No. 3 Arizona State suffers first loss of the season to No. 17 Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. — No. 3 Arizona State took the floor at the McKale Center on Saturday night as the lone unbeaten team in college basketball after two others had fallen earlier in the day. With a win, the Sun Devils would probably be the nation’s top-ranked team for the first time in school history in the next AP Top 25 poll.

The thought of that was short-lived as two hours later, they walked off the court as losers of an emotional rivalry game that swung back and forth, but seemed to be the most competitive it’s been in years. ASU had faced adversity while tasting success to this point, but now it’s been exposed to defeat. And from an 84-78 loss, the Sun Devils learned more about themselves.

“We’re as good as anyone,” senior guard Tra Holder said. “We played in one of the best hostile crowds, and we showed we were capable of winning.”

ASU (12-1) perhaps already knew it could hang with anyone. It defeated then No. 2 Kansas on the road earlier this month. It holds wins over No. 6 Xavier, Kansas State (11-2) and St. John’s 10-3. That’s quite the résumé, but the Sun Devils failed to add to it.

Bobby Hurley still hasn’t beaten Arizona. The Sun Devils haven’t done it since the 2014-15 season when they won in Tempe. They haven’t been victorious in Tucson since the 2009-10 season. They proved they belonged in this type of game once again, but unlike at Kansas, they fell.

Maybe Saturday says the Sun Devils still are in search of getting over the hump, as there are those who’ll call them illegitimate after failing this test. Or perhaps it’s a sign that they’re as good as they’ve ever been, considering some stats will show they didn’t play their best game on Saturday.

Regardless, it was a roller-coaster ride. The lead changed six times and there were six ties. Arizona (11-3) led by as many as 12, ASU by as many of five.

One crucial moment: With under eight minutes to go, Holder — who led the Sun Devils with 31 points and was a large part of their second-half comeback effort — stole the ball and bolted down the floor. Arizona guard Allonzo Trier met him at the rim. Holder hesitated, then missed a layup. ASU guard Shannon Evans was there for a tip-in, but couldn’t convert.

The Sun Devils could have taken a 1-point lead. Instead, the Wildcats went on a 12-1 run and put ASU back in a hole.

“I saw Trier trying to block it, so I pump-faked to try and get the foul,” Holder said of the play.

That wasn’t the sole reason ASU lost. The Sun Devils were playing catch-up the entire second half.

They trailed by two at halftime, but tied the game with a pair of Holder free throws at the start of the second half. Then they lost control. Arizona went on a 13-2 run. ASU cut the deficit to six points, but the Wildcats led by 12 not long after.

Through it all, there was emotion. Evans was called for a technical foul. Hurley, who is known for his passion on the sideline, was seen presumably yelling at an Arizona fan while walking into the tunnel at halftime. He then went nuts for most of the second half. He was given a long leash, however, and somehow avoided a technical from the officials.

“It’s fun to be in these games,” said Hurley, who looked like he could be in danger of popping a vein in his neck at some points of the game. “You live for these games.”

On the point of officiating, when asked about the loss, Holder’s said the team fought even though a “few calls didn’t go our way.” Both teams were called for 20 fouls. ASU shot 25 free throws, Arizona 23.

The Sun Devils needed a better offensive performance, as Holder also noted. They shot just 38 percent from the floor and 32 percent from behind the arc. They hit just 3 of 15 3-point attempts in the second half. Both teams made the same amount of 3-point shots (8), but that may be a moot point.

When looking at this matchup, many figured ASU would be dominated inside. That was the case. Arizona 7-foot-1, 250-pound big man Deandre Ayton looked like the potential top-5 pick he’s expected to be as he tallied 23 points and 19 rebounds. Fellow forward Dusan Ristic added 12 points.

Hurley called Ayton “special,” but also said something that seemed like it could have been a jab at the officiating.

“Just late in the game, I felt like he was in the paint,” Hurley said. “He was in there forever. You give a guy a chance to sit in the paint that long, eventually they’re going to find him and throw him the ball because he’s a pretty big target.”

Whichever way you slice it, ASU couldn’t get enough stops. It used full-court pressure and turned the Wildcats over 16 times, but Arizona still made key shots.

Trier scored 23 points and killed the Sun Devils with his driving ability and his 3-point shot. That, along with Arizona’s size inside, proved too much to handle.

Let it be known, though: ASU could have crumbled when down 12, but didn’t. The Sun Devils kept cutting into the deficit and it felt as if there was nervous tension in the arena when the Wildcats couldn’t put away ASU.

They just didn’t find consistent scoring outside of Holder. Forward Mickey Mitchell scored 10 points and had a couple nice effort plays, but he isn’t a big scorer yet. Evans had just 7 points on 3-14 shooting. Kodi Justice, another guard, scored 6 points on 2-9 shooting. Forward Romello White bobbled passes inside — albeit tough ones — and finished with just two points when he fouled out with a few minutes left in the game.

Through it all, ASU let it fly.

“I love my shots. It’s how we play, it’s how we’re 12 and 0,” said Hurley, who added that ASU probably needs to play better offensively to win big games like this in the future. “I’ll go to the end with Shannon Evans and Kodi shooting threes if they’re in rhythm and they feel it. It’s what’s made us successful.”

If you’re an ASU fan who wants a positive, it may be that the Sun Devils looked ready for yet another tough test on a big stage. As the third-ranked team, they handled the pressure well and went toe-to-toe with the preseason No. 3 team in a hostile environment.

On the flip side, Arizona proved it still controls this rivalry — at least for now. We’ll see more when these two meet again in Tempe on Feb. 15, a matchup that isn’t expected to lose any steam in the time until then.

In reality, it’s December. ASU finally looks like it’s playing for March, and in that regard, the Sun Devils are set up pretty well with an attractive résumé to this point.

“We’re just going to regroup,” Hurley said. “This is a marathon.”