Three takeaways from Arizona State basketball’s rough season opener

Arizona State basketball opened the season against Mississippi State as the headlined game as part of a doubleheader Wednesday night in the Barstool Sports Invitational. However, the night did not go as planned for the Sun Devils as they lost 71-56. ASU was the first to ten points, but everything went downhill from there.

Mississippi State went on a 20-4 run to close out the final 7:49 of the first half. The Bulldogs led by 21 at halftime, 39-18. The Sun Devils started to get shots to fall in the second half, but at that point, it was too little, too late. Mississippi State scored another 32 in the second half to keep ASU out of striking distance.

Three takeaways from Arizona State vs Miss. State

Here are three takeaways from the Sun Devils’ season opener.

The newcomers made their presence felt

Head coach Bobby Hurley added eight new players to the ASU roster through the transfer portal this off-season. Seven of the eight saw the court Wednesday with the exception of LSU transfer Adam Miller who is awaiting his eligibility decision from the NCAA.

Transfers Jose Perez, Kamari Lands, and Shawn Phillips Jr. all started for the Sun Devils. Perez, the graduate student guard from West Virginia, arrived at ASU about two weeks ago but seems to have earned the trust of his head coach. He played 33 minutes which tied junior guard Frankie Collins for the most on the team. Lands and Phillips each saw 27 minutes and 21 minutes respectively.

Junior guard Malachi Davis and junior forward Bryant Selebangue both came off the bench and gave ASU 17 and 18 minutes respectively. Senior guard Brycen Long and senior forward Zane Meeks played two and six minutes respectively once ASU cleared its bench.

The newcomers accounted for 41 of the Sun Devils 56 points. Lands, the sophomore from Louisville, led ASU in scoring with 13 points on 4-10 shooting and 4-6 from the line. Phillips, the sophomore center from LSU, and Selebangue, the junior forward from Tulsa, displayed their athleticism with a pair of dunks that were the highlights of the night for ASU. They combined for 10 points on 4-5 from the field and 2-5 from the stripe.

Alonzo Gaffney may still be affected by his injury

Graduate student forward Alonzo Gaffney had high hopes coming into the season. He was supposed to make major steps in his development and play a much larger role on the team. But last week Gaffney suffered a foot injury in practice after landing on a teammate’s foot.

Hurley said Gaffney would miss at least the first few games of the season and likely be out for multiple weeks when the injury occurred. But news broke just before the game that Gaffney had made shockingly quick progress in his recovery and would be playing tonight, on a minutes restriction.

Gaffney ended up playing 17 minutes off the bench but looked off and uncomfortable during that time. Gaffney was scoreless, going 0-7 from the field, including 0-3 from three-point land. He had one rebound and one steal, to go along with four personal fouls. He looked sluggish on the court and still seemed bothered by his foot.

Gaffney averaged just under 17 minutes per game last season coming off the bench. He wasn’t much of a scorer off the bench, but you could count on good defense and a couple of blocks or steals a game. Gaffney was expected to be a starter in the front court for the Sun Devils this season and have a breakout year.

But maybe Gaffney rushed back a little too soon for the season opener. A few games off for Gaffney might be the right decision until he is fully healthy and over this foot injury.

The team chemistry was non-existent

This was the main question coming into the season. With eight transfers coming in and many expected to play significant roles on the team, the biggest question early in the season was the team chemistry.

Arizona State looked out of sorts and out of rhythm all night. There were times on the defensive end when the Sun Devils played great defense and forced a contested shot near the end of the shot clock. But there were way too many opposite scenarios with miscommunications that led to wide-open shots or layups.

The offensive side of the ball did not look any better. ASU scored 18 first-half points, and just eight points in the final 11:58 of the half. The Sun Devils had 10 turnovers and shot 34 percent from the field, including just 24 percent from beyond the arc.

ASU could not get into any rhythm offensively all game. They could not find open shots and were suffocated by the Mississippi State defense all night, being forced to throw up prayers at the end of the shot clock.

ASU played in a number of scrimmages and overseas games prior to the start of the season, with hopes it would help with the chemistry and rhythm of the team. But that did not show up Wednesday night.

If there is a silver lining from the offensive struggles, it’s that the Bulldogs hang their hat on stingy defensive play much like the Sun Devils normally do. Regardless, the Sun Devils will need to work on communication and start hitting some shots if they want to have a chance in the Pac-12 this season.

Looking ahead for Arizona State

ASU will take the court next for its home opener against Texas Southern, on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Last season the Sun Devils traveled to Texas Southern and gave up a 12-point lead in the final eight minutes of regulation, before losing in overtime. ASU will look for revenge and a bounce-back game in front of its home fans on Saturday.

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