Washington State takes Arizona State to the woodshed

There are games where you have it and then there are games where you don’t have anything. The Cougars had it. Arizona State had nothing. Washington State rolled into Tempe with a 1-8 Pac-12 Conference record. The Cougars rolled out of Tempe with a 2-8 conference record.

Was this a game that the Sun Devils overlooked?

Absolutely.

The Washington schools are in the state of Arizona this week and it was clear who the Sun Devils were looking forward to playing.

It was not the Washington State Cougars and it bit the Sun Devils in a major way.

The Cougars made the Sun Devils pay in every part of the game.

Washington State shot 43% from the field, 40% from the three point line, and 82% from the line. Ernie Kent’s Cougar team was also more energetic the whole game and it was clear which team was more into the game. The Cougars were diving on the floor for loose balls and making hustle plays.

Arizona State had no fight. No resistance to anything the Cougars were throwing their way.

It was a pathetic performance for Bobby Hurley and his Sun Devil team. At one point in the game the Sun Devils were 0-16 from the three point line. Arizona State finished 5-33 from the three point stripe.

Arizona State shot 34% from the field and 58% from the free throw line for the game. Not exactly numbers that will get it done for a team.

The Cougars shot 53% from three point line in the first half of the game. You would think that the Sun Devils were guard the three point line a little tighter and challenge shots.

Nope. Washington State got open looks time after time. There were times the Cougars hit challenged shots, but for the most part, Washington State shooters were not challenged from the outside.

Washington State forward, Robert Franks was a one man wrecking crew on Thursday night. He finished the game with 34 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks. Arizona State had absolutely no answer for Franks. He did what he wanted to when he was on the floor.

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On the other side it was a complete mess for the Sun Devils.

Sun Devil guards, Remy Martin and Rob Edwards, could not hit the broad side of a barn. These two guards combined for 15 points on 5-28 shooting. At one point in the second half Rob Edwards was 1-11 from the field.

It was that kind of night in Tempe.

This was 40 minutes of hell for the Sun Devils.

All of credit goes to the Washington State Cougars. The Cougs were not mechanical in their play. They went out on the court and just played free and loose. Washington State played like they had nothing else to lose.

Arizona State was the exact antithesis on Thursday night.

Head coach Bobby Hurley was exasperated with his teams performance and some of the referee calls and was assessed a technical foul. Hurley certainly appeared to be trying to get his second technical foul. Coach Hurley was not tossed out, but in reality this game was not the refs fault at all.

Sun Devil fans need to blame the team for this performance. There were a few boo birds, but I was surprised there were not more. For the Sun Devils this was a horrible loss. There are bad losses, but this bad loss was at home and it was a blowout at home.

This blowout loss could have NCAA Tournament ramifications. We shall see.

However, on Thursday night, Washington State showed that they could “Coug up” and take a 91-70 victory on the road.