UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The No. 18 Sun Devil men's basketball team ended up with a split at the season opening Empire Classic after falling to third-ranked Villanova 83-74 in the tournament's championship game.
The trio of Josh Christopher (28 points), Alonzo Verge Jr., (22 points) and Marcus Bagley (10 points) combined for 60 of ASU's points. Christopher (11-17) and Verge (7-14) knocked down 58 percent of their shots (18-31) while the rest of the team struggled to find its touch (28 percent).
The Sun Devils (1-1) were minus-16 on the boards (43-27) and were not able to create the high number of free throw opportunities (12-21 FTs/57 percent) nor duplicate the accuracy they had in Wednesday night's win over Rhode Island (34-46 FTs/74 percent).