Listless Devils Still Rack Up Blowout Win

After tonight’s 74-57 win over visiting Arkansas Pine-Bluff tonight at Wells Fargo Arena, Herb Sendek said that there was simply no energy tonight, neither from his team or in the building.

Maybe the Arizona State Sun Devils left it all out on the floor at Madison Square Garden after a rousing 3rd place finish at the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Maybe it was because all the excitement surrounding ASU was in downtown Phoenix tonight, where a group of protesters loudly drowned out Sheriff Joe Arpaio in the midst of a controversial roundtable discussion.

Regardless, despite tonight’s result being a 17-point victory over an overmatched SWAC opponent, the energy level must be picked up by Thursday, when the Baylor Bears arrive in Tempe for a Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series showdown.

Call it being travel-weary. Call it not bringing it all against a lower opponent. Whatever this fatigue is, it needs to disappear.

And to think, we’re saying this after a victory to bring the Sun Devils to a 6-1 record that I don’t think anyone truly expected when this season tipped off.

Eric Boateng once again came through with a solid performance, dropping 17 points three ASU starters in double figures.

However, the star of the show was once again Derek Glasser, whose season-high 9 assists once again paced this team’s offense.

Glasser maturing as a floor leader should be no surprise at this point. He’s simply a much different player than he was even a year ago. Now a senior, he has clearly defined his role as a floor general and knows that his role as a leader has been stepped up big time with the departure of emotional leader Jeff Pendergraph.

You want tangible proof? How about his stirring alley-oop to Trent Lockett? Paired with Lockett’s tremendous athleticism, Glasser’s much-improved court vision makes these two a dangerous pair going forward.

However, a team fatigued by playing four NIT games and traveling cross-country was on display for the most part, as evidenced by some stretches of poor shooting and shoddy ball control. It allowed Pine Bluff to hang around for a period of time in the 2nd half, cutting the Devils lead to just 7 at one point while ASU fumbled around the floor.

Despite all of that, it’s a win, and we’ll take it, because the Sun Devils don’t have too many of these tune-ups left on the schedule.

Baylor comes to town Thursday, a team that beat the Sun Devils at last year’s 76 Classic. After that, it’s a trip to Provo to take on a BYU team that returns most everybody (minus Lee Cummard) that probably should have beaten ASU last year in a wild game at University of Phoenix Stadium.

ASU Postgame Audio following win over Arkansas Pine-Bluff

Head coach Herb Sendek

Center Eric Boateng

Guard Jamelle McMillan

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