That was quick.
Just one week removed from becoming the first team in school history to lead the Pac-10 Conference in the polls, the No. 14 ASU men’s basketball team has had the wind sucked from its sails.
In seven short days, that air of confidence has rapidly evolved into a headwind — one that whistles with urgency.
That’s what two straight home losses in the Pac-10 will do.
Following Saturday’s 84-71 home defeat to No. 23 Washington (16-5, 7-2 Pac-10), ASU’s emotional forward Jeff Pendergraph was more animated than usual.
And that’s saying something.
Whether it was a result of his team dropping consecutive contests for the first time all season or the underachievement of his teammates — Pendergraph was heated.
“It’s so frustrating,” Pendergraph said. “You can’t let some dude that has barely finished his 100-level classes come here and kick your butt. That’s embarrassing.”
So who’s the new kid enrolled in Pac-10 101?
Isaiah Thomas.
On Saturday, the freshman guard schooled the Sun Devils (16-5, 5-4) for 25 points, and he wasn’t even his team’s high scorer.
Fellow guard Justin Dentmon took that honor, as he scored a season-high 30 points, including four 3-pointers.
“Thomas and Dentmon really controlled the game today,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “We didn’t have a good answer for them, both off the bounce and behind the arc. Those guys really had us tied up.”
Thursday night, Washington State’s Klay Thompson dropped 28 points on the ASU defense in his team’s 65-55 win.
So what’s going on with the Sun Devil perimeter ‘D’?
Pendergraph said some of his teammates are too worried about their shooting percentages and it’s affecting them on defense.
“Everybody misses shots — nobody is 100 percent from the field,” Pendergraph said. “People are kind of weak-minded. They get down on themselves for no reason … we’ve got to get over that real quick.”
While UW shot a healthy 52 percent from the field and notched the second-highest point total for an ASU opponent this season, the Sun Devils struggled from the floor for the third-straight game.
ASU shot 14-of-59 (40.7 percent) and just 6-of-23 (26.1 percent) from behind the arc.
To start the game, the Sun Devils got a quick alley oop and 3-pointer, but those were pretty much the only ASU highlights for the first half.
They entered the locker room at the half down 41-29 before falling apart to start the second period.
By the time UW senior forward Jon Brockman cleaned up a Thomas miss with 15:30 remaining, the Huskies held a 54-35 lead.
ASU would shave the lead down to eight points over the next few minutes but couldn’t get any closer than that.
Pendergraph finished with 21 points (10-of-13 shooting) and 15 rebounds, while helping limit Brockman to 10 points and nine rebounds.
Pendergraph was one of four Sun Devils to score double-digit points, along with sophomores James Harden (15) and Rihards Kuksiks (10) and junior Derek Glasser (11).
Reach the reporter at alex.espinoza@asu.edu.
