Arizona State basketball hasn't beaten an AP-ranked Top Five team since upsetting then-Nos. 1 and 2 Kansas in back-to-back seasons 2017 and 2018. It looked like that drought might end on Saturday against No. 3 Iowa State in a Big 12 clash down in Tempe.
However, it was not to be as the Devils couldn't hold on to their largest lead at one point (7 points) and let the Cyclones storm back for a 76-61 survival road win. In fact, Desert Financial Arena felt like it was transported to Ames, Iowa at times with hundreds of ISU fans making their voices heard when the 942 Crew went silent.
ASU won't have many more opportunities against championship-caliber opponents and Saturday the Cyclones were certainly vulnerable. So what went wrong?
Three reasons ASU couldn't pull of the upset against No. 3 Iowa State
The Devils owned a 40-33 lead heading into the halftime locker room after surging ahead late in the first frame. However, the team was outscored by a whopping 43-21 margin after that, wiping out any semblance of an upset bid. Mistakes were made and head coach Bobby Hurley will need to fix them moving forward.
Jayden Quaintance just could not play his game
ASU's freshman sensation was held to just nine points and two rebounds, effectively boxing him out as a factor in the team's plans. Joson Sanon, the other freshman powerhouse on the roster, made his return to play from an extensive ankle injury but could only muster eight points off the bench. Iowa State's ability to take both Quaintance and Sanon out of the game forced others to pick up their slack and that led to sloppy play.
Turnovers killed the Devils once again
ASU committed 18 turnovers which resulted in 17 points for the Cyclones (the final score reflected a 15 point deficit). If the Sun Devils had taken care of the ball better then the game would've likely had a much different outcome. Iowa State's fast-break and transition offense forced ASU into low-percentage shot selection down the stretch which only solidified its hold on the game.
Nobody came up clutch in crunch time
The lead in this matchup see-sawed multiple times until the final five minutes of regulation when the Cyclones pulled away on a 9-0 run. ASU couldn't recover from that surge and with playmakers like Quaintance and Sanon canceled out, nobody else successfully stepped up. Adam Miller led the Devils with 13 points, which is a rare sight. Iowa State's Josh Jefferson logged a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, most of them coming within the final minutes of the game.
The team's chances at making the NCAA Tournament continue to dwindle with each loss incurred. ASU (11-8) has now lost seven of its last 10 games and only a miracle run in the Big 12 Conference tournament seems to be the lone path to the postseason for the Devils.