The Territorial Cup returned to Tempe on Wednesday night, as Arizona State hosted No. 6 Arizona in the final Pac-12 matchup in the rivalry’s history.
The Maroon and Gold were already embarrassed once this season against Wednesday’s opponent. In the first meeting against their in-state rival, losing 105-60 in Tucson, which was the worst Territorial Cup loss in Sun Devil men’s basketball history.
Additionally, the Sun Devils celebrated their four seniors in front of their largest home crowd of the season, with 14,129 people inside Desert Financial Arena. They wanted to win for their fans, their seniors, and to get revenge.
While the scoreline improved from the beatdown on Feb. 17, Arizona State still fell to its in-state rival, losing 85-67. The defeat marked the second time in three years that the Maroon and Gold was swept by its State 48 foe.
“In my nine years here, this is most likely the best Arizona team that I’ve faced,” Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley said. “They’re a really good team. So, they deserve the credit for outplaying us in this game.”
The visitors seized momentum from the start, making life uncomfortable for the hosts. They forced Hurley to burn two early timeouts and held the Sun Devils scoreless for six minutes. Hurley’s side found a rhythm holding up play to find an open player towards the latter parts of the first half. Nonetheless, they trailed 41-27 at the end of 20 minutes.
The Maroon and Gold came out of the locker room on an 8-0 run. With the crowd behind them, the home side pressured their in-state rivals, hoping to take the lead.
Arizona State played the last eleven minutes in the bonus and scored 40 points in the final 20 minutes. But Arizona held its advantage, leading the hosts by at least five points throughout the second half. The team from Tucson finished the game on a 15-5 run to seal the road victory.
“I didn’t go into the game thinking they were 2024 Western Conference All-Stars,” redshirt junior guard Adam Miller said. “At the end of the day, they’re college players just like us…You line up on the line and you gotta play.”
The Wildcats shot 32-for-59 from the field while the Sun Devils went 21-for-60. The visitors also torched their opponent in transition, winning the fast-break battle 18-7. They also won the assist battle 18-9.
Because of the physical demand of the rivalry, fouls and free-throw shooting were prevalent on both sides. Arizona recorded 19 fouls while Arizona State picked up 16. Additionally, the Wildcats edged the Sun Devils from the free-throw line. They went 13-for-18 while the team from Tempe went 18-for-25.
On the other side, the Maroon and Gold won the turnover battle 14-8 and recorded seven steals while their opponent posted five.
But the play down low ultimately propelled the visitors to victory. The Wildcats scored 24 more points in the paint than the Sun Devils and won the rebound battle 43-30.
Redshirt senior center Oumar Ballo led the Wildcats’ charge in both categories. He scored 14 points and logged 13 rebounds. The Pac-12 Preseason Player of the Year registered his 14th double-double of the season with Wednesday night’s performance.
While Ballo dominated in the paint, sophomore guard Kylan Boswell played a more dynamic role. He drove to the basket for layups and mid-range jumpers, going 3-for-4 on three-point attempts. The Champaign, Illinois native finished his night leading his team in points with 17.
The Wildcats’ other three starters also hit double-digit point totals. Senior guard Caleb Love had 16, senior guard Pelle Larsson recorded 12, and senior forward Keshad Johnson scored 10, which included finishing an alley-oop that sent the home crowd toward the exits.
On the other side, Miller led the Sun Devils with 16 points, split evenly between halves. His craftiness kickstarted his team’s second-half runs. The LSU transfer’s shot-making abilities also energized the crowd.
“(Hurley) said he felt like we were gonna come out on a run,” Miller said. “I think I got the first bucket at half. I think I was kind of ready to go…We sparked the place up. We just gotta finish.”
Miller’s fellow guards shined in various ways. Junior Frankie Collins scored 15 points, netting four triples on nine attempts. Graduate Jose Perez, who was one of the seniors honored before the game, had 14 points and went 8-for-11 from the free-throw line. Junior guard/forward Jamiya Neal aided with 12 points, going 4-for-6 on free throws and stealing the ball twice. Neal and Perez also grabbed five boards each.
Hurley’s son, junior guard Bobby Hurley Jr., received his first start in his time at Arizona State in honor of senior night. Hurley Jr., who will depart the squad after this season, played for a few minutes before being replaced by Miller.
“Forget about winning basketball games, making shots, winning a championship, or breaking an assist record; That means nothing,” Hurley said about his son. “He’s a far better human being than I am. So that’s all that I could hope for.”
The Sun Devils (14-15, 8-10 in Pac-12) head to Los Angeles to finish the regular season. First, Arizona State will face USC (11-16, 5-11 in Pac-12) on Thursday Mar. 7 and then UCLA (14-13, 9-7 in Pac-12) on Saturday Mar. 9. Both games will be at 9 p.m. MST.
Although Hurley’s side has played subpar after appearing in last year’s NCAA Tournament, the Sun Devils’ head coach believes his team can rebound after Wednesday night’s “dose of reality” against Arizona.
“We didn’t play anywhere near to an A or A-plus game which was totally necessary, and there’s a lot of freaking bad teams in college basketball,” Hurley said. “Our players have competed through a lot of adversity this year, and they haven’t quit. So, I’m happy with my team.”
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