Runnin’ Utes don’t look like themselves in humbling loss at Arizona State

TEMPE — It didn’t matter whether it was on offense or defense Thursday night — Utah struggled on both ends of the floor in an uncharacteristic 82-70 loss to Arizona State at Desert Financial Arena.

The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Runnin’ Utes in a contest where the Sun Devils led for more than 30 minutes against the visitors who entered the late-night matchup sitting just outside the top 25.

Give credit to Arizona State — the Sun Devils shot 50% from the field (they averaged 41.9% entering the game) and made 12 of 28 3-pointers, nearly double their 6.5 average.

“I thought they played outstanding, probably the best game of the year,” Utah head coach Craig Smith said of ASU. “Some of that’s us, but credit them, they played unbelievable. I mean, they played really, really well.”

Several times throughout the night, Arizona State was able to counter a key Utah play with a 3 that reset the momentum.

“Coming into the night they had not been shooting the 3 well at all, and they go 12 of 28. And again, some of that is whether they didn’t feel us and we were trying to own the paint and guard the ball, but you’ve got to give them credit,” Smith said.

“I mean, that’s not typically what they do. And they looked like the Golden State Warriors out there for a stretch.”

The Sun Devils also used their length and defensive aggression to force Utah into 15 turnovers — leading to 15 ASU points — and held an 18-8 edge in fast break points.

“The two biggest keys coming into the game were transition defense — that’s why we were sending three back — and secondly, we got to value the ball knowing there’s going to be some turnovers, that’s what they do. But you’ve got to avoid the catastrophic ones,” Smith said.

“And so, 33 points off our offense. We can’t allow their defense to be their best offense and it wasn’t their best offense, but it was a good chunk of their offense. You’ve got to eliminate losing to win, and we certainly did not eliminate losing tonight.”

Utah, meanwhile, shot 41.2% for the game — often missing “point blank shots,” as Smith put it — and just under 40% in the decisive second half, when the Runnin’ Utes (11-3, 2-1 Pac-12) managed to get the game to one possession on several occasions but never took the lead back.

Key takeaways

Top performers: Jose Perez scored a season-high 26 points and made a team-high four 3-pointers for Arizona State, while Frankie Collins added 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Branden Carlson had 19 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in a losing effort.

Key stretch: After trailing 55-53 with 10:33 to play, Utah went cold over the next several minutes to go down 61-53. Arizona State then added three straight 3-pointers to push its lead to double-digits.

Turnovers: Utah ended the night with 15 turnovers, which led to 15 ASU points. Arizona State had 13 turnovers that led to nine Utah points.

Offensive rebounds: The Utes held a 15-7 edge in offensive rebounds and a 42-36 overall advantage on the boards. As a result, Utah turned in 12 second-half points to six for ASU.

Shooting: The Sun Devils shot 50% for the game and made 12 3-pointers while Utah was just 41.2% from the field.

A nearly four-minute stretch where Utah missed five straight field goals ended up being a critical moment, as Arizona State turned a 55-53 lead into a 61-53 advantage.

The Sun Devils followed that with 3-pointers from Frankie Collins, Jose Perez and Adam Miller in a minute and a half to push their lead into double-digits for the first time, and from there, the result was all but written.

The only uncertain thing left was the final score, and ASU pushed its lead as high as 17 before a few late Utah buckets.

It was the Utes’ first road game since the Monday after Thanksgiving, and Utah looked out of sorts when compared to the team that had shown rhythm, consistency and competitiveness in the face of adversity over the past month.

“When you play league games on the road, you’ve always got to eliminate losing to win. That doesn’t mean you’re perfect — you’re never going to be perfect — but you have to really be sound,” Smith said.

He also gave credit to ASU for a standout effort on both ends.

“They came out and they played fast and furious,” the coach said. “You know, we hadn’t seen a team like that since St. John’s and Houston (both losses earlier this year). That’s who these guys more resemble in terms of their style. We’ve got to handle that better.”

It started off well for Utah, which pushed out to an early 8-3 edge, and even though ASU responded to make it a tight game in the first 20 minutes, the Utes still led for seven minutes in the first half.

The Sun Devils captured the momentum with a 6-0 run to end the half, taking a 41-36 lead into intermission after scoring on a Perez 3 and a transition layup off a steal in the first half’s final minute.

Perez ended up with a season-high 26 points, shooting 9 of 16 while making 4 of 5 3-pointers. Collins added 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in another solid all-around effort from ASU’s top player, while Miller, a two-time transfer who recently became eligible, scored 13.

Utah had just two players reach double-figures in the loss: Branden Carlson paced the Utes with 19 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, while Deivon Smith scored 13 points, his first double-digit game since becoming eligible to play for Utah three weeks ago.

One of Utah’s positives on the night was offensive rebounds — the Runnin’ Utes finished with 15 offensive boards and had 12 second-chance points, while owning a 42-36 rebounding edge.

Smith was aggressive on the offensive end throughout the night — that included an effortless driving putback slam after the athletic guard gathered his own miss in the first half.

“Deivon played well, specifically on the offensive end,” Craig Smith said of Deivon Smith. “I thought in the first half when they were making their run, he really sparked us ... just being able to penetrate and find the right play.

“You know, he’s got some things he’s got to continue to get better at, as we all do. But certainly he was a spark.”

Otherwise, though, it was mostly a learning experience in a frustrating effort from Utah, while Arizona State (9-5, 3-0 Pac-12) stayed unbeaten early in league play. The Sun Devils are one of just two teams, along with Oregon, who haven’t lost in Pac-12 action thus far.

“At the end of the day, when you allow a team to shoot 50%, more times than not this is the outcome that you’re going to have,” Craig Smith said. “We have to be way better on the defensive end.”

What’s next?

The Utes will stay on the road and face No. 10 Arizona at the McKale Center in Tucson on Saturday (6 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Network).

Arizona is coming off a 97-50 blitzing of Colorado on Thursday night — the Wildcats handed the Buffaloes their first conference loss by shooting 56.3% from the field and making 11 3-pointers.