“With everything that the guys have been through the last couple weeks, this was much needed,” coach Bobby Hurley said.

The first half saw seven ties and six lead changes, with neither team able to establish a significant lead. After Kansas State extended its lead to 64-58 halfway through the second half, ASU tightened up its defensive effort and held Kansas State to just three points in over five minutes.

After trailing by as many as nine, the Wildcats cut the lead to one with four seconds remaining, but after a pair of free throws from senior guard Moe Odum, a half-court heave from Kansas State junior guard PJ Haggerty was no good, and the Sun Devils prevailed.

Hurley credited sophomore forward Santiago Trouet with having an impact during ASU’s second-half run, in which it took the lead and never gave it back.

“[Trouet] was a big part of our turnaround in that second half,” Hurley said. He had some really blue-collar plays, getting offensive rebounds, driving the ball.”

Another key part of the Sun Devils’ success both offensively and defensively was their advantage in the paint. ASU outscored Kansas State 50-28 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 48-34.

The Sun Devils also had 10 blocks compared to only three for the Wildcats, thanks in large part to freshman center Massamba Diop, who contributed five.

“We had an advantage over them around the basket, and we were able to take advantage of it,” Hurley said. “[Diop] was very good offensively and challenging shots defensively.”

In addition to the battle in the paint, limiting turnovers was a key part of ASU’s ability to pull away in the second half.

The Sun Devils had 10 turnovers in the first half, but were able to limit them to just five in the second. For the Wildcats, the inverse was true. They turned it over just five times in the first half, but eight in the second. 

“We were terrible in the first half, just not valuing the ball,” Hurley said. “We can’t afford to turn the ball over 15 times.”

Odum, the floor general for ASU, was responsible for seven of those turnovers, five of which came in the first half. 

The Sun Devils' star guard knows his team, which looks up to him as the squad’s primary leader, can ill afford for him to turn the ball over so many times in a half. 

“I really don’t have an excuse,” Odum said. “I gave them the ball seven times. [I’ve] got to think about it and never do it again.”

A struggle for ASU for the entirety of the game was its shooting from beyond the arc, with the Sun Devils shooting an abysmal 3-22 from three.

Despite the often-unpredictable nature of outside shooting, senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson has an idea of how his team can improve their shooting performance. 

“I feel like we got to stop second-guessing ourselves and just take the open ones,” Johnson said. 

The Sun Devils, however, were able to overcome these struggles because of their dominance in the paint and a cleaner second half, which stopped the skid.

It was a much-needed win for an ASU team that had lost four consecutive games, and whose next two matchups are at No. 1 Arizona and No. 7 Houston.

“When you start losing, you feel like ‘When are you gonna win again?’” Bobby Hurley said.

The win is also more impressive given how shorthanded the Sun Devils came in. Due to several injuries, including key players junior guard Bryce Ford and sophomore forward Marcus Adams Jr., ASU had only seven players in their rotation Saturday.

Odum, however, didn’t believe this was any excuse for a lesser performance.

“It’s tough, but it’s nothing we haven’t been through,” Odum said. “I feel like that makes us closer as a team, because now we’re seven-eight deep–we got to roll with who’s playing.”

Last year’s ASU team was riddled with injuries as well, but Hurley also sees dealing with injuries as just part of the job, not an excuse.

“Just because you lost a number of key players to significant injuries the year before doesn’t give you a free pass the next year,” Hurley said.

When the Sun Devils head to Tucson on Wednesday, they’ll still have a short rotation. According to Hurley, there’s a chance Ford will be able to return against Arizona, but no guarantee.

Hurley doesn’t believe Adams is likely to return for another “seven to 10 days.”

ASU will need to clean up the turnovers and get hot from distance if it is to have a chance against the undefeated Wildcats, who have blown out nearly every opponent they’ve faced this season.

Despite it being his first year with the Sun Devils, Odum is buying into the rivalry with Arizona already.

“If y’all hate Arizona as much as y’all say y’all do, then that’s how we feel as well,” Odum said.