SB Nation Arizona - Arizona State Vs. Cornell final score: Sun Devils win, 64-53https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46593/arizona-fave.png2012-11-21T09:01:24-07:00http://arizona.sbnation.com/rss/stream/34383392012-11-21T09:01:24-07:002012-11-21T09:01:24-07:00Sun Devils will end up dying by the 3-point shot
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<figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>With 27 shots from behind the arc taken on Tuesday night against Cornell, ASU showed that they will rely heavily on the long ball to win games this year. </p> <p>The Devils may have managed to snake away with a win over <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/cornell-big-red">Cornell Big Red</a> on Tuesday night, winning 64-53, but by no means was it pretty. The defense played well, forcing 22 turnovers for 18 points, but it was the offense that seemingly struggled. ASU was rendered incapable of penetrating the lane or feeding big man Jordan Bachinsky, which made things very difficult for them. </p>
<p>So instead of trying to continuously force their way inside, the Devils decided to start chucking away from the 3-point line. And at first, this looked like a poor strategy. ASU was shooting 3-18, good for 16.7% from behind the arc entering halftime. With the team on pace to shoot 36 threes and down by three points at the half, it just didn't look like their night. </p>
<p>In the second half, they shot only nine threes, but there was a slight twist to their story. They made five of their nine more threes taken, good for a 56% clip. Still, it took them 27 attempts to make 8 3-pointers. By no means is that a respectable rate. </p>
<p>With the 27 attempts taken on Tuesday and 40 the prior two games, the Devils are averaging 22.3 three-point attempts this season. It seems that they will be content with shooting this many threes throughout the season, but I, for one, don't see that as a wise idea. </p>
<p>They have a top flight point guard in Jahii Carson that is able to navigate his way through the lane fairly smoothly. From there, he can dish it off to his 7'2" center, Jordan Bachynski, who has a great height advantage over his opponents on most nights. Why the Devils don't continue to feed him is beyond me. </p>
<p>And what happens when the opponents become more difficult? Can the Devils still shoot at a decent (although, it wasn't even that against Cornell) rate when they begin playing PAC-12 opponents? Or will the speed of guards on scholarship at good schools be able to close them out faster? I am leaning towards the latter. </p>
<p>Either way, after watching the game tonight, this could very well be a long season for the Sun Devils. They need to cut down on the threes, penetrate the paint and feed the big man. Right now, that seems like a pretty distant cause. </p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizonast-ncaab/2012/11/21/3674332/sun-devils-on-pace-to-live-and-die-by-the-three-point-shot-this-seasonTyler Nickel2012-11-20T21:55:00-07:002012-11-20T21:55:00-07:00Sun Devils manage to live by the three
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<figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>ASU took 27 3-point field goals in their 64-53 victory over Cornell on Tuesday. </p> <p>Just two years removed from a Sweet 16 appearance, no one on the Arizona State Sun Devils basketball team was going to take the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/cornell-big-red">Cornell Big Red</a> for granted. And it was good that they didn't. A poor first half from the field (.276) gave Big Red the halftime lead. If not for a huge transition in the second half, ASU probably would have lost this game. </p>
<p>"We usually come out to a great tipoff," freshman point guard <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/145028/jahii-carson">Jahii Carson</a> said following the game. "We are usually energized. I don't know what happened today. I know guys were missing a lot of shots that they normally make, but they were good shots." </p>
<p>"I thought we were really quick to settle," Coach Sendek said of his team's shot selection after the game. "I think we had too many possessions where we took a shot on one, maybe two passes, sometimes no passes. A disproportionately high number of our shots came from three. I don't necessarily think it was because they were giving us the three." </p>
<p>The Devils did appear to be open on many of their three-point field attempts, but a 3-18 start from behind the arc showed that they simply couldn't put the ball in the basket. ASU was on pace to shoot 36 threes in the game at the half, but the Devils came out in the second half looking much more methodical, driving the lane and pushing the ball up the floor. Much of this was due to how many turnovers they were able to cause. The 23 turnovers Cornell surrendered was the 4th most by any team during the Herb Sendek era. </p>
<p>A buzzer beating three to end the first half really ended the Devils' sluggishness, as they came out of the locker room looking refreshed and relaxed to begin the second period. </p>
<p>"Jahii really gave us momentum with the 3 pointer going into the break," Sendek said. "Then our guys really spring-boarded from there."</p>
<p>The Devils only shot nine more 3 pointers for the rest of the game, making five of them. This allowed Arizona State to finally break away from Cornell, gaining a sizable lead towards the end of the game. In the meantime, ASU tied a high from last season with 27 3-pointers attempted. </p>
<p>"I feel good about it," Sendek said of his team's 3-0 start to the season. "I think it's been a great start for us. We obviously face a great challenge this weekend. It's going to be perfectly timed for our team, it's going to tell us some more about ourselves. But I think we have got out from the gates exactly the way we wanted to." </p>
<p>This victory marked the 20th time the Sun Devils have made a comeback after trailing at halftime since Sendek became the coach. ASU probably wishes they didn't have to come back, but they'll take the big win heading into Las Vegas to play Arkansas this weekend. </p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizonast-ncaab/2012/11/20/3673620/sun-devils-defeat-cornell-big-red-via-the-turnover-3-point-shotTyler Nickel2012-11-20T21:19:19-07:002012-11-20T21:19:19-07:00Arizona State defeats Cornell, 64-53
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<figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>Arizona State improved to 3-0 with a 64-53 win against Cornell on Tuesday.</p> <p><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/145028/jahii-carson" class="sbn-auto-link">Jahii Carson</a> scored 21 points and the Arizona State Sun Devils used a big second half to knock off Cornell, 64-53.</p>
<p>The teams went back and forth during the first half, with Cornell closing the frame with a 7-3 run to take a 25-22 lead. The Sun Devils opened the second half on a 7-0 run to take a four-point lead, but Cornell did not fade away. The Big Red came right back and took a 38-36 lead with just under 11 minutes to play.</p>
<p>Trailing by two, the Sun Devils made a run that eliminated any worry of an upset. The Sun Devils pulled ahead by eight points with a 12-2 run and Cornell did not get closer than seven points the rest of the way. Carson was key to ASU's big second half run, scoring 11 straight at one point.</p>
<p>Carson did a lot of his damage at the free throw line, making 11 of 14 attempts. Center <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123172/jordan-bachynski" class="sbn-auto-link">Jordan Bachynski</a> was big inside for the Sun Devils. He scored eight points to go along with 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots. <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123168/carrick-felix" class="sbn-auto-link">Carrick Felix</a> was the only other Sun Devil in double figures, as he finished with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.</p>
<p>The 3-0 start is a major improvement from last season, when ASU opened 1-3.</p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizonast-ncaab/2012/11/20/3674130/ncaa-asu-pac12Mark Sandritter