Heading into today's matchup against a depleted USC Trojans roster, Arizona State University Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley was surprisingly worried about the matchup, according to Devon Henderson of Cronkite Sports.
“I was very concerned about this game,” Hurley revealed. “Wondering about how fragile we could be with our psyche after a loss like that.”
The loss to which he's referring is a 68-66 surprise come-from-behind UCLA upset on Wednesday. The Bruins, who lost today as well, share an identical 8-11 record with USC. Though the Trojans are a bit better thanks to a more well-rounded offensive game, USC has been without its starting backcourt for the past few games. Fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis should return from his hamstring injury at some point relatively soon, but freshman guard Isaiah Collier will be sidelined longer-term, as he recuperates from a hand surgery.
Four late-game technical fouls were costly for ASU on Wednesday, so Hurley implemented a new policy with his club, with regards to on-court talks between Sun Devils players, USC players and attendant referees.
“I’m happy we had an extra day,” Hurley explained. “Usually we’re in the Thursday-Sunday routine. I think having the extra day in between certainly helped us just pick up the pieces after a hard loss… We tried to talk about a zero-tolerance approach to any communication with our opponent or the officials.”
The Trojans will get a full week off before their next bout, a very winnable home matchup against the aforementioned Bruins. Hopefully Ellis will be healthy in time.
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