Arizona State (10-3, 1-1) controlled the action from the opening whistle against the Buffaloes (9-4, 0-2), claiming their first conference victory of the season. They led for 39 minutes in the dominant 81-61 victory. A 13-0 scoring run put together by Arizona State in the first half followed by a 10-2 run in the second created the separation necessary to put Colorado away. Head Coach Bobby Hurley’s team shot 52% overall and made 13 three point field goals in the victory.
Four Sun Devils managed to reach double-digit figures tonight, with senior guard/forward BJ Freemanpacing the offensive attack. He finished with 19 points – connecting on 8-of-12 from the field – while also dishing out four assists. Senior forward Basheer Jihadfound his rhythm from beyond the arc today, finishing with 17 points thanks in large part to a 4-of-6 mark from deep. Freshman forward Jayden Quaintance put together another double-double, finishing with 11 points and 10 boards while shooting 5-of-9 from the field. Freshman Amier Ali came off the bench and was able to cash in at the free throw line, knocking down 7-of-7 attempts from the stripe in a 10-point effort.
Hot Start
The Sun Devils got off to a terrific start, holding a 13-point lead at halftime. The last time ASU led by such a margin at the break in conference play was Feb. 19, 2023 vs Oregon State (42-29).
Dominant Devils
Arizona State won by 20 points, the largest margin of victory in conference play since a 71-44 home victory over California on March 3, 2022. The Maroon and Gold have outscored opponents 161-114 in their past two home games, good for an average margin of victory of 23.5 points per win.
Holding Hammond Down
A big key to ASU’s success was limiting Colorado guard Julian Hammond II. he leads the team in points, averaging 13.8 on the season. Arizona State completely shut him down, as he finished with 0 points on 0-of-7 shooting from the field.
Successful Strategy
One of the game plans for Arizona State was to take away Colorado’s perimeter scoring. Buffaloes frontline of forward Trevor Baskin and center Elijah Malone combined for 31 points, shooting 13-22 (59%) from the field and 0-1 from beyond the arc. The other eight players combined for 30 points, shooting 10-44 (23%) from the field and 3-23 (13%) from beyond the arc.
Difference Maker
Entering the contest, Arizona State and Colorado were both tied in the Top-60 nationally shooting 36.7% from three-point range. In today’s matchup, Arizona State shot 13-of-28 (46%) while Colorado shot 3-of-24 (13%) from deep. It is the fifth time this season ASU has made double digit three-point shots and they are 5-0 in those contests. This was the Buffaloes’ lowest three field-goal percentage in a game since they shot 1-9 (11%) against Brown on November 22, 2021.
80-Point Mark
The Sun Devils scored 80 points or more for the eighth time through 13 games this season after doing it only six times in 32 games last year. ASU is 7-1 when reaching the 80-point mark, with their only loss coming at No. 19 Gonzaga.
Running Away
– Arizona State put together a 9-0 run after trailing 6-5 to take an early lead
– They then went on a 13-0 run over a 2:26 stretch in the first half to push their lead to 23 points
– A 10-2 run at the beginning of the second half erased any hope of a Colorado comeback
Block Party
Freshman Jayden Quaintance has recorded 41 blocks thus far in the 2024-2025 season, which is the third-most of any player in the nation. He has already surpassed Pac-12 career blocks leader Jordan Bachynski on the ASU freshman single-season blocks list. Quaintance has the second-most blocks in a single season by a freshman in program history and has done it in only 13 games. He has two or more blocks in 12 of 13 games this year, including six 4+ block performances.
First Half
Adam Miller opens the night with a contested jay beyond the arc to give the Sun Devils their first points of the night, leading 3-2 over the Buffaloes. BJ Freeman found Jayden Quaintance in the paint for an easy layup to increase Arizona State’s lead to 10-6 with 17:29 remaining. The Sun Devils held onto a 13-6 lead over Colorado heading into the first media timeout of the half.
Alston Mason found BJ Freeman for a catch-and-shoot beyond the arc, giving Arizona State a 17-8 lead with 13:00 remaining. Shawn Phillips Jr. got physical in the paint and managed to put the ball in the basket, giving the Sun Devils a 19-8 lead over the Buffaloes heading into the second media timeout.
Alston Mason managed to blow by his defender for a floater inside the paint to boost Arizona State’s lead to 24-11 with 9:32 left in the first half. In the span of 2:26, the Sun Devils put together a 13-0 scoring run, giving the Sun Devils a comfortable 32-11 lead with 7:49 remaining.
Shawn Phillips outspan his defender for a grown-man slam, increasing Arizona State’s lead margin to 21. The Sun Devils held onto a 38-17 lead with 3:15 remaining in the first half.
The Buffaloes managed to put together a 10-0 scoring run, forcing the Sun Devils to take a timeout to regroup while still holding onto a 40-27 lead with 44 seconds left. Arizona State closed out the first half holding onto a promising 40-27 lead over Colorado.
Second Half
BJ Freeman opened up the second half knocking down a jumper outside the key and a jay beyond the arc, giving the Sun Devils a 45-27 lead. Jayden Quaintance cleaned up the offensive board and finished at the rim contested, increasing Arizona State’s lead to 52-32 heading into a media timeout with 15:24 remaining in regulation.
BJ Freeman continued to roll and got to work in the paint, finishing a fade-away jumper, bringing Arizona State’s lead to 55-34. The Sun Devils held onto a 55-37 lead over the Buffaloes with 11:53 left in regulation.
Alston Mason found Basheer Jihad for another treyball to give ASU their biggest lead of the night at 61-39. Adam Miller was able to create enough space for a knock-down treyball, giving the Sun Devils a 68-44 lead with 7:56 left in regulation.
Arizona State used the clock to their advantage until the last media timeout of regulation, holding onto a 73-54 lead over Colorado with 3:33 remaining.
Coming out of the media timeout, Basheer Jihad knocked down his fourth three of the game, increasing the Sun Devils lead to 76-55. Jayden Quaintance found Amier Ali in the corner for a catch-and-shoot three, bringing Arizona State’s lead to 81-59. The Sun Devils ran out the remainder of the clock and came out with a 81-61 win over the Buffaloes.
Up Next
Arizona State Men’s Basketball will be heading to Lawrence, Kansas where they will take on No. 7 Kansas on January 8th at 7:00 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN2.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Connor Smith
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