With the top six teams in the Pac-12 within one game of each other, the race for the Pac-12 continues to grow as the calendar flips to February.
Two of them, Arizona State and Stanford (who are both 5-4 in the Pac-12) faced off at Desert Financial Arena Thursday night. The Sun Devils won the first contest 76-73 on the road in comeback fashion.
The close results continued in the rematch, with the Cardinal exacting their revenge. The visitors won 71-62, handing the Sun Devils their second home loss of the season.
“Tough loss, guys,” Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley said. “We were right in the hunt, right there. We got outplayed on both ends of the floor in the last five [to ten] minutes.”
Hurley’s side started with a 9-0 lead, going 3/4 from behind the arc to start the game. However, the Cardinal responded, trailing the hosts 14-10 at the first media timeout.
That scoreline continued until the end of the first half, with Arizona State leading 33-29. The offense looked stagnant at times. But it looked electric as well, including a dunk down the middle from junior guard Frankie Collins with seconds remaining in the opening half.
The two sides traded runs in the second half. Stanford pulled a 12-2 run out of the break going into the first media timeout.
Between the first two media timeouts, the Sun Devils responded, leading 58-52 at the next official stoppage.
With the home crowd behind them, Hurley’s side showed their chemistry towards the end of the run. Graduate guard Jose Perez found junior guard/forward Jamiya Neal for an alley-oop, which was slammed down with the Ohioan’s right hand. Later, Collins threw a behind-the-back pass to redshirt junior guard Adam Miller.
But, the long Cardinal personnel bolstered its approach, forcing missed shots from the Sun Devils. Likewise, the offense dominated in the paint. They finished the game on a 19-4 run in the last eight minutes, picking up their first victory in Tempe since 2018.
“I think we were getting makeable shots, I think they just weren’t falling,” Neal said. “Stanford, they’re a tall team, they’re a big team. So, sometimes, they can take away certain stuff by just being there and putting their arms up.”
While the Sun Devils bested the Cardinal in the shooting categories during the first half, they ended second best at the end of 40 minutes. Stanford shot 43% from the field compared to Arizona State’s 38, and 30% from beyond the arc while the hosts shot 25%. The squad from Palo Alto also went 13 for 17 from the line while the Maroon and Gold went 8 for 13.
The Cardinal also outrebounded the Sun Devils 45-33 and won the points in the paint battle 32-26.
Stanford displayed a three-pronged attack through the three players that reached double-digit points. Senior forward Brandon Angel frequently drove to the Sun Devils’ basket, slithering past defenders en route to a 19-point performance. He also grabbed 10 rebounds, achieving his first double-double of the season.
Like Angel, junior forward Maxime Raynaud also had a double-double. He starred with 12 points and 17 rebounds. Standing at seven feet one inch, the Frenchman lurked in the paint, racking up second-chance points late in the game.
This included a putback to give the Cardinal a 61-60 lead, which they did not give back to the Sun Devils. His two-handed slam in the last minute cemented the road victory and sent the home crowd toward the exits.
Graduate guard Michael Jones shined from long range. He logged 18 points, going five for seven on three-point attempts.
While four Sun Devils reached double digits, they did not have perfect performances. Graduate guard Jose Perez once again led the team in points, scoring 14. Although it was less than his outings in Oregon last weekend, where he scored 20 against the Ducks and 19 against the Beavers.
Neal logged 12 points but scored 10 of them in the first half. His one-handed slam was his only offensive impact in the second half.
Collins also had 12 points, along with six steals. However, he also turned the ball over six times, mostly in transition and on the fast break.
Miller reached double-digits for the first time since the UCLA game, with 10 points. But his impact faded late in the game with the team desperate for points.
Arizona State (11-10, 5-5 in Pac-12) host the California Golden Bears (8-13, 4-6 in Pac-12) this Saturday at 1 p.m. The Maroon and Gold took the first game in Berkeley 71-69 on New Year’s Eve.
Because his starters were fatigued toward the end of the second half, Hurley said he would look to change the personnel, hoping it could show up down the stretch.
“Coaches gotta do a better job,” Hurley said. “We gotta manage the roster better to get the minutes distributed more equitably in some instances.”
Neal, hoping his team can still make a push for a Pac-12 title, believes the Sun Devils can step up on Saturday, erasing their three-game losing streak.
“Just keep looking forward,” Neal said. “The past is in the past. Learn from it and move on. We can’t dwell on it too much.”
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