TEMPE, Ariz. — After suffering their first loss on their home floor this season, the Arizona State Sun Devils responded with an impressive 82-67 win over the USC Trojans on a Saturday afternoon in Tempe.
Head coach Bobby Hurley and his team delivered the bounce-back win in front of a packed house at Desert Financial Arena with more than 4,300 students in attendance. That’s the second-highest student attendance mark ASU has ever had behind last year’s home game against UCLA.
“We had that segment to end the first half which was dynamite, just the way we went on that run. I don't know if I've heard DFA that loud in a long time,” Hurley said. “Certainly, the crowd helps so much when we were trying to really impose our will defensively and take advantage of our speed and our ability to defend full court. That was really the difference in the game, our ability to create pressure.”
The Sun Devils were locked in on defense, forcing a season-high 22 turnovers with junior guard Frankie Collins accounting for six of ASU’s 12 steals. Collins now has 56 steals on the season which ranks third-highest in Division I NCAA basketball.
“He's playing at an elite, all-conference level," Hurley said. "He’s really stepped it up to another level and he really has complete control of his game out there, too. He’s really just running our team and making winning plays out there.”
Collins and junior guard Jamiya Neal scored 17 points each. West Virginia-transfer Jose Perez led ASU in scoring with 20 points.
Both Neal and Perez noted that going up against a “pest” of a defender like Collins during practices prepares them for the pressure they could face from opponents.
The Sun Devils have been averaging 14.1 forced turnovers per game so far this season but their increased energy on the defensive end gave them an edge against the Trojans. This was ASU’s first regular season win over USC since Feb. 8, 2020, and the Sun Devils have now won 11 of their last 14 home games.
“Defense is offense for us. That's what we preach. There's no better way to score than in transition,” Neal said. “Getting steals, getting stops and getting out quick. We try to pressure everybody but, unfortunately for them, they had a little worse than everybody else.”
Basketball superstar LeBron James wasn't spotted at the arena to watch his son, Bronny, but Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Alek Thomas was courtside for what was one of the final Pac-12 meetings between ASU and USC.
The Sun Devils travel to the Pacific Northwest to face Oregon and Oregon State next week.
Follow the conversation with Lina Washington on X/Twitter: @LWashingtonTV. If you have a sports story idea, e-mail Lina at LWashington@12News.com.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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