It didn’t take long for the rivalry in the 249th matchup between the Sun Devils and Wildcats to leave its footprint on an emotional and physical matchup.
Arizona State (12-9, 3-7) put forth a worthy effort, but ultimately crumbled down the stretch as Arizona (15-6, 9-1) pulled away late to win 81-72.
The biggest story, however, wasn’t the play on the court. It was the dramatics in the moments before the final whistle.
Senior guard BJ Freeman allegedly head-butted Wildcats’ senior guard Caleb Love, leading to both players being ejected. With 30 seconds on the clock, head coach Bobby Hurley cleared his bench and sent his team and staff to the locker room. Hurley pointed and shouted at Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd and both teams did not shake hands.
“If you were right near our bench, it was relentless, constant chatter from a couple of Arizona players that was not being policed properly,” Hurley explained postgame. “Of course, they are going to be happy with winning, but it was done with no class, in my opinion. The words that were said back and forth led to the moment where Freeman lost it and lost his cool because of the constant talk that was allowed to go on.”
Hurley said the decision to not shake hands with the Wildcats was “to avoid any further confrontation at the end of the game.”
Freeman led the team with 19 points, three rebounds and three assists. He added four three-pointers before being ejected for the second time this season. Senior guard Adam Miller added 16 points.
Both sides let the rivalry emotions get the better of them in the first half. Arizona shot 33% while ASU managed just 31% from the field and 4-of-17 from three-point land.
Freeman hit a pair of transition three-pointers from the wing in quick succession, generating a 9-0 run over two minutes all by himself. The crowd came to its feet, and the back-and-forth affair was on, even with some limited offensive output all around.
Hurley was assessed a technical foul that helped Arizona tie the game 21-21. Just like that, Hurley’s black tie was stripped from his collar and launched from the arena just 15 minutes in.
Love buried a three just before the half to give the Wildcats a slim 35-34 advantage into the locker room. Despite garnering more free throw attempts and winning the turnover battle, the Sun Devils trailed due to poor and rushed shot selection.
In the second half, senior forward Basheer Jihad came out hot with a deep three and a pair of dunks. The packed Desert Financial Arena crowd peaked as the Sun Devils led by five after the first few minutes. Then, the Wildcats turned up the heat.
Arizona went into a full-court press, which created several turnovers and fast-break points. Love rode the defensive momentum and knocked down four three-pointers in the second half. He finished with a game-high 27 points.
ASU made a run again to tie the game with a long-range three from Miller. Freshman forward Jayden Quaintance threw down a thunderous dunk over an Arizona big man in hopes of swinging all the momentum toward the Sun Devils, tied at 62-62.
However, the big play from the freshman didn’t carry over any offensive flow down the stretch. Arizona closed the game on an 18-10 run and owned the offensive glass to keep the ball away from ASU. The Wildcats pulled in 18 offensive boards and outscored the Sun Devils 32-14 in the paint.
Hurley emphasized his frustration at the lack of calls around Quaintance and how Arizona defended him, making it even more challenging to rebound.
“I have to do a better job of teaching my post players how to dislodge a player and just move him as far under the basket as possible, into the cheerleader sometimes, as your players drive to the basket,” Hurley said, leaving his seat and standing to illustrate his frustration. “It must be nice to [have] someone to pave the road for you like that. Where you literally just wipe out a defender and take him out of any type of help defense because it’s basically a moving screen that’s allowed. It’s been happening way too often for me not to say that that is part of the reason that we can’t get an offensive rebound.”
Miller, who was sick and away from the team most of the week, said he wants to take on a bigger leadership role moving forward. He also said he will host a players-only meeting tomorrow in hopes of helping the team turn a corner.
“Good teams find a way to win. Bad teams find a way to lose,” Miller said. “Winning solves everything … I’m at a point in my career where I gotta be able to win and lead … You know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna go tomorrow, I’m gonna sit my teammates down and we’re gonna have a meeting. That’s what I’m gonna do.”
The altercation between Freeman and Love at the end of the game did not sit well with Hurley. He threw a parting shot at the Arizona star at the end of his postgame availability.
“I get a vote for [Big 12] All-Conference,” Hurley said. “And I can tell you who’s not getting [my] vote. You can read into that. I’m sure you might know who I’m thinking of.”
Arizona has now won four straight against Arizona State and each of the previous five matchups in Tempe. The last win for the Sun Devils in the series was in Tucson in 2023 when Desmond Cambridge Jr. sank a half-court buzzer-beater to take down the Wildcats.
The Sun Devils will stay home to regroup before welcoming a surging Kansas State team to Tempe on Tuesday night, who took down No. 3 Iowa State on the road in blowout fashion.
Leave a Reply