TEMPE, Ariz. – After a slow start to Saturday, Jan. 3, game against the Colorado Buffaloes, senior guard Moe Odum spent the entirety of the second half heating up offensively, making shots, setting his teammates up and finishing with 21 points and 12 assists.

Yet, Odum had four turnovers. That doesn’t sound terrible until you realize two of the turnovers didn’t occur until the final minute of the game, each happening 12 seconds apart.

“It's kind of a broken play,” head coach Bobby Hurley said. “I know I had time outs, but we had AG in there on the throwback pass, but Moe tried to fit the pass in Massamba (Diop).”

The turnover erased any hopes of a comeback victory, as Colorado (11-3) defeated Arizona State (9-5) 95-89 at Desert Financial Arena. The Buffaloes led 71-60 with 10:05 left in the second half before the Sun Devils came back, eventually taking the lead late, but like many times last season, ASU couldn’t finish the job.

The Sun Devils started slow, as their offense struggled to find its footing. In response, Hurley went to his bench, a move that worked wonders against Oklahoma in the Jerry Colangelo Classic. 

However, Hurley failed to strike magic twice. 

“I was excited that the defense was good early in the game, but our offense was not,” Hurley said. “Our second unit didn't do a good job. They didn't breathe any life into the game for us. They got it to like 19-14, or 21-14, and now we're chasing and I got to get all the starters back in.”

After a first half in which it scored only 38 points, ASU found more consistency in the second half, getting production from players like senior forward Allen Mukeba, who had 16 points and six rebounds, including a highlight reel one-handed slam that sent the 7,377 fans in attendance into a frenzy.

Mukeba did say it was one of his best dunks, but not his best one.

“I think the best dunk I've ever had was against Illinois to put that down when I was playing with Oakland last year,” Mukeba said.

That dunk was one of a few big dunks Mukeba had in the game, as he was a significant factor in the Sun Devils' comeback and made the game competitive.

“If you see that side of him, or anything close to it, and we saw it some this week in practice, then he's certainly a difference maker for us moving forward,” Hurley said. “So I'm happy to see him play well.”

Mukeba is finally getting into a groove after a sluggish offseason because of having surgery on his shins. But with the gap between ASU games, Mukeba is finally regaining his confidence as Big 12 play begins.

“I want to say all over, my mental was not right the first part of the preseason, and after that break, we had a great break,” Mukeba said. “Came back and had to do what I got to do. They recruited me to win, so I got to do my job.”

Other contributors offensively were Odum (21 points), freshman center Massamba Diop (20 points) and senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson (20 points).

One thing ASU saw in the second half that it didn’t see in the first half was the number of fouls it received. The Sun Devils committed just four fouls in the first half, but in the second half, that number jumped up to 20.

“There's going to be fouls called,” Hurley said. “You may not think you foul, but they're going to try and even it out. That's how it usually happens.”

In a season when expectations for ASU were not very high, this game against Colorado was considered one of the more winnable on the schedule. The Sun Devils came into the game as home favorites.

“I know this was supposed to be the easiest game we ever had on the schedule, but it's basketball at the end of the day,” Mukeba said. “Gonna play against big players, great stars and stuff like that. So just got to keep your head up and get into the gym.”

Another factor that has become common in Sun Devil losses is being outrebounded. Colorado outrebounded ASU 42-32, a trend that has been emerging for the Sun Devils.

“We did what we could to put together a roster of players that could be competitive,” Hurley said. “We've been competitive against good teams. We've always gotten out-rebounded. We're trying to talk about rebounding in workouts and practice. We were looking to be as creative as we can to go get a rebounder, but there's no one out there that we could bring in to rebound.”