ASU basketball challenges Kansas State again but comes up short

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was a familiar song and dance for the Arizona State men’s basketball team. It plays hard. It plays shorthanded. And, it tended to come up short on the scoreboard.

ASU ended the season with a 71-66 loss to Kansas State in first-round play in the Big 12 tournament Tuesday night at the T-Mobile Center. It was the fifth straight loss and 11th in the last 12 games for coach Bobby Hurley’s Sun Devils (13-19).

It was one of a dozen games in which the Sun Devils couldn’t get one last stop or one key basket to change the outcome. Despite coming up short, Hurley praised his team’s effort.

“I just want to compliment my team just not only tonight, but over the last six weeks,” he said. “Just got aton of respect for the heart and the will and the determination to keep competing. I know it hasn’t resulted in victories and wins, but these guys, with where our numbers are at and the bodies we have, for these guys to play the minutes they played and been very competitive.”

Hurley had seven players for this one — barely. There was still no Jayden Quaintance (right knee) and no B.J. Freeman, who was dismissed from the team six games ago. Senior guard Adam Miller returned after missing the last three games with oblique and hip injuries but Hurley shut him down early in the second half after he had played 22 minutes. Miller was struggling not just with those injuries but cramps as well.

It was the third meeting between the teams. Kansas State (16-16) defeated ASU 71-70 in Tempe, but ASU responded with a 66-54 win when the teams played in Manhattan on Feb. 23. Quaintance had 18 points in that contest but injured his knee late in that game and has not played since.

No. 10 seed Kansas State was missing 6-foot-10 senior Coleman Hawkins in that game and his absence loomed large. He was also a big reason the Wildcats came out on top in this one. He finished with a season-high 26 points, along with eight rebounds and two blocks. He shot 10-for-17 from the field, which included…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/asu-basketball-challenges-kansas-state-033341335.html

Author : AZCentral | The Arizona Republic

Publish date : 2025-03-12 03:33:00

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