this week since it took two after beating ASU on Jan. 29 but the Wildcats arenβt likely to have a physical workout of any type that lasts long anytime soon.
βWeβre gonna see how we get through Monday,β Lloyd said. βWhether we take Tuesday off or we walk through or whatever, weβll figure that out as we go.β
Arizona was scheduled to meet on Sunday night and then travel to Tempe on Monday. In most seasons, except last season because of COVID concerns, the Wildcats have traveled the night before.
