With ASU's 2011-2012 basketball season mercifully having concluded, and with some time having elapsed to deaden some of the angst, it's time to cast a more objective eye to how the Sun Devils performed.
An examination of the NCAA statistical rankings illustrates the kind of season the team had, with plenty of simply awful numbers. However, there were a few that held some positivity, and with a degree of optimism towards 2012-2013, these numbers are almost certain to improve (if not by default).
The following rankings are out of 338 Division I teams.
Scoring Offense: 299th (61.0 points per game)
The Sun Devils scored a meager 61.0 points per game. With seven games of under 55 points, this should be no surprise. This figure became heightened when Trent Lockett missed six games beginning in late January, a stretch in which they only managed 51 points-per-game.
Scoring Defense: 156th (66.3 points per game)
Things were a little better on the defensive side, as the Sun Devils were staunchly a middle of the road defensive unit. Only nine times did an opponent exceed 70 points.
Field Goal Percentage: 87th (45.4%)
One of the Devils' better showings was in shooting the ball. Thanks to some big improvements by Lockett (49.8%) and the now departed Kyle Cain (45.4%)
Three Point Field Goal Percentage: 74th (36.4%)
From a standpoint amongst the other 338 teams, shooting threes was what ASU did best. While Carrick Felix did the team few favors in this department (31.4%), Lockett (41.2%) and Jonathan Gilling (41.1%) did very well.
Three Point Field Goal Percentage Defense: 289th (36.8%)
Live by the three, die by the three. While they were making their jumpers from beyond the arc at a good clip, the Devils were seeing their opponents do even better. In fact, at a rate that ranked ASU near the bottom amongst Division I teams.
Rebound Margin: 130th (+1.5)
Considering that their pair of seven-footers in Ruslan Pateev and Jordan Bachynski were not much a force on the boards, and their leading rebounder was the 6'4" Lockett, this isn't so bad.
Assists Per Game: 225th (12.2 assists per game)
This is a category that should improve significantly with Jahii Carson next year, but this past year, the Devils had a hard time spreading the wealth. Top assist man Chris Colvin (4.0 assists per game) ranked 144th in the country.
Blocked Shots Per Game: 94th (4.0 blocks per game)
The emergence of Bachynski as a serviceable Pac-12 center showed up here. His 1.37 blocks per game were good enough to rank 138th in the country, then highest individual standing of any Sun Devil in any category.
Steals Per Game: 259th (5.6 steals per game)
ASU didn't take the ball away from their opponents much. However...
Turnovers Per Game: 328th (16.3 turnovers per game)
...they sure liked to give it up. The biggest issue for the 10-21 Sun Devils was indeed the turnover issue. Their -5 turnover margin was the third worst in the entire country.
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