After a sluggish start and immense offensive struggles throughout the night, Arizona State still found themselves in a position to steal a win against Baylor at home late Saturday night.
The Sun Devils had regained momentum by completing a double-digit comeback to send the game into overtime.
Yet, with a shortened rotation, ASU couldn’t sustain its resurgent run and ran out of gas against the Bears, dropping their third Big 12 game of the season in a 72-66 loss.
Only mustering a measly 20 points in the first half, it seemed as though a slow offensive start spelled doom for Arizona State on Saturday night against Baylor.
The Devils’ shooting dry spells in the second half against Kansas carried over into the first half against the Bears. Their offense once again went stagnant shooting only 26% from the field through the first 20 minutes.
“You just can’t come out like that, especially at home,” senior guard Adam Miller said. “Have to be juiced up… maybe we got young guys and guys moving up from different conferences, so maybe [they’re] still trying to get a hold of the conference, but you just can’t come out like that.”
But, ASU refused to go down easy.
On the back of a stifling press and a sense of renewed energy, the team showcased newfound life in the second half.
“We didn’t do anything special. We just started playing like our hair was on fire,” Miller said. “In the first half, we weren’t doing that. I like our press. I think it sets the tone, especially out the gate.”
Senior guard BJ Freeman led the way in the scorer’s column and added 14 points in the second half. He finished with a game-high 22 points on the night.
Eventually, the Sun Devils clawed back into the game and erased a 15-point deficit to make it a one-possession game in the last minute.
With seven seconds remaining Miller glided down the court and rose to make the game-tying basket to send the crowd into a frenzy and the game into overtime.
BIG BUCKET 😤@AlstonMason cuts the lead to ☝️
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 12, 2025
💻 @ESPNPlus
🔗 https://t.co/uyVCDJgbe2 pic.twitter.com/q7HMxGkuTh
“I knew if I got the ball I was going to shoot it,” Miller said. “So I kind of just tried to get as close as I can [to the basket] and throw it up and put a little touch on it and I knocked it down. I just was ready for it, and knew if I was going to get a chance to tie the game I was going to take the shot.”
However, another dull start plagued the Sun Devils–this time in extra time.
The Bears started hot, scoring the first six points of the overtime period.
Meanwhile, on the other end, Baylor held ASU scoreless through the first four minutes and fifty seconds of overtime to dash Sparky’s hopes of a comeback victory.
“We gotta be able to try and win an ugly game like this,” head coach Bobby Hurley said. “Where we don’t have the best stuff on offense, but we weren’t able to get it done.”
With injuries starting to pile on, including to star freshman guard Joson Sanon who was held on a minutes restriction tonight, the Sun Devils are encountering adversity at the worst of times: in the heart of Big 12 play.
Additionally, the Sun Devils have dealt with travel issues, such as arriving late in Kansas to play the Jayhawks and flying back early the next morning, which could explain the lack of energy at times throughout the evening.
Hurley acknowledged the difficult circumstances his team experienced but isn’t going to let it justify his team’s flat start.
“We’re going to leave earlier in the day in case something crazy happens,” Hurley said. “But that’s just excuse-making, and I’m trying to just come up with a reason as to why I didn’t see a lot of fire early from the whole group.”
The Sun Devils will look to bounce back on Tuesday, Jan. 12 when they tip off at 9 p.m. MST against the UCF Golden Knights at home.
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