SALT LAKE CITY -- While playing in the forefront of snowy mountains and barren fields instead of sandy beaches and breathtaking overlooks, the ASU men's basketball team learned what a difference a little time and change in scenery can make.
The Sun Devils looked flat and sluggish Saturday night before a crowd of 10,604 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, just 10 days after bringing a burst of energy in an 83-79 overtime victory against Utah at the Maui Invitational. This time, they couldn't dig themselves out of a hole when suffering a 78-55 loss to the Utes in a game that turned ugly early in the second half.
"Until these guys get committed on the defensive end of the floor, there are going to be nights like this," said ASU head coach Rob Evans, whose team was victimized by Utah's 55.6 percent shooting from the field. "On the road, you've got to defend and you've got to show some patience on the offensive end. They did neither one of them."
Although the Sun Devils (4-3) again struggled at the free-throw line when connecting on only 64.7 percent of their attempts, that was the least of their problems. Freshman forward Ike Diogu played a mere 21 minutes when plagued by foul trouble, senior forward Tommy Smith was virtually nonexistent after the break and sophomore point guard Jason Braxton continued to struggle from the field, making only 1 of 8 shots for two points.
"I would have loved to have seen (Diogu) have had a chance to play," Evans said. "Then we would have seen the real Ike Diogu. He's a tremendous player and it's unfortunate he didn't get a chance to play very long."
Three days after having difficulty containing the trees from Brigham Young, ASU had trouble keeping Utah's post players in check. Junior center Tim Frost, senior forward Britton Johnsen and freshman forward Bryant Markson combined for 44 points. The Utes, who forced the Sun Devils into committing 17 turnovers and scored 24 points off their miscues, won the battle on the boards 31-29 and held a 40-20 edge in the paint.
"We didn't do anything we did the last time we beat them," said junior swingman Justin Allen, who drained a pair of three-pointers in the first half to keep the Sun Devils competitive as Diogu sat on the bench with three fouls. "It comes down to execution and defense. We didn't do that, and that's why the score ended up the way it was."
Utah (4-2) went on an 8-5 run over the final 5:17 of the first half to stretch its lead to 10 points at intermission. But then things quickly unraveled as a close game turned into a blowout.
With Diogu confined to the bench in foul trouble, ASU turned the ball over four times, missed 12 of its next 13 shots and was off the mark on four consecutive attempts from the charity stripe as Utah went on a 21-2 run over a seven-minute stretch to extend the margin to 29 points. To add insult to injury, Evans was whistled for his first technical foul of the season with 12:29 remaining after arguing a no-call on senior forward Shawn Redhage's drive to the basket.
"For 40 minutes, we were lost. We didn't look like a University team, we looked like a high school team playing out there," ASU senior shooting guard Curtis Millage said. "We were getting the looks we wanted, but we were rushing it too early on the shot clock instead of being patient. Our defense was sad. We didn't play any defense at all."
Diogu knocked down a pair of shots from beyond the arc late in the second half to finish in double figures for the seventh straight game. He had a team-high 15 points and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. Smith and Millage tallied 11 apiece.
GAME NOTES: The Utes hold a 25-17 lead in the all-time series...Utah has won five in a row against ASU in Salt Lake City...in the past two seasons, the Sun Devils are 0-13 when trailing at halftime...ASU was 6-for-16 from three-point range...Redhage and senior forward Donnell Knight were scoreless in a combined 28 minutes.
UP NEXT: The Sun Devils will return to Wells Fargo Arena at 7 p.m. Tuesday when hosting Nevada. The game will mark ASU's last before an 11-day break for final exams. It will be broadcast on KAZ-TV.
Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu.