HOUSTON – On Wednesday night, Arizona State competed until the final minute with the No. 1-ranked Arizona Wildcats, demonstrating that it could punch above its weight class. Just four days later, ASU couldn’t hang with the No. 7-ranked team in the land – not even for two minutes.
It only took a pair of minutes for the Cougars to blitz the Sun Devils, burying threes, forcing turnovers and swallowing up ASU’s offense to jump out to a 9-0 lead.
It served as a precursor to the night to come.
By the time a befuddled Bobby Hurley called his first timeout of the game, ASU begrudingly peered up toward the scoreboard above, its light emanating the score of the cavernous hole it had dug itself into – a 17-2 deficit.
The Houston Cougars (17-1, 5-0 Big 12) served the Arizona State Sun Devils (10-8, 1-4 Big 12) a 103-73 loss at the Fertitta Center on Sunday evening, sprinting to an early lead and refusing to look back.
“That was embarrassing,” ASU guard Noah Meeusen said about the Sun Devils’ slow start. “That just set the tone for the whole game. We’ve got to come out better. I feel like that’s something that’s typical for us, coming out soft.”
Start fast.
— Houston Men's Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) January 18, 2026
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Giveaways plagued the Maroon and Gold throughout the contest, as they committed four turnovers in the first five minutes. They proved extra costly for ASU in the first half, surrendering 12 giveaways in the first 20 minutes, leading to 22 Houston first-half points. Ultimately, Sparky cleaned up its turnover issues in the second half. Still, it finished with 17 turnovers on the night.
While the Cougars brought their signature defensive prowess, their offensive efficiency took center stage on Sunday night, making it difficult for the Sun Devils to claw back into the game. Houston shot 50% from beyond the arc and 55% from the field in the first half. Furthermore, it crashed the offensive glass, snatching eight offensive rebounds to create a bevy of second-chance points.
It instituted a balanced offensive attack, with only one player, freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr., reaching double figures in a 56-point first half for Houston.
In multiple instances, the ball zipped around the floor gracing the hands of multiple Cougars before leading to a wide-open look. The hosts were always one pass ahead and ASU was one rotation late, leading to another dreadful defensive display for the Sun Devils.
In total, five Houston players finished in double figures, with the squad tallying 22 assists.
Freshman guard Kingston Flemmings led the way for the Cougars, ending with a game-high 20 points to lead the home team past the century mark on Sunday night.
KINGSTON AND ONE
— Houston Men's Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) January 19, 2026
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Meanwhile, ASU struggled to develop a rhythm offensively early, shooting just 11-for-30 in the first half. Its stagnant offense couldn’t create open shots as Houston’s defense hounded the Sun Devils on the perimeter. At one point, the Cougars’ lead had ballooned to 33 points. Eventually, Arizona State found more success, getting out in transition and scoring points in the fast break off Houston turnovers.
On the back of a 14-0 run, the Sun Devils cut the deficit to as few as 13 points with just over seven minutes to play.
“We finally started guarding them and getting stops,” Hurley said. “We created some turnovers. We had a few transition baskets. For one part of that game, we actually guarded them well. It was crazy to even imagine that it was even 13 at that point.”
ASU’s response was short-lived, as Houston went with a 13-2 spurt to end the Maroon and Gold’s surge and secure a dominant home victory, handing Arizona State its sixth loss in its last seven games.
The Sun Devils will look to bounce back from their gruesome road trip when they return home to host West Virginia on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m.
For Hurley, getting back to winning basketball requires the Sun Devils — who have given up an average of 95 points per game across their last five games — to tighten up defensively.
“There’s got to be more resistance,” Hurley said. “There’s got to be more fight. There’s got to be more toughness. There’s got to be better effort on that end (defensive) of the floor. … If we revert back to playing the way we played tonight, then this is just going to happen over and over again.”
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