Men's Basketball Drops Big 12 Opener to BYU

SEASON STATS (PDF) /// GAME BOOK (PDF)

PROVO, Utah - Sun Devil Men's Basketball fell in their Big 12 Conference opener on the road against BYU Tuesday afternoon.

Arizona State (9-3, 0-1) dropped the contest to the Cougars (10-2, 1-0) in their league debut in front of 16,926 fans at the Marriott Center. Head Coach Bobby Hurley's team mounted several comebacks after falling behind early in the game, but eventually suffered a 76-56 defeat.

BYU jumped out to an early 26-10 lead in the first half, riding the momentum provided by their home court. The Sun Devils managed to cut the deficit to five points by halftime, including a 6-0 run to end the half. Another Cougar spurt to start the second half pushed the lead back to double digits, creating an insurmountable margin for the road team. 

In their first Big 12 game, the freshman trio of Jayden Quaintance, Joson Sanon, and Amier Ali showed flashes in a tough road atmosphere. Each finished with eight points on at least 50% shooting from the field. Senior guard/forward BJ Freeman led the way for the Sun Devils in the scoring column, finishing with 11 points thanks to a trio of three pointers.

Arizona State finished with 10 steals, as an active defensive effort contributed to BYU committing 14 turnovers and shooting only 31.2% from beyond the arc. A group effort was responsible for holding Cougars' star freshman guard and projected first round pick Egor Demin to only four points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field of 0-of-5 shooting from three. However, it was a 30-point effort from senior guard Richie Saunders that sparked the BYU offense.

The Maroon and Gold fall to 9-3 this season, with all three losses considered Quad 1 according to the NET Rankings. Through 12 games, Arizona State has faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation. That will continue as they continue Big 12 Conference play later in the week.

Up Next
The Big 12 home opener presents a familiar foe, as Colorado comes to Tempe for ASU's second conference game. Arizona State has faced the Buffaloes at home each of the past three years, including a 76-73 victory this past season. This is the first of two meetings between the two programs in 2024-25, as the Sun Devils return the trip in January. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+.

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