There’s one more stop on the challenging regular season campaign for ASU head coach Bobby Hurley and his program. The season has been anything but memorable for Arizona State (13-17, 4-15 Big 12), which sits 15th in the standings for its inaugural Big 12 season with just one game remaining before the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City.
Last time out, the Sun Devils fell at the hands of No. 24 Arizona for a second time in the 2024-25 season. The game script was similar to nearly any other conference loss for the program. They climbed back through a back-and-forth game, cutting the deficit to 89-86 with 6:44 remaining. As per usual, a late run by the Wildcats saw them jump ahead to a 102-89 advantage over the course of three minutes. Despite climbing into triple figures, the Maroon and Gold lost by double digits, 113-100, against their bitter rivals from down south.
Next is ASU's final regular-season game, as it's slated to face No. 9 Texas Tech (23-7, 14-5) on Saturday in Tempe. The Red Raiders have continued to dominate the Big 12, currently tied with Arizona for second in the conference. They are the only team in the league that’s top four in points per game and opponent points per game, boasting the second-best scoring margin in the conference at 13.9 points. The contest will give the visitors a chance to solidify the second seed in the pending Big 12 Tournament beginning March 11.
For Hurley and ASU, Saturday’s matchup is merely for pride and confidence. The program is wedged between Oklahoma State and last-placed Colorado with no possibility of moving, an important factor given its horrific home record. With a 1-8 conference record at Desert Financial Arena, it's officially the worst in the conference, even below the 2-17 Buffs, who have registered two wins in Boulder. ASU has not won at home since January 4 against Colorado, suffering eight consecutive home losses, tying a program record.
In the previous meeting, when the Sun Devils traveled to Lubbock on February 12, the game was a blockbuster showcase that ended in a final score similar to their Tuesday trip to Tucson. Led by the duo of senior guards Adam Miller and BJ Freeman, they forced two overtime periods against the No. 12 team in the nation, falling short 111-106 in the end.
Despite coming out of the game with another tick in the loss column, ASU shot a season-high 55.6% from the field against the fourth-best defensive team in the Big 12 while knocking down 13 of 27 three-point attempts, good for 48% on the night.
Miller finished with 22 points and Freeman with 21. Unfortunately, the Maroon and Gold have played a majority of their recent contests without either player. On February 23, Freeman was dismissed from all team activities for detrimental conduct. The decision was announced just hours ahead of their matchup with Kansas State, which ended in a victory. On the other hand, Miller has been nursing a hip injury suffered against BYU on February 26. Since then, he’s played just one minute in two games and is questionable for Saturday.
From a Texas Tech perspective, the reserves matchup will be an exciting one, as the previous game was an offensive masterclass from both sides. Sophomore forward JT Toppin played the best game of his collegiate career, scoring 41 points on 17-for-22 shooting. The 6-foot-9 high-flyer dominated inside the arc, using a combination of speed, length, and verticality to score on any matchup Hurley threw his way.
Prior to the game against ASU, Toppin had often fluctuated between highly productive showings and disappointing games, scoring 20 points or more in four games. However, he produced five games scoring in single figures over the same 12-game stretch. Something changed after Toppin’s 41-point explosion. He’s scored 14 points or more in every game following the contest, including two 30-point showings, one being the Red Raiders’ most recent game against Colorado.
Junior forward Darrion Williams had a standout performance from the painted area as well, scoring 27 points of his own to complement Toppin. The duo dominated on either block, as the 6-foot-6 wing made timely decisions every trip down the floor. If Hurley desires to remedy last time out, defending in the post will be the first order of business.
A notable reason why ASU struggled to defend inside the arc starts with the absence of five-star freshman forward Jayden Quaintance. The 6-foot-9 rim protector averages 2.62 blocks per game, a record good for eighth in the nation. As a dominant interior force, his shot-blocking and mobility make him the perfect matchup for both Williams and Toppin.
Unfortunately, ASU might continue suffering from the same issue.
Quaintance has been dealing with a right knee injury for multiple weeks and is not expected to play in this contest. He’s missed three consecutive games, having not played since the Sun Devils' previous win against Kansas State, when he scored 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting with seven rebounds. Without their uber-talented 17-year-old, the team unlocks just a fraction of its true potential, and stopping the dynamic Texas Tech duo with a minimal rotation of wings and bigs adds up to a concerning storyline.
There are benefactors for the Sun Devils' injury woes and missing pieces, as other players have been prompted to take the reins, including three freshman guards: five-star Joson Sanon, mid-season acquisition Trevor Best, and forward Amier Ali.
Sanon has embraced the "microwave scorer" role at an unprecedented level. During non-conference play, he was the team's second-leading scorer, averaging as much as 15.9 points per game eight games into the campaign. A New Year’s Eve ankle sprain subsequently derailed the remainder of his season, as the young guard had trouble adjusting to Big 12 basketball for an extended period after returning from injury. Sanon has rediscovered much of his rhythm since entering the starting lineup against No. 25 BYU. Over the previous three games, he’s averaging 21.6 points per game as the standout three-level scorer without Miller and Freeman present.
Ali’s story is similar to Sanon’s in many ways. The freshman failed to make a name for himself early on, transitioning in and out of the rotation for the majority of the year. However, the final stretch of the season has been tremendous for the 6-foot-8 wing's development. He played a season-high 39 minutes Tuesday night against Arizona, and he’s averaging 9.9 points per game over the past eight contests—a stark contrast to his 3.9 points per game through the first 22 games of the season. Last time out against Texas Tech, Ali played a stellar game, scoring a career-high 18 points and hitting four three-pointers off the bench.
Best is a fun story for any Sun Devil fan. The 17-year-old was playing high school basketball in December 2024 before he transferred to the Power Four level from Word of God Christian Academy in North Carolina, the same high school Quaintance graduated from. Best hasn’t been awarded the time or freedom to learn and adjust to the highest levels of college basketball, being thrown into the fire at ASU.
Rather than shy away due to a lack of confidence, the freshman has risen to every challenge asked of him. Against the Cougars, he scored his first points at the college level—and he didn’t just get a small taste. Best scored 18 points, setting a high bar for a career-high. He also boasted seven and six points against Utah and Arizona, setting a standard for himself fresh into his collegiate career despite having an unusual lack of preparation.
ASU and Texas Tech face off in the regular-season finale Saturday at 6 p.m. AZT on ESPNU.
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