Bobby Hurley's program leads the Pac-12 in halftime comebacks in his tenure -- now 42 -- and entered the game tied for most two-possession wins (now 38) since 2019-20 with Wisconsin.
Friday night at Stanford they added one of each by shutting out Stanford in the final 1:54 after trailing from the opening tip.
Stanford jumped out to a 37-28 halftime lead, but Arizona State made seven of its final eight shots and came back from a 10-point deficit in the final five minutes for a 76-73 win in the Pac-12 opener for both teams at Maples Pavilion.
ASU didn't take its first lead until 31 seconds left on a Frankie Collins jumper in the lane. ASU trailed for 35:02 and was down by as many as 12, as ASU notched its 42nd halftime comeback under Coach Hurley.
ANOTHER CLOSE GAME WIN
ASU is 38-19 (.667) in two-possession games since 2019-20, as the 38 wins leads the nation (Wisconsin has 37). ASU is 3-0 in games decided by three points or less this season, and is 5-2 in games decided by six points or less vs. Stanford since 2019-20. ASU finishes its Pac-12 jaunts to Stanford with a 3-1 mark in its final four trips, with all four games decided by five points or less. It marked the second straight win at Maples, the first time since 2008-09 and 2009-10 it won back-to-back at Stanford.
CONFERENCE OPENING WIN
Friday marked the second straight conference opening win for ASU, the first time it has done that since the James Harden days, as it won conference openers in 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. ASU had to come back at the half in both games, as it trailed by 15 at Colorado last year at the half on Dec. 1, 2022.
PLAYER NOTES
Frankie Collins had 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and added three rebounds, three assists and two steals, as he now has 35 on the year. He has been in double figures in 11 of 12 games on the year...Adam Miller had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, and 10 of his 13 points were in the second half. He is now 11-of-12 (.917) from the free throw line in his three games...Kamari Lands matched a season-high with 13 points with three three-pointers, four rebounds and two assists...Jamiya Neal had six boards, the eighth time he has posted eight boards this year...Alonzo Gaffney had 12 points, his seventh game in double digits on the year.
QUOTING BOBBY HURLEY
"I don't think we guarded the line well enough in the first half. They're a good team...I told the guys coming in that they played two overtimes versus Arkansas and played very well versus Michigan, and very well versus San Diego State, so it's a team that I feel is better than their record. I feel that this is where the game ends here for me, whether it's in my favor or not, since I've been coaching in this league. We play very close, tight games for whatever reasons. I appreciated how we defended late in the game; we were able to get some deflections and just make some clutch shots.
"We're still a work in progress; today was a really good step. We ran our offense with purpose, we moved well on defense; it was one of our higher-deflection games of the season. We're putting together two ends of the floor for the first time in a while, coming off a three-game losing streak. Stanford got it up 10, then 8, and there were times when they were always inching away, but we were able to make a response. We were able to use our quickness to get a couple of key defensive deflections late in the game. After Christmas now, it's like we're zero and zero, and let's see what we can get done in the conference."
ON ALONZO GAFFNEY SCORING SEVEN STRAIGHT POINTS IN A 1:25 SPAN LATE
"I'm just happy for him because I know he has it inside of him to do it. We trust him, if he's open, to take those shots. Coming off the way we played against Northwestern, this was much needed -- for us to shoot 46 percent and see the ball go in the basket a little bit."
THAT FIRST HALF
The Cardinal was 6-of-14 (.429) from the three-point stripe in the first half and led 32-22 before ASU closed it to 32-28, but a 5-0 run to close the half as ASU didn't score in the final 3:16 gave Stanford a nine-point lead at recess.
KAMARI LANDS STUFF
Kamari Lands had his first double-digit game since Nov. 16 with 13 points, as he entered the game scoring 22 points in his previous eight games.
KAMARI LANDS TOP SCORING GAMES
15 at Georgia Tech (Feb. 25, 2023)
15 vs. Florida State (Feb. 4, 2023)
15 vs. Western Kentucky (Dec. 14, 2022)
13 vs. Mississippi State (Nov. 8, 2023)
13 at Stanford (Dec. 29, 2023)
13 at No. 19 Miami (Feb. 11, 2023)
13 vs. No. 9 Arkansas (Nov. 21, 2022)
SHAUN PHILLIPS
Shaun Phillips played for the first time since Nov. 16 after being sidelined with a foot injury and posted six points and two blocks in 11 minutes.
VS. STANFORD
Bobby Hurley's Sun Devils have won seven of the past nine vs. Stanford and no game in the past eight matchups has been a double-digit final. ASU finished 4-4 at Maples under Coach Hurley. Last year ASU won a pair of four-point games.
SUN DEVIL CLOSE WINS VS. STANFORD IN PAST FOUR SEASONS
ASU 76, @Stanford 73 (Dec. 29, 2023)
ASU 69, @Stanford 65 (Feb. 9, 2023)
ASU 68, Stanford 64 (Dec. 4, 2022)
ASU 79, Stanford 75 (Jan. 30, 2021)
ASU 74, Stanford 69 (Feb. 13, 2020)
OTHER GAME NOTES
ASU attempted a season-high 32 three-pointers...ASU had season lows in free throws made (eight) attempted (14) and steals (five).
