Having gone 0-2 in their grueling road tests against No.1 Arizona and No. 7 Houston, Arizona State looked to get back into the win column against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
“The schedule has something to do with it, let’s call it what it is, sending a team to BYU and getting one home game and then two more games, against a rival and then one of the best teams in the country all on the road,” said ASU coach Bobby Hurley on the grueling Big 12 conference schedule.
The Mountaineers came into this game 3-1 in their last four games, including an 11-point win against the 22nd ranked Kansas Jayhawks.
The Sun Devils came out of the gate making five of their first seven shots on the night to jump out to an early 11-4 lead.
ASU kept their foot on the gas with Moe Odum hitting a pair of threes, and Anthony “Pig” Johnson adding a three of his own.
In addition to their great offensive start, the defense for the Sun Devils would hold West Virginia scoreless for just over three minutes in the first half.
With their top scorer Honor Huff being held in check, the Mountaineers turned to Treysen Eaglestaff for offense. Treysen Eaglestaff then downed three-point shots to spark West Virginia’s offense with 14 first half points.
“Obviously Eaglestaff was huge in the first half, keeping us afloat,” said West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge regarding Eaglestaff’s performance.
The hot shooting from Eaglestaff came as no surprise—he’s been 42.3% from three during conference play.
After the commanding start to the half, ASU found themselves without a field goal made for just over three minutes, allowing West Virginia to cut the lead to one at 33-32.
Santiago Trouet would nail a short jumper and a pair of free throws to get the lead back five for ASU.
Arizona State looked to go into the half up 37-32, however Huff refused to go into the half scoreless as he hit a three pointer to end the first half.
“There isn’t a commitment to listening, and we lack discipline,” said Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley when talking about the team not committing a foul which led to Huff’s buzzer beater three.
ASU led at halftime 37-35 behind Massamba Diop’s 10 points and 15 points from beyond the arc on 50% shooting as a team.
Coming out of the second half, the Mountaineers used a 6-0 capped off by an Eaglestaff three pointer to put the Mountaineers up one to start the half. Odum quickly responded with an easy two-point basket to retake the lead.
After going back and forth to start the 2nd half, West Virginia went on an 8-0 run to jump out to a 53-46 lead with 10 minutes to play. That run came to an end with a Diop emphatic slam, followed by a Johnson and-1 layup to cut the lead to two.
The Mountaineers responded to ASU’s quick 5-0 with an 8-2 run of their own led by Jasper Floyd and Eaglestaff to put West Virginia up eight with six minutes to go.
Arizona State’s lack of offense in the second half paved the way for the Mountaineers to win their second straight game ahead of their visit to Tucson to take on No. 1 Arizona.
The Mountaineers were led by Eaglestaff’s 23 points on 6-9 shooting from three.
In the second half, ASU shot 38.5% from the field, going 0-5 from the three-point line and 6-11 from the free throw line. Scoring just 26 points in the second half to lead to a loss of 75-63.
The Sun Devils look to snap out of a three-game funk to face the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday in Tempe.
