Arizona State basketball lost its’ fifth consecutive home loss on Tuesday night, falling 71-70 to Kansas State.
A game of swings turned into excitement at Desert Financial Arena. Potentially nervous excitement, as the Sun Devils struggled against a current Quad 3 opponent.
Both teams traded blows in the final two minutes before Kansas State got a four-point lead. After an old-fashioned three from senior guard Alston Mason, and a Wildcat turnover, the fans hopefully rose to their feet with the Sun Devils down by one.
That hope turned into an opportunity as freshman forward Jayden Quaintance was fouled with 4.1 seconds left as he attempted his signature two-handed slam.
First free throw. Off the back iron.
After a glance at the feet and a glance at the ball, Quaintance reset.
Second free throw. Same place, and rebounded by the visitors.
The Wildcat faithful clad in purple throughout the arena cheered as their team picked up their fourth consecutive conference win.
“Jayden has had such a great season for us,” Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley said. “(For) such a young player, it’s a lot to put on his shoulders to make those at that moment. But there were a lot of other things that happened that we would’ve been in a better position to win this game.”
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
Takeaway #1: Wildcats right early shooting woes with stunners
This game featured two teams that were trending in opposite directions. Arizona State basketball had lost its last four home games, all in conference. Kansas State had won its past three games, most recently beating then-No. 3 Iowa State on the road.
The first moments yielded much different and opposite results for both teams, as the Maroon and Gold led 18-2 nine minutes into the contest. The Wildcats started 0-for-10 from the field, but the first half stats did not indicate early struggles. In fact, they went 46.7% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc, as senior guard Max Jones knocked down a triple to give them a 35-32 halftime lead over the hosts.
On the other hand, the Sun Devils made 31.3% of their field goal attempts and 28% of triple tries. Although, this included shooting 25 times. Overall, the Wildcats made five more baskets. While the hosts rebounded with a 14-for-21 showing from the free-throw line, it was not enough to propel them to victory.
“Kudos to K-State,” Mason said. “You know, they’re a good team…I felt like towards the first half, we were kinda settling for threes a lot. But they were wide open. We just gotta step up and make those shots…All of us gotta step up.”
Takeaway #2: The puzzling case of the Sun Devil freshmen
Even before the missed free throws, Quaintance middled around the court. His first field goal did not come until 3:35 remaining in the second half. He finished the day with a decent 10 rebounds, but also three points, his lowest showing since the season opener on Nov. 4 against Idaho State. He has also not reached double figures in the past three games.
Quaintance’s tawdry play was seen offensively through Arizona State basketball’s 16 points in the paint (with only four coming in the first half) and defensively through Kansas State’s 20 fast break points. He also picked up four fouls.
The 17-year-old’s fellow freshman, guard Joson Sanon, continued his struggles from the start of non-conference play. While starting to click in the second half, he finished the game with five points, going 2-for-11 from the field and 1-for-5 from beyond the arc. This included missing an attempt that would have given the lead with about a minute left.
“There’s some guys maybe that are older, you can just plug them right back in, and they don’t miss a beat,” Hurley said, on trying to get his four-star recruit back into a rhythm. “(With Joson) it’s like ‘how do I fit into this now?’ This is a new team.”
Freshman guard/forward Amier Ali saw copious minutes during Arizona State basketball’s stretch with the lead, but only went 1-for-5, with all shot attempts coming from three-point land. All of the freshmen had to step up down the stretch with redshirt senior guard Adam Miller ejected by head referee Tony Padilla after a physical altercation with Kansas State’s junior guard Dug McDaniel.
Takeaway #3: A big Sun Devil calamity in the Big 12
As fans headed towards the exit, the song ‘Viva La Vida’ by Coldplay. The song revolves around a protagonist that “used to rule the world.”
The Sun Devils never ruled the world, nor the NCAA, (although Hurley’s brother has experience with that). But they did have confidence and hope at the beginning of the season. Four freshmen, including the youngest player in college basketball who happened to be a five-star recruit.
A new forward and guards that replaced the graduates and departures of Frankie Collins, who is now at TCU. It was a seamless transition after the confusion of last season. This team had one goal in mind: Get back to the NCAA tournament.
Through non-conference play, the Maroon and Gold looked in rhythm, with Sanon leading the way in points. Not only were the starters energized, but the bench was as well. Their only losses came against Top 10 opponents at the time.
Then conference play started.
From Sanon and others missing time with injury, or junior center Shawn Phillips Jr. missing Tuesday night due to illness, the fluidity decreased. Add in tougher competition, and tensions against opponents, and the team has taken a fall in morale, with two ejections in the past two games.
“I don’t know if the game on Saturday just takes so much out of you emotionally that you can’t just answer the bell again in three days,” Hurley said about Miller’s ejection. “But here we go again. We’re making excuses.”
Arizona State basketball finally has a bad loss on its resume. That row can be filled on the next Big 12 power rankings. Its tournament bubble might have popped too.
‘Might,’ be an honest word.
Up next for Arizona State basketball (12-10, 3-8): at Oklahoma State (11-11, 3-8) – Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. EST
Up next for Kansas State basketball (11-11, 5-6): vs. No. 16 Kansas (16-6, 7-4) – Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. EST