Friday night at Stanford they added one of each by shutting out Stanford in the final 1:54 after trailing from the opening tip.
Stanford jumped out to a 37-28 halftime lead, but Arizona State made seven of its final eight shots and came back from a 10-point deficit in the final five minutes for a 76-73 win in the Pac-12 opener for both teams at Maples Pavilion.
ASU didn't take its first lead until 31 seconds left on a Frankie Collins jumper in the lane. ASU trailed for 35:02 and was down by as many as 12, as ASU notched its 42nd halftime comeback under Coach Hurley.
ANOTHER CLOSE GAME WIN
ASU is 38-19 (.667) in two-possession games since 2019-20, as the 38 wins leads the nation (Wisconsin has 37). ASU is 3-0 in games decided by three points or less this season, and is 5-2 in games decided by six points or less vs. Stanford since 2019-20. ASU finishes its Pac-12 jaunts to Stanford with a 3-1 mark in its final four trips, with all four games decided by five points or less. It marked the second straight win at Maples, the first time since 2008-09 and 2009-10 it won back-to-back at Stanford.
CONFERENCE OPENING WIN
Friday marked the second straight conference opening win for ASU, the first time it has done that since the James Harden days, as it won conference openers in 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. ASU had to come back at the half in both games, as it trailed by 15 at Colorado last year at the half on Dec. 1, 2022.
PLAYER NOTES
Frankie Collins had 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and added three rebounds, three assists and two steals, as he now has 35 on the year. He has been in double figures in 11 of 12 games on the year...Adam Miller had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, and 10 of his 13 points were in the second half. He is now 11-of-12 (.917) from the free throw line in his three games...Kamari Lands matched a season-high with 13 points with three three-pointers, four rebounds and two assists...Jamiya Neal had six boards, the eighth time he has posted eight boards this year...Alonzo Gaffney had 12 points, his seventh game in double digits on the year.
QUOTING BOBBY HURLEY
"I don't think we guarded the line well enough in the first half. They're a good team...I told the guys coming in that they played two overtimes versus Arkansas and played very well versus Michigan, and very well versus San Diego State, so it's a team that I feel is better than their record. I feel that this is where the game ends here for me, whether it's in my favor or not, since I've been coaching in this league. We play very close, tight games for whatever reasons. I appreciated how we defended late in the game; we were able to get some deflections and just make some clutch shots.
"We're still a work in progress; today was a really good step. We ran our offense with purpose, we moved well on defense; it was one of our higher-deflection games of the season. We're putting together two ends of the floor for the first time in a while, coming off a three-game losing streak. Stanford got it up 10, then 8, and there were times when they were always inching away, but we were able to make a response. We were able to use our quickness to get a couple of key defensive deflections late in the game. After Christmas now, it's like we're zero and zero, and let's see what we can get done in the conference."
ON ALONZO GAFFNEY SCORING SEVEN STRAIGHT POINTS IN A 1:25 SPAN LATE
"I'm just happy for him because I know he has it inside of him to do it. We trust him, if he's open, to take those shots. Coming off the way we played against Northwestern, this was much needed -- for us to shoot 46 percent and see the ball go in the basket a little bit."
THAT FIRST HALF
The Cardinal was 6-of-14 (.429) from the three-point stripe in the first half and led 32-22 before ASU closed it to 32-28, but a 5-0 run to close the half as ASU didn't score in the final 3:16 gave Stanford a nine-point lead at recess.
KAMARI LANDS STUFF
Kamari Lands had his first double-digit game since Nov. 16 with 13 points, as he entered the game scoring 22 points in his previous eight games.
KAMARI LANDS TOP SCORING GAMES
15 at Georgia Tech (Feb. 25, 2023)
15 vs. Florida State (Feb. 4, 2023)
15 vs. Western Kentucky (Dec. 14, 2022)
13 vs. Mississippi State (Nov. 8, 2023)
13 at Stanford (Dec. 29, 2023)
13 at No. 19 Miami (Feb. 11, 2023)
13 vs. No. 9 Arkansas (Nov. 21, 2022)
SHAUN PHILLIPS
Shaun Phillips played for the first time since Nov. 16 after being sidelined with a foot injury and posted six points and two blocks in 11 minutes.
VS. STANFORD
Bobby Hurley's Sun Devils have won seven of the past nine vs. Stanford and no game in the past eight matchups has been a double-digit final. ASU finished 4-4 at Maples under Coach Hurley. Last year ASU won a pair of four-point games.
SUN DEVIL CLOSE WINS VS. STANFORD IN PAST FOUR SEASONS
ASU 76, @Stanford 73 (Dec. 29, 2023)
ASU 69, @Stanford 65 (Feb. 9, 2023)
ASU 68, Stanford 64 (Dec. 4, 2022)
ASU 79, Stanford 75 (Jan. 30, 2021)
ASU 74, Stanford 69 (Feb. 13, 2020)
OTHER GAME NOTES
ASU attempted a season-high 32 three-pointers...ASU had season lows in free throws made (eight) attempted (14) and steals (five).