The Arizona State men's basketball team had its back against the wall before they even faced off against Arizona.
They were on the road, against the No. 1 team in the country, and their second leading scorer, Jermaine Marshall was out due to a groin injury.
What ensued, was basically what everyone expected - a 91-68 win by Arizona.
The Wildcats had seven players in double-digits, and were led by Nick Johnson who finished with 17 points.
Arizona State point guard Jahii Carson led all scorers with 20 points, but he missed his first six shots and struggled in the first half.
Carson was not the only Sun Devil that struggled in the early goings as the whole team shot 6-26 in the first half. Arizona jumped out to a 33-12 lead in the first half, due in large part to their dominance in the paint. Arizona State center Jordan Bachynski got into foul trouble early, and this allowed Arizona's front court of Kaleb Tarczewski, Aaron Gordon and Brandon Ashley to get to the hoop with ease.
Arizona State regrouped a bit and finished the half on an 11-4 run, but Arizona still led 42-28 at the half.
In the second half, Arizona got off to hot start and consistently held a 20+ point lead to close out the game. Despite 12 points from guard Bo Barnes and 11 points from Carson in the second half, the Sun Devils were never able to cut the double-digit deficit.
Next up, the Sun Devils (13-5, 2-3) will host Utah on Jan. 23.
Notes:
- Barnes' 13 points were his career-high as a Sun Devil
- Arizona State center Eric Jacobsen fouled out in the second half
- Arizona freshman Aaron Gordon finished with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists.