Arizona State men's basketball is on a six-game losing skid, and its inaugural season in the Big 12 (12-14, 3-12 Big 12) has been anything but easy for the program. With just five games remaining, the team has continued to struggle on both ends of the floor. Last time out, it was dominated at home against No.5 Houston, losing 80-65 for a seventh consecutive home defeat.
Next time up on the hardwood is a road matchup against lackluster Kansas State (13-13, 7-8); in the previous matchup in Tempe on Feb 4, five-star freshman forward Jayden Quaintance took a trip to the free-throw line with three seconds remaining on the game clock, at the time the Sun Devils trailed 71-70 with an opportunity for its young star to equalize or win the contest. With the game on the line, Quaintance would gain a youthful learning experience as the 17-year-old missed both free throws, and ASU went on to lose by a one-point margin.
Since the defeat, the Maroon and Gold have lost four straight games, plummeting near the bottom of the Big 12 table; now firmly stuck in 15th place, the Sun Devils have just five games remaining to turn its season around.
The Wildcats' victory over ASU was the second of a four-game winning streak that saw them defeat three ranked opponents: No.3 Iowa State, No.16 Kansas, and No.13 Arizona. Since then, however, they have lost consecutive games to BYU and Utah, dropping them to 11th in the Big 12 standings, with their NCAA tournament push still alive. Both of their recent defeats were on the road, and Kansas State's 9-4 record at home suggests its supreme play takes place in Manhattan.
In the previous matchup between the Sun Devils and the Wildcats, ASU started hot out of the gates, taking an 18-2 lead in the opening after nine minutes. The beginning of the game saw all four senior starters, guards Alston Mason, BJ Freeman, and Adam Miller, along with forward Basheer Jihad, get on the scoreboard throughout the run.
Issues began for ASU when the three-point shot slowed. With just four points in the paint in the first half, the Wildcats began to storm back, going on a 33-14 run over the remaining 11 minutes of the period. The visitors took a three-point lead at the break.
The second 20 minutes featured a back-and-forth contest, both teams got the hot hand shooting over 46% from the floor and 41% from beyond the arch. Kansas State led for a majority of the interval, leading by as much as 13 points over the Sun Devils; however, a late second-half run saw ASU head coach Bobby Hurley's side take a narrow advantage, going up 63–62 with three minutes and 38 seconds to play. The final minutes of the game would see multiple lead changes, with Kansas State eventually creating another four-point advantage, leading 71-67. ASU held on till the final moment when Quaintance missed the go-ahead free throws.
Despite playing a very close game, the Sun Devils were outmatched in multiple major statistical categories by the Wildcats. An area of concern was points in the paint. The Sun Devils finished with just 15 points inside for the entire contest, while Kansas State had 30. Now, the benefit was that the Sun Devils made up for the lack of points inside by getting to the free throw line, shooting 11 more free throws than Kansas State. Hurley’s team also lost the fast break points battle, being outscored 20 to 11 in that metric.
ASU did best Kansas State in multiple categories as well; however, and unlikely feet for ASU, who are 15th in the league with a turnover margin and -1.32 turnovers per game, the Maroon and Gold held themselves to just seven turnovers last time out while forcing 11 for the Wildcats. They also scored 11 second-chance points compared to just three from the visitors.
Individually for ASU players, Mason led the way with 20 points, Jihad provided 15, hitting three three-pointers, while Freeman finished with 14 and Miller with 10. Outside of the four seniors, there were problems with Rose offensively. The three freshmen, Quaintance guard Jose Sanon and forward Amier Ali, combined for just 11 points as a trio, shooting a horrendous 4–23 from the field. Saying alone converted just two of his 11 field goal attempts, as the young guns certainly showed their inexperience in the matchup.
For the Wildcats, senior forward David N’Guessan dominated the matchup, scoring 22 points and collecting a team-high eight rebounds. The 6-foot-9 inside scorer shot an impressive 8-of-11 from the field and missed his only three-point attempt.
The three-point shot was integral for Kansas State when it played in Tempe. Guards senior Max Jones and junior Brendan Hausen combined for seven of the team's 10 deep balls, shooting nearly 50%. They combined for 27 points on the night.
Despite shooting just 3-of-10 from the field, junior guard Dug McDaniel put together an outstanding performance, nearly earning a triple-double. At just 5-foot-11, he’d score seven points while grabbing eight rebounds and collecting nine assists.
ASU's last showing against the Wildcats was inconsistent, with spurts of high-octane play on both ends of the floor mixed with long scoring doubts and lackluster play on both ends of the floor. This tells the story of the Sun Devils' Big 12 season. However, despite having a team with the talent to compete with any in the conference, spells of bad play will allow any opponent to take advantage.
Kansas State has been able to pluck wins off the best teams in the conference, with multiple ranked victories. However, with defeats to subpar teams in the league, such as Oklahoma State and Texas Christian, if the Sun Devils are going to find any lifeblood through this tumultuous losing streak, Sunday afternoon is the prime opportunity.
The game will air at 2 p.m. Arizona time on ESPN+
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