ASU's postseason hopes on life support after dropping first leg of Territorial Cup

Arizona State put up one of the strongest performances it's had against arch-rival Arizona on Saturday but only for about 35 minutes of the 40-minute game. Multiple lead changes in the second half made for some exciting basketball but the Sun Devils could not manage to hold on, instead collapsing at the worst possible time on both ends of the court for the 81-72 loss.

The focus of the game, however, will fall on the tense final seconds in regulation when BJ Freeman and Arizona's Caleb Love were both ejected for an altercation under the net. The heated moment also prompted head coach Bobby Hurley to decide to send his bench to the locker room early and skip the postgame handshakes.

Despite committing less turnovers than the Wildcats (13-11), Arizona snagged eight steals during the game which led to nine crucial points off turnovers - especially in the final five minutes of regulation which ended up being the decisive deficit.

Freeman led the team with 19 points but the Devils decided to live and die by the three-pointer, chucking up 34 shots from beyond the arc but only sinking 12. That decision cost them dearly in moments when they were only down four points or less and didn't need to avoid fighting in the paint.

ASU's NCAA tournament hopes are dwindling fast with latest loss

Entering Saturday's contest, ASU was considered one of the first four teams outside the field of 68 teams for the NCAA tournament, per CBS Sports bracketologist Jerry Palm. The missed opportunity to down Arizona likely leaves the Devils one loss away from being shut out of the tournament entirely by the selection committee.

"You can’t lose four conference games at home in this conference and expect to be in the picture," Hurley told reporters in his postgame news conference.

At 12-9, ASU would need to catch fire real fast and sustain it for the next five to six weeks to earn an at-large bid. Otherwise the even less likely scenario of winning the Big 12 tournament outright will remain the team's only option of seeing the postseason.

ASU is now 3-7 in the Big 12 with little room to maneuver up the standings without streaking towards the end of the season. The Devils have lost six of their last eight contests as Hurley continues to struggle to find any semblance of consistent play from his guys. Things need to turnaround fast in their next game against Kansas State on Tuesday or fans can go ahead and consider this season a lost cause.