Colorado
9-4,0-2Big 12
Arizona State
10-3,1-1Big 12
Buffs Struggle From the Field, Fall to Sun Devils in Tempe
January 04, 2025 | Men's Basketball
TEMPE, Ariz. — A first half offensive explosion by Arizona State along with some Colorado shooting woes led to an 81-61 decision in favor of the Sun Devils Saturday afternoon at Desert Financial Arena.
Colorado trailed by double digits early in the game and could not mount a comeback to capture its first Big 12 Conference win of the season, falling to 9-4 (0-2) on the year while ASU improves to 10-3 (1-1).
Trailing by as much as 23 in the first half, the Buffaloes went on a 10-0 run in the final 2:35 minutes of the period to cut the deficit to 13 with another 20 minutes to play.
Graduate transfer Trevor Baskin scored a season-high 23 points on 9 of 14 from the floor with 10 rebounds, four steals, two assists, and a block. It marks his second double-double as a Buff and 24th of his collegiate career. It's also the first time he has logged 20 or more points in his time at CU.
The Buffs got a hefty 40 points from their bench. Javon Ruffin, Sebastian Rancik, and Harrison Carrington combined for 17 of those points, in addition to Baskin's 23.
Arizona State's BJ Freeman posted a season-high 19 points in the win.
The difference was a season-low field goal percentage (34.8%) and three-point field goal percentage (12.5%) by the Buffaloes, with the combination of the Sun Devils shooting 51.9% from the field and 46.4% from beyond the arc.
"They just had whatever they wanted," head coach Tad Boyle stated. "They'd beat us inside, they'd beat us outside. They got whatever they wanted. And we just didn't. We didn't dictate at all with our defense. We were on our heels. It felt like the whole night, both offensively and defensively."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffaloes trailed 40-17 late in the first half before going on a 10-0 run in the final minutes to cut the Arizona State lead to 13 at the break.
Colorado shot just 34.3 percent in the first half (12 for 35) while Arizona State shot over 50 percent as a unit and over 40 percent from three.
Andrej Jakimovski and Baskin combined for the Buffs 10 points through the first eight minutes of the second half while the team continued to struggle to knock shots down, going 3-for-16 to start the half.
Sun Devil Jay Quaintance entered double-digit scoring figures thanks to a jumper with nine minutes left in the game, giving ASU a 25-point lead, their largest of the night.
Arizona State would go on to hover around a 20-point lead the rest of the way, continuing to be more efficient from the field than Colorado.
"When we hold people under 40% field goal percentage and we out rebound them by eight or more, we're not undefeated," Boyle said. "It doesn't guarantee you're going to win the game…you got to be able to score the ball at some point and make open shots. So that was really disappointing we didn't."
DECISIVE MOMENT: After pulling within 13 points to end the first half, the Buffs failed to capitalize and knock shots down in the second half and instead turned the ball over, leading to ASU rebuilding back their lead.
WHAT IT MEANS: Colorado has dropped back-to-back games for the first time all season to open up Big 12 Conference play and will have a chance to bounce back again on the road this week.
NEXT UP: The Buffs will play at UCF Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 5 p.m. MT (ESPN+).
