It's finally over, folks. Arizona State's 2024-25 men's basketball season is officially over.
The 15th seeded Sun Devils fell 71-66 to 10-seed Kansas State on Tuesday in the first round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Kansas City.
You can't say they didn't put up a fight, though. The Wildcats led by as much as 13 points in the second half and ASU still managed to close the gap to a respectable single-digit deficit. Senior Alston Mason led the team with 17 points on the night and four total Devils reached double digits, but the injury bug reared its ugly head yet again.
Senior Adam Miller left the game early in the second half with an apparent foot injury, leaving head coach Bobby Hurley with just six scholarship players to utilize in his rotation.
Adam Miller's shoe is off on the bench and he seems displeased. He's dealt with a lot in recent weeks between the hip and oblique and now this apparent issue.
— Chris Karpman (@ChrisKarpman) March 12, 2025
ASU hoops season marred by injuries and preventable mistakes
Besides losing Miller mid-game on Tuesday, the Sun Devils entered the Big 12 tournament without freshman phenom Jayden Quaintance who went down with an ankle injury in February.
The team also lost this season's leading scorer, BJ Freeman, after he was dismissed by Hurley for conduct detrimental. With a severely shorthanded bench, it was quite the grind for ASU.
Several of the team's losses this year were entirely winnable, even down to the final moments. Quaintance missed two free throws that could've won ASU's first matchup with Kansas State, and many other occasions the Sun Devils blew multi-possession leads.
Fans may have already heard the news that Hurley is expected to return to Tempe for the 2025-26 season. It'll be his 11th season at the helm and there will be high expectations to make sure this year was just an unlucky fluke.
Whether or not you agree with the apparent decision to bring Hurley back, there really isn't much else out there besides blowing everything up and starting over from scratch. Hurley recruited a solid roster and the on-court chemistry wasn't even poor. If he can do that again to replace the departing seniors, there's a significant chance things will turn around.
It's best to just keep moving forward now, however. This year stunk but it's finally over.