Arizona State basketball falls to No. 6 Gonzaga 84-78 on Sunday Night on the road at McCarthey Athletic Center.
On Oct. 27, the Sun Devils lost 103-47 to No. 7 Duke in an exhibition at Cameron Indoor Stadium. A highlight of the year for most teams, it was one of the many stops the Sun Devils will make to legendary college basketball cathedrals this season.
The Maroon and Gold’s trip to the Kennel was better, but they could still not find the monumental victory. The Bulldogs (2-0) finished the game on a 29-17 run to avoid the upset against Arizona State (2-1).
“They showed a lot of guts,” Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley told reporters after the game. “(It was) a tough environment. I think we probably lost four or five offensive possessions of offense just because we could not hear anything. We couldn’t get everybody on the same page. I think in opportunities like this, there are opportunities to grow from it.”
Here are three takeaways from Sunday afternoon’s game.
Takeaway #1: A good teaser for the rest of the season
The Sun Devils’ road trips do not just take them to legendary arenas, but also to face tough teams. In fact, they have eight games against Top 25 opponents and 15 against teams receiving Top 25 votes. Most of these games happen in-conference. A drastic change from their time in the Pac-12.
Arizona State’s showing against Gonzaga was its best against a Top 10 opponent since Feb. 26, 2023, an 89-88 win over No. 7 Arizona courtesy of a buzzer-beater by Desmond Cambridge Jr. It was the first time the Maroon and Gold had a single-digit loss on the road to a Top 10 opponent (not including Arizona) since Jan. 11, 2020, with a 78-69 loss to No. 9 Oregon.
These results, especially early on in the season, can get the Sun Devils ready for Big 12 play. They were projected to finish 12th in the conference. If Hurley’s side can turn competition against premier teams into wins, they can show the nation that they can compete and be better than their preseason ranking.
“I think if our players recognize that if we can compete and play against a team like that at this level that there’s certainly a lot of hope to become a really good basketball team,” Hurley said.
Takeaway #2: Jihad makes his presence felt
Basheer Jihad frightened some Sun Devil fans with his first looks of the night.
The senior forward attempted multiple three-pointers, mostly from the top of the key. While he did get one triple in the second half, he started to find a rhythm, working against defenders to find points down low.
Jihad ended the day with a double-double–22 points and 10 rebounds. He also went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. It is his first double-double of the season, and it came after scoring 0 points against Idaho State on Tuesday and five points against Santa Clara on Friday.
“He really battled on the backboard, did a lot of dirty work, came up with some tough baskets and got us to the free-throw line,” Hurley said on Jihad. “He had a really nice game.”
Arizona State fans could be in for more performances like these from Jihad as the season goes on. He had nine double-doubles last season at Ball State.
Takeaway #3: Mason and Freeman drive to the rack
Guard play has been great to start off this season for Arizona State, and it was the case again on Sunday. Senior guard Alston Mason had 19 points and senior guard/forward BJ Freeman had 12.
Hurley’s side shot 48% from the floor and 31% from beyond the arc. Solid numbers overall. Better field goal percentage, but worse from three-point land. Arizona State had only eight assists, while Gonzaga had 22.
Individual drives to the bucket became common in the waning moments of the game. The Bulldogs were able to find moments to transition, leading to multiple wide open triples, and a couple alley oops that electrified the Gonzaga student section that was parallel to the sideline.
“They have really good interior players and they have great shooters and they got great guard play,” Hurley said. “We tried to pressure them and turn them over. We just couldn’t.”
To try to keep up, Arizona State attempted to drive for the layup. In the last two minutes, fans saw a sequence of Mason getting a layup, Hurley most likely calling a timeout, and then his players fouling their opponent. The 1-on-1 production was solid for the Sun Devils late. It was just too little.
Additionally, the nine three-pointers made throughout the game helped spark some energy for the visitors, with most of them tying of giving Arizona State the lead. It was not perfect, but it put pressure on the Bulldogs, who are now 279-18 at the Kennel.
Up next for Arizona State: vs. Grand Canyon (2-0)– Nov. 14 at 9 p.m. EST
Up next for Gonzaga: vs. UMass Lowell (2-0)– Nov. 15 at 10 p.m. EST