Arizona State played one of its best games of the season in its last meeting with Texas Tech.
Unfortunately, like many of the Sun Devils' best games this season, it wasn't quite enough to win.
ASU (13-17 overall, 4-17 Big 12) hosts No. 9 Texas Tech (23-7, 14-5) at 6 p.m. MST Saturday in rematch of the Red Raiders' 111-106 double-overtime victory over the Sun Devils on Feb. 12 in Lubbock, Texas.
Texas Tech's JT Toppin torched ASU for 41 points and 15 rebounds while Darrion Williams added 27 points in the highest-scoring Big 12 game in the program's history.
Texas Tech already has matched its most Big 12 wins ever (14) and can break that record with a win in Tempe, Arizona. The Red Raiders enter their final regular-season game in second place in the Big 12 behind No. 3 Houston (26-4, 18-1).
Texas Tech can secure the No. 2 seed at next week's Big 12 tournament with a win, while Arizona State will be the No. 15 seed depite the outcome of Saturday's game.
ASU comes into the final game of the regular season at 13-17 overall and 4-15 in Big 12 play. The Sun Devils are stumbling to the finish line, having lost three in a row and nine of their last 10 games.
Despite Arizona State's struggles during Big 12 play, Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland isn't taking anything for granted.
"We know what they're capable of, and they have our full attention," McCasland said. "Coach [Bobby] Hurley is doing a tremendous job keeping their team together with some crazy injuries. They are not backing down. I don't care what their record is or what they've gone through. Their team is playing as good as any team offensively from what I've watched.
"We're going in with our full attention and playing as hard as we can. That's the important part. Our heart and effort will be what it needs to be to put ourselves in a position to win. We have a tremendous amount of respect for Arizona State for the way they're competing."
The Sun Devils will be looking to end the regular season and enter the Big 12 tournament on a high note with an upset victory. It will be ASU's second consecutive game against a ranked opponent following its 113-100 loss at No. 24 Arizona on Tuesday night in Tucson.
Senior guard Alston Mason led Arizona State with 33 points — hitting 5-of-7 3-pointers and going 8-of-8 from the free throw line — and dished out six assists in the loss to the rival Wildcats. Freshman guard Joson Sanson added 19 points and senior forward Basheer Jihad had 15 points and seven rebounds.
In the first matchup against Texas Tech, senior guard Adam Miller led the Sun Devils with 22 points on 10-for-17 shooting, while freshman swingman Amier Ali had 18 points with four 3-pointers.
Mason leads ASU with 13.4 points per game this season and is currently shooting 39.4 percent on 3-pointers, while Jihad contributes 12.1 points per game and Sanon adds 11.7 ppg.
The Sun Devils are 5-8 this season at Desert Financial Arena but have lost eight in a row at home.
How to watch Arizona State vs. No. 9 Texas Tech
The Sun Devils and Red Raiders tip off at 6 p.m. MST on ESPNU with Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play) and King McClure (analyst) calling the action.
Fubo TV subscribers can watch ASU and other college basketball games here.
Betting information
Arizona State enters the game at Desert Financial Arena as an 11.5-point underdog, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
The Sun Devils are +470 on the moneyline, while the Red Raiders are -670.
The over/under for the game is 152.5.