Huskers lose to Arizona State 64-44 as offense struggles

Nebraska coach Doc Sadler came out and admitted it after his team's 64-44 loss at Arizona State on Sunday – the Cornhusker offense just isn't very good right now.

Arizona State used its effective zone defense to force the Huskers into long-range jumpers, and Nebraska made just 28.9 percent of their attempted shots all game. Eight of Nebraska's 13 baskets were 3-pointers and 22 of the Husker's 45 shots came from beyond the arc.


Sadler said Arizona State's game plan was to make Nebraska score from the perimeter and that the Huskers didn't do a good enough job of moving the ball closer to the basket.

Hopefully, he said, the loss to the Sun Devils will teach his players a lesson.


"We have to get the basketball inside and we continue to talk about this every day and after every ball game," Sadler said.

"Whether or not you score, the ball has to go inside. It didn't (go inside) until very late in the ball game and therefore you're just living and dying with perimeter jump shots."


The game was not always as lopsided as the final score suggests, and Sadler said he was pleased with the effort and defensive intensity of the Huskers. Nebraska controlled the tempo early in the contest and held ASU to a shooting percentage of just 34.6 (9-of-26) in the opening half. The Huskers allowed just one ASU field goal in the first 9:56 of the game.


"I thought our effort and defense was as good as it can be," Sadler said. "You take away a couple of baskets late, and you hold (ASU) to probably under 60 points.

"If you go on the road any year and go against a top-20 team, which they are, and hold them under 60 points – then you should feel like you've got a chance to win the game."


The defensive effort created a 9-4 NU advantage halfway through the first period, but that turned out to be Nebraska's largest lead of the game. The Sun Devils outrebounded the Huskers 23-12 in the half and had a 13-point advantage over the final six minutes to build a 30-18 lead before the break.


Nebraska held Arizona State's James Harden to just one field goal and six total points in the first half, but the All-Pac 10 selection woke up after halftime. Harden finished with a game-high 20 points by slicing through the Husker defense en route to easy layups in the second half. The Sun Devils improved to 10-of-20 shooting (50 percent) in the final period while the Husker offense continued to struggle.


Nebraska was routinely forced into long, contested shots and finally began turning the ball over on a consistent basis as the game wound down.

Every Husker that saw minutes turned the ball over at least once in the game and NU starters Sek Henry and Ade Dagunduro both went 0-for-5 from the field. The Huskers were led by senior guard Steve Harley, who scored most of his 11 points off of difficult shots with a Sun Devil in his face.


The stagnant offensive performance gave Nebraska (6-1) it's first loss of the season with a matchup against Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore coming up on Saturday.


"I thought our effort, our defense – we're not going to get much better in those areas," Sadler said. "But we have to continue to work offensively. We're just not a very good team offensively right now. All of us can sit and talk about defense all we want, but the fact of the matter is that offense makes the game go." 

krisknowlton@dailynebraskan.com