ASU Basketball: Free Throws Without the Curtain of Distraction

For the first time since 2012, there will be no ‘Curtain of Distraction’ in Desert Financial Arena when ASU basketball takes the court.

On September 24th, it was announced that there would be no fans at Sun Devil basketball games through the rest of the 2020 calendar year.

For those unfamiliar, the Curtain of Distraction appears in the second half of all ASU home games. It resides on each side of the opposing team’s basket. Its goal is to ‘distract’ the opposing team’s player when he is attempting free throws.

The curtains are released once it’s time for the player to shoot, and nobody ever knows who’s going to show up each time.

The Curtain of Distraction has been one of the most iconic aspects of Arizona State basketball since it was established in 2013.

Fans always have their eyes peeled towards the opposing team’s basket come the second half of all games so that they can see what ASU’s student section, the ‘942 Crew’, is up to that night.

An ESPN report in 2019 proved that the Curtain is indeed effective.

“There have been several analytical studies from past seasons that point to a one- to three-point advantage due at least in part to the Curtain. ESPN Stats & Info ran the numbers for the season so far, entering Feb. 11, and found that when opponents shoot toward the curtain in the second half, they make 70 percent of their free throws,” wrote the publication.

Well, seven of ASU’s 31 games last year were decided by three points or less. Close games are a part of the game, and ASU has certainly benefited from the Curtain of Distraction. It’s unclear as to if they would admit it, but coaches and players would certainly rather have the Curtain up again this year.

It could still appear in the 2021 portion of the season, and there won’t be a ton of games in 2020 anyways. Remember that the PAC-12 basketball schedule will be starting late this year. The November 25th PAC-12 start date leaves not too many games before 2021 anyways.

Therefore, it may not be the biggest deal that the Curtain of Distraction can’t exist through 2020, but its impact has certainly been documented before and will be missed for the first several games of the season.