Fans were feeling confident at halftime of Arizona State's massive clash with new conference rival No. 11 Kansas. The Sun Devils held a 42-36 lead as the teams went to the locker room, making it seem like things were headed towards a third straight victory over the Jayhawks for the program.
Since head coach Bobby Hurley took the reins in 2015, ASU was 2-0 entering Wednesday's game at "The Phog" against Kansas. The team took down Top 10 ranked Jayhawk teams in 2017 and 2018 during its "Guard U" era.
However, the good vibes didn't last long as Kansas came out on a 20-3 run to start the second half and from there it was a wrap. ASU's shooting percentage dropped 11 percent between periods as the Jayhawks put on a defensive clinic to close out their 74-55 home victory.
ASU hoops misses crucial upset opportunity against Kansas to start Big 12 play
While a 19-point loss was the result many expected to see, if you watched that first half it looked like the real ASU was going to show up in Lawrence, Kansas on Wednesday.
HALFTIME
— Chris Karpman (@ChrisKarpman) January 9, 2025
Arizona State: 42
No. 11 Kansas: 36
Jayden Quaintance as active as anyone. He has nine rebounds and played strong defensively against Kansas All-American 7-foot-2 center Hunter Dickenson, who is seven years older.
Mason was terrific, 15 points.
Impressive half. pic.twitter.com/u5FuqSyPpK
Alston Mason led the Sun Devils with 19 points but 15 of those came in the first half alone. He was practically shut down in the second half with just four points, proving why Kansas is considered a Top 15 team in the country.
The team was without top scorer Joson Sanon for a second straight game due to injury which seemed to factor into their lack of offensive depth in the second half.
It's only January but ASU is running out of opportunities for statement wins as it attempts to build a March Madness-worthy resume. Competing in the Big 12 certainly helps but it needs to be winning these Quad 1 games down the stretch.
At 10-4, it's still well in position to get off the bubble and land solidly in the field of 64. However, with only three ranked opponents currently left on its schedule, ASU must take care of business where its favored and take most if not all of those upsets to convince the selection committee of its quality.
The Sun Devils host Baylor and UCF on Jan. 11 and 14 respectively, two tough games they'll need to rebound and perform like they did in the first half against Kansas to snag key wins. Getting Sanon back for both of those will be critical.