ASU BASKETBALL

Shorthanded ASU basketball survives nail-biter on the road at Colorado

Jan 28, 2025, 9:28 PM | Updated: 10:40 pm

ASU basketball earned a tough 70-68 victory at Colorado while battling key injuries in the starting lineup on Tuesday night.

The Sun Devils (12-8, 3-6) entered Tuesday’s game without freshman big man Jayden Quaintance due to an ankle sprain. Starting forward BJ Freeman went to the locker room in the first half and did not return after four minutes played.

ASU ran with a six-man rotation for most of the game against a team that played nine players at least eight minutes. Guards Adam Miller and Alston Mason played 39 minutes each and led the team with 18 and 17 points, respectively.

Colorado (9-11, 0-9) tied the game at 64-64 with just under two minutes left after a poster dunk by Bangot Dak and tough bank shot from Sebastian Rancik.

ASU jumped ahead by three as Basheer Jihad pumped and finished in the line through contact, knocking down the free throw for the and-one. That turned out to be the last field goal made in the game.

Rancik drew a foul on a 3-point shot with 16 seconds left and made two of the three free throws to keep ASU ahead by one.

To add to the drama, Miller was called for a travel while trying to escape a trap and taking a shot to the midsection, gifting Colorado a shot to win the game.

Shawn Phillips Jr. came up with a monster block for the Sun Devils on the defensive end, and Rancik missed a potential game-winning triple with two seconds left.

Phillips finished the game with 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 28 minutes.

The Sun Devils took a 33-26 lead into halftime on Tuesday and led by as many as 10 early in the second half.

Miller led with eight points at the break, including this transition slam off a steal:

The Buffaloes went on a 15-5 run at that point, kicking off a back-and-forth ballgame the rest of the way with neither side building a lead greater than five.

ASU closed out its second win of the last three games, which include a victory over West Virginia and loss to No. 3 Iowa State.

ASU basketball’s next game

The Sun Devils return home for their first matchup this season against the rival Arizona Wildcats on Saturday in Tempe.

ASU Basketball

Bobby Hurley...

Damon Allred

ASU AD Graham Rossini agrees Bobby Hurley’s handling of Arizona loss was unacceptable

Arizona State AD Graham Rossini on Thursday was critical of how men's basketball coach Bobby Hurley handled Saturday's loss to Arizona.

15 hours ago

ASU...

Damon Allred

Kansas State loss the latest example of ASU basketball coming up just short

ASU's unbreakable habit of losing winnable games continued on Tuesday, as it again came up just short in a loss to Kansas State.

2 days ago

Arizona State Guard Adam Miller vs. GCU on Nov. 14, 2024. (Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports)...

Lance Hartzler

ASU’s Adam Miller ejected after reportedly slapping a Kansas State player

Arizona State guard Adam Miller was ejected from Tuesday night's basketball game against Kansas State after he was assessed a flagrant 2 foul after he reportedly slapped Wildcat guard Dug McDaniel.

2 days ago

Arizona State...

Alex Weiner

Missed free throws bury ASU basketball vs. Kansas State

A pair of missed free throws by Jayden Quaintance in the final seconds clinched a loss for Arizona State basketball against Kansas State.

3 days ago

Jayden Quaintance...

Lance Hartzler

Arizona State stifles Kansas State offense with 15-0 opening run

The Arizona State men's basketball team got off to a blistering 15-0 start against Kansas State Tuesday night in Tempe.

3 days ago

ASU's Bobby Hurley speaks with Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd. They join a Big 12 loaded with teams...

Kevin Zimmerman

Bobby Hurley regrets not shaking Tommy Lloyd’s hand after wild ASU-Arizona ending

Bobby Hurley said he and Tommy Lloyd are all good after the ASU head coach pulled his players to the locker room before shaking hands

3 days ago

Shorthanded ASU basketball survives nail-biter on the road at Colorado