(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
It was a night Bobby Hurley called “one of the great sports moments of my life,” a night that showed how much progress Arizona State men’s basketball has made and a close game that came down to one final turnover.
The No. 18 Sun Devils’ 80-76 upset over the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday was all of those things and many more.
Fans stormed the court of The Bank as ASU earned its second victory in as many years over Kansas and its second win in program history against the top dog in Division I basketball. With five players in double figures and others making key turnovers, the Sun Devils earned themselves a team win that will live on in ASU history.
For much of the game, a win seemed elusive. ASU trailed by as many as 12 and did not lead for the first 37 minutes and 19 seconds. The Devils shot 29 percent in the first half and Kansas’ Dedric Lawson had 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. ASU’s Remy Martin credited the teams two losses this season as lessons that helped them power through challenges.
“We learned from our mistakes in Vanderbilt and Nevada, and we went out and tried to perfect the things we messed up on,” Martin said.
The Sun Devils took halftime to readjust, doubling Lawson more often and trying to think positively. ASU struggled to finish at the rim, but knew that if they could keep getting there, eventually they would find the points they needed to get on top.
“We remind them that we’re playing pretty well, we’ve just got to convert some of these shots that we normally convert,” Hurley said. ”Then we’re in a great situation.”
The guard duo of Martin and Rob Edwards, both of whom have dealt with injuries this season, shook off all rust in the closing minutes. A late three by Edwards put the Devils in the lead and put the possibility of ASU pulling off the upset fully back on the table. Edwards also hit two free throws in the closing seconds to push ASU’s lead to four.
“That’s how we practice,” Edwards said. “We both hit big shots at practice, so we just let it translate to the game. We didn’t really think about them being number one.”
After Kansas responded to Edwards’ three by tying it at 76, Martin answered with a jumper and drew a critical offensive foul. With 22 seconds left, Kansas had possession, Zylan Cheatham ruined the Jayhawks’ chance to tie or win by swiping the ball, and the ensuing rush led to the foul and the final free throws.
Hurley’s side took every punch Kansas threw well, never getting frustrated and seeing that victory was possible if they didn’t let the pressure and missed shots get to them.
“We have tough kids that have got big-time grit and heart and believe in themselves,” Hurley said. “They’re as hard a working group as I’ve had and if they didn’t work that hard, they wouldn’t have the confidence to out and do what they did tonight.”
In a game where ASU struggled in several areas, turnovers proved vital to the victory. The Devils had nine steals, seven of which came in the second half, and four courtesy of freshman Taeshon Cherry.
“Tae is way more than a shooter,” Hurley said. “He’s got a great shot and he made a couple of threes in the first half, but he plays hard and rebounds and he’s just scratching the surface of where he’ll be.”
The energy of the crowd helped ASU battle back from every run. With a huge smile on his face, Martin focused on the impact of the fans after the game.
“We want to say thank you for everybody that supported us,” Martin said. “We were down and they were still with us. They didn’t give up on us. The fans gave us an extra boost.”
When Arizona State scheduled a home-and-home against Kansas in March 2017, the Sun Devils walking away with two wins may have seemed far-fetched, but that is exactly what they managed to do. As when they won in Allen Fieldhouse a year ago, ASU has put the rest of the NCAA on alert as they march forward in the season.
