TEMPE — ASU men’s basketball was elite on defense for a stretch in its season-opening 55-48 loss to Idaho State on Tuesday, making up for a disjointed offensive performance.

“It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t inspiring,” coach Bobby Hurley said after the game. “Very frustrated with the way we came out to start the second half. I described it as if it were an AAU game the way I approached it. A game that made no sense.

“Especially in the first game, you’d imagine there’s a lot of juice … and the last thing you’d think you’d have to worry about is getting motivated.”

The Sun Devils also got off to a rough start as freshman phenom Jayden Quaintance missed two 3s and committed two fouls before playing two minutes. It was part of an 8-0 start by the Bengals.

ASU’s defense withstood the hot start, giving up just 12 points over the final 16:57 of the first half. The Sun Devils were suffocating, cutting lanes and forcing plenty of possessions in the final five seconds of the clock.

While Quaintance struggled through his collegiate debut offensively with a team-high three turnovers and an 0-for-6 shooting line, he was a big part of the defensive success with six blocks and two thefts.

“He’s been lost on offense and we’ve got to get him going in the right direction,” Hurley said. “It’s like we haven’t seen that from him, so I’ll try to figure out why he looked the way he did on offense and we’ll try to help him and train him.

“He was changing shots even when he wasn’t blocking them, so that was a positive for him.”

His backcourt counterpart, Joson Sanon, flashed one-and-done potential at both ends, but was inconsistent in his overall approach en route to 11 points and three assists.

Bobby Hurley’s gut-wrenching opening remarks after opening with “it wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t inspiring” about Asu’s 55-48 season-opening win. pic.twitter.com/iWSry14rTi

— Damon Allred (@iamdamonallred) November 6, 2024

Unfamiliarity among teammates prevents ASU from playing as a unit

When asked why the offense seemed as disjointed as it was, including during exhibition loss to Duketransfer point Alston Mason pointed to the influx of transfers and freshmen in the rotation.

“I think the hardest part about where we are right now is we have so many transfers and new guys coming in and we still have coach trying to get a feel for us and where he can fit us in,” Mason said. “The hardest part is the chemistry and coming together as a team. I think that’s what we need to find out more about.”

The Sun Devils had plenty of fumbles that led to turnovers, a category ASU lost 14-9.

Mason and BJ Freeman, who combined for 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting and five assists, took responsibility for the disappointing win and said they need to do a better job as leaders.

“A fast team with pace. Like coach Hurley always played. We get the ball up there, going forward like we have 24 fast break points. Just doing that more,” Freeman said of what the Sun Devils envision their offensive identity to be. “I don’t feel like some teams can keep up with us with the size and shooters we have.”

He later vowed to support the team and get back on track towards domestic expectations of consistent winning.

“We’re going to take it, I can promise you that,” Freeman said. “The new team is struggling, but everything will come together. My word.”

ASU (1-0) plays Santa Clara (1-0) and former head coach Herb Sendek on Friday at 6:00 PM MST in Las Vegas. The Broncos won their season opener, 85-78, over Saint Louis.