LOS ANGELES – Arizona State coach Herb Sendek reminded all who would listen last week that any carryover effect, even after a strong game against a big rival, can be minimal.
He was so much more right than he wanted to be. So much for ASU's 87-80 victory over Arizona on Sunday.
After its most complete game of the season, ASU went the other way in an 83-65 loss to Stanford in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament.
Any momentum generated from the UA victory was gone early. Stanford scored 42 of the game's first 61 points as freshman guard Chasson Randle took over. His 27 first-half points were a Pac-12 tournament record for a half, eclipsing Klay Thompson's 25 set last year.
Sendek had cautioned against extrapolation.
"It's going to start zero-zero," Sendek said.
But no one said anything about 42-19, or 50-30 at halftime.
After shooting 60 percent from the field against the Arizona, ASU shot just 40 percent against Stanford. The Sun Devils missed two free throws against Arizona; they missed 11 against the Cardinal. They had 14 turnovers Wednesday – not a bad number, but four more than on Sunday.
"The only possible carry-over is what you take from a confidence standpoint moving forward – self-confidence," Sendek said.
"But it's a new game, and it requires a totally fresh performance."
ASU wasn't up to it. Chanse Creekmur made three three-pointers off the bench to lead the Devils with 13 points, while Jordan Bachynski had 11. Jonathan Gilling also had three threes and finished with nine points.
Randle's 30 almost eclipsed them all. He made seven field goals and 10 free throws, and he took only three shots in the second half while playing just 10 minutes.
"Randle's obviously a great player. He really got to the line a lot in the first half, and I think that got him going. He really looked to push it in transition," said Trent Lockett, who had six points before fouling out.
As for ASU?
"We didn't come out ready to play," Lockett said.
"It was tough to see that emotion piddle away out there," Bachynski said.
ASU's topsy-turvy season ended at 10-21, the third time in the last six years it had lost at least 19 games. It's been a circular ride – the other three years, ASU either made the NCAA tournament or should have.
Stanford is one of the most physical teams in the Pac-12. They seem to not only invite, but feed off contact, and they took it to ASU right from the start. On one early first-half possession, Cardinal forward Josh Huestis blocked two consecutive shots in the paint. He finished with three.
The Cardinal, which must win the Pac-12 tournament to get an NCAA tournament bid, played like it.
ASU played as it has most of the season, when the loss of freshman Jahii Carson threw the Sun Devils into a spiral they had a hard time overcoming, mainly because they didn't have a ready-made alternative at point guard.
Sendek told the team afterward he felt like a wounded lion, and Bachynski – for one – liked the symbolism.
"I really feel we are like that. We have our backs against the wall. I think it is going to be a very productive offseason," he said.
Bachynski, who with freshman Gilling made great strides as the year progressed, said he would like to gain at least 10 pounds and play at about 260 next season, the better to bang with the Stanfords of the Pac-12 in the paint.
"There are definitely bright spots on this team. Yes, I'm happy I'm getting better, but it would have been so much sweeter had the team done a lot better," said Bachynski, a 7-foot-2 sophomore.
With Carson eligible and Lockett fully healed from a severe ankle sprain that kept him out for three weeks and nagged him the remainder of the year, ASU appears to be a team that could make a strong move next season.
It might not be too much to expect the Sun Devils to make a run at the first division.
Carson, one of the top point guard recruits in the country, will have a lot to do with ASU's direction, as his absence did this year. The Devils designed their offense around him in the offseason. When he couldn't play, a redesign on the fly was necessary.
"We've had a lot of ups and downs and situations we had to deal with. Going into the offseason, we have plenty of motivation," Lockett said.
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