Arizona State aims to deepen Colorado's Big 12 misery

Field Level Media|published: Mon 27th January, 21:12 2025

NCAA Basketball: Iowa State at Arizona State

Jan 25, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Nate Heise (0) guards Arizona State Sun Devils guard BJ Freeman (10) during the first half at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Arizona State enjoyed a fast start to the season but has slowed down during Big 12 conference play.

However, the Sun Devils (11-8, 2-6 Big 12) recently snapped a four-game conference skid and can secure their second win in three games when they visit a slumping Colorado team in Boulder, Colo., on Tuesday night.

Arizona State notched an 81-61 home win in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 4 in Tempe, Ariz., before hitting its rough patch. The Sun Devils have played better of late, beating then-No. 23 West Virginia 65-57 on Jan. 21 and taking a late lead against No. 3 Iowa State on Saturday before the Cyclones pulled away for a 76-61 win.

"We're starting to figure some things out, but ultimately you've got to win," Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said after Saturday's loss. "There's no moral victories."

The Sun Devils average 73.5 points a game with a balanced offense. Five players have a double-digit scoring average, led by BJ Freeman (13 points per game). Joson Sanon (12.5), Basheer Jihad (12.4), Alston Mason (11.3) and Jayden Quaintance (10.3) round out the quintet.

Quaintance, who averages a team-best 8.5 rebounds per game, is dealing with an injury suffered at practice on Friday. He played against Iowa State but managed only nine points in 17 minutes before fouling out.

Colorado (9-10, 0-8) is off to its worst start to begin a conference season since it was part of the Big 8 in 1992-93. The picture might get worse for the Buffaloes, who face three ranked teams over their next seven games.

"I've been through this before, but I don't think many of our players have," coach Tad Boyle said. "As a coach, it doesn't matter if you're winning. It doesn't matter if you're losing. Your challenge is the same. You want your team to improve. Hopefully day-to-day. Certainly week-to-week and month-to-month."

Colorado is a young team with just four seniors and two juniors. Julian Hammond III (13.9 ppg) and Andrej Jakimovski (10.9) are the only two players averaging double figures while the Buffaloes' other two seniors, Elijah Malone (9.2) and Trevor Baskin (8.7) rank third and fourth in scoring.

--Field Level Media

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