LOS ANGELES — Ten days ago, Arizona State had its worst transition defense of the season in a home loss to Washington, a game in which the Huskies repeatedly beat the Sun Devils down court.
The Sun Devils improved in wins over Washington State and USC, but Sunday night they might get tested as much as they will all season. UCLA — coming off Thursday’s four-point loss to No. 1 Arizona — excels in capitalizing off opponents’ mistakes.
The Bruins are built to run. Sophomore point guard Kyle Anderson isn’t known for speed, but he has two of the Pac-12’s top finishers in junior Norman Powell and freshman Zach LaVine. Sophomore Jordan Adams also is dangerous from 3-point range when trailing the play.
“If you turn the ball over, you’d be better off throwing the ball in the stands because it’s coming right back at you,” ASU assistant coach Larry Greer said.
Three things that will help ASU:
— Taking care of the ball: Throughout the season, the Sun Devils (13-3, 2-1 Pac-12) have done well, committing turnovers on just 15.4 percent of their possessions, which ranks second in the Pac-12. But their mistakes have increased slightly during Pac-12 play (12.6 turnovers in three games.) They also need to take good shots. Long rebounds often ignite the fast break.
— Communication: Transition puts teams in scramble mode. Stopping the ball is the first priority. Locating shooters who can spot up on the perimeter is the second. Finding UCLA’s Adams and freshman guard Bryce Alford will be essential.
— Hustle: None of it works without effort.
“(Transition defense) is going to be huge in every game we play in the Pac-12,” ASU senior guard Jermaine Marshall said. “That’s just how the game is. Once you make teams play against your half-court defense, the game is harder. When teams get easy baskets, they gain confidence.”
Slow down, get the ball
Before leaving for this trip, senior Jordan Bachynski talked with former NBA coach Doug Collins, who occasionally visits ASU practice. The coach’s message: slow down.
“A lot of times when I would catch it on the block, even before catching it, I would kind of move and get in trouble,” Bachynski said. “He just talked to me about catch the ball first, slow down, assess the situation and go.”
ASU coaches also had advice for Bachynski. With the 7-foot-2 center suffering a recent dip in his rebounding numbers, they told him to stop blocking out and just go for the basketball. For one game, it’s worked.
In Thursday’s USC win, Bachynski posted his first double-double since Dec. 14 with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Bench production
Before the season, coach Herb Sendek suggested his depth might be the best it’s been since he arrived in Tempe. So far, however, it hasn’t materialized.
In a Dec. 28 win over UC-Irvine, freshman Egor Koulechov scored all eight of ASU’s bench points. The Sun Devils produced 16 bench points against Washington, but most came after Sendek pulled his starters with four minutes to go.
Freshman guards Calaen Robinson and Chance Murray, both of whom got off to promising starts, didn’t even play against USC. Sendek is trying to get junior Brandan Kearney more involved. Kearney missed the first 11 games because of NCAA transfer rules.
“I’d like to say that at this point in the season we have our rotation in sync and down pat, but because of consistency we’re really not there yet,” Sendek said.
Up next
ASU at UCLA
When: Sunday at 8 p.m.
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles.
TV/radio: ESPNU/KTAR-AM (620).
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