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By Jayla French
Cronkite News
LAS VEGAS — A season riddled with highs and lows came crashing down Wednesday in the 2024 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament. And with it shattered Arizona State’s chances of grabbing a shot at attending the Big Dance.
In a late night first round game, Utah, seeded sixth, cruised to a 90-57 victory, handing the 11th-seeded Sun Devils their first loss in the last three matchups against the Utes this season. Utah advanced to play No. 3 Colorado, while the Sun Devils’ mercurial season came to a depressing end.
Following the sudden departure of ASU senior guard Jose Perez, who left the Sun Devils last week to play with a professional team overseas, the matchups looked different than anticipated a week ago. Perez scored 20-plus points against Utah in each of the first two games between the teams, but without him, ASU couldn’t get its offense going early here Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena, falling to a quick 21-12 deficit in the first half.
Going into halftime down 47-22, the second-largest deficit this season, the Sun Devils’ fortunes didn’t improve in the second half. ASU shot 31.4% from the field and 15.8% from beyond the 3-point line.
Arizona State ends its season in the historic finale of the Pac-12 conference with the worst conference tournament loss in its program’s history. The margin of defeat tied ASU with Washington State (84-51) for the worst loss in Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament history.
“You have a vision for something better,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said after the loss. “That’s going to be the lasting memory of us playing in the Pac-12. That’s a terrible memory.”
Despite the mounting criticism of Hurley and the basketball program, which finished 14-18 overall and 8-12 in the Pac-12, he remains optimistic about how he coaches his players and shoulders some responsibility for their shortcomings.
“I don’t think you would say (I’m) not going to fight or battle or get his team ready to compete, fight and battle,” Hurley said. “I failed miserably in that regard because this is not a reflection of my belief system in terms of effort and will.”
Perez left the team last week ahead of ASU’s regular-season finale to pursue an opportunity to play professionally in the Dominican Republic.
He left as the Sun Devils’ second-leading scorer this season (13.5 points per game) and averaged 2.7 assists and 3.8 rebounds after transferring to ASU during the offseason.
“It was a personal choice,” Hurley said. “I don’t walk in his shoes so I’m not going to be judgmental of his decision.”
Perez’s absence was felt throughout Wednesday’s loss, forcing the Sun Devils to pivot in a different direction offensively.
Junior guard Frankie Collins led the team against Utah, finishing with 20 points. He spoke about the team having to make adjustments in the week leading up to the matchup and the challenges he and his teammates faced.
“It’s hard to gameplan when us as players don’t go out there and play hard,” Collins said. “They can give us the game plan all they want but, if we don’t go out there and play hard and try to get stops – you can’t really blame the game plan for that.”
After finishing last season 23-13 overall, the Sun Devils had a positive outlook going into the new season with the return of starters such as Collins and the transfer portal that led to landing redshirt junior guard Adam Miller.
However, Miller joined the lineup midway through the season due to his eligibility status as a second-time transfer, which temporarily kept him from being able to play.
After a 98-73 First Four play-in win against Nevada last year, the team earned a berth in the NCAA tournament, where its season came to a close in a 72-70 loss against TCU.
Fast forward to this season, where the success carried over to fuel an early start, with ASU going 7-0 at home and 4-0 to begin conference play.
The Sun Devils reached a peak with four big conference wins back-to-back earlier in the season. During that win streak, Hurley hit a milestone, achieving 150 wins against Utah on Jan. 4 as the third coach in program history to reach the mark.
In that same week, Hurley won his 75th Pac-12 conference game, the most of any coach in program history in the Pac-10/12 era.
Another highlight for the year was Collins, who was on a steal heist throughout the season. He broke a 42-year-old single-season program record set by Lafayette “Fat” Lever with 76 steals. On Jan. 24, Collins announced for every steal in the season, he would donate $20 to an elementary school in his hometown of Sacramento, California.
Along with those achievements, Arizona State saw another milestone in fan attendance. Most memorable was the crowd of 13,746 who came to watch USC in Tempe in January, with 4,325 students making the game the second-largest student crowd in program history.
Looking ahead, ASU will officially be a Big 12 team going into the 2024-25 season, facing competitors such as Kansas, Baylor and TCU. Adjustments will need to be made for ASU to regain a competitive edge as it leaves the Pac-12 and moves forward in joining the Big 12 Conference.
“We got to revamp the roster,” Hurley said. “I have to encourage people that have the wherewithal to support what we’re doing. Especially with this transition, I’ve watched quite a bit of Big 12 basketball. It’s a strong, physical – it’s for men, grown-a– men in the league. We have to make some changes.”
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Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley evaluates his teams offense in a first-round matchup against Utah in the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Dominic Contini/Cronkite News)
Arizona State center Alonzo Gaffney expresses emotion in ASU’s 90-57 loss against Utah in the first round of the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Dominic Contini/Cronkite News)
Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley assesses the team during a timeout in Wednesday’s 90-57 loss to Utah in the first round of the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Dominic Contini/Cronkite News)
Arizona State guard Frankie Collins hugs coach Bobby Hurley as he subs out for the final time in the Sun Devil’s 90-57 loss to Utah in the first round of the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Dominic Contini/Cronkite News)
Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley screams at a referee in ASU’s 90-57 loss against Utah in the first round of the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Dominic Contini/Cronkite News)