TEMPE – Sun Devil Men's Basketball and Baylor played a competitive contest in their first meeting as Big 12 schools on Saturday night.
Arizona State (10-5, 1-3) could not complete the comeback against the Bears (11-4, 3-1), losing 72-66 in overtime after overcoming a 15-point deficit in the second half. Originally trailing 32-20 at the end of the first half and 44-29 at one point in the second, the Sun Devils flipped the script. Arizona State managed to outscore Baylor 41-29 in the second half, including a 13-4 run over the final 4:40 of regulation.
A 22-point performance by guard/forward BJ Freeman was a big reason behind the comeback. Arizona State managed to get better looks in the second half, shooting 51.9% from the field after registering a 26.1% clip in the first half. Tow Sun Devils were in double figures tonight, including Alston Mason who finished with 14 points, seven boards and five assists in a season-high 42 minutes. Basheer Jihad added 10 points of his own while collecting five boards. Freshman guard Joson Sanon made his return to the lineup and made an impact despite being limited by a minutes restriction.
Block Party
Freshman Jayden Quaintance has recorded 44 blocks thus far in the 2024-2025 season. That continued on Saturday against Baylor, as he managed to have two blocks in the paint. He has already surpassed Pac-12 career blocks leader Jordan Bachynski on the ASU freshman single-season blocks list. Quaintance has the second-most blocks in a single season by a freshman in program history and has done it in only 15 games. He has two or more blocks in 13 of 15 games this year, including six 4+ block performances.
Sun Devil Freshman Blocks Record (1978-79-present)
55, Mario Bennett, 1991-92
44, Jayden Quaintance, 2024-25
33, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
31, Ike Diogu, 2002-03
If he were to maintain his current pace of blocks over a 31-game season, Quaintance would finish with the second-most blocks ever by a Big 12 freshman behind only Texas' Mohamed Bamba.
Blocked Shots by Big 12 Freshman
111 Mohamed Bamba-UT, 2017-18 (3.7)
˜ 90 Jayden Quaintance-ASU, 2024-25 (2.9)*
90 Chris Mihm-UT, 1997-98 (2.9)
89 Myles Turner-UT, 2014-15 (2.6)
86 Tristan Thompson-UT, 2010-11 (2.4)
85 Yor Anei-OSU, 2018-19 (2.7)
77 Kevin Samuel-TCU, 2018-19 (2.1)
72 Joel Embiid-KU, 2013-14 (2.6)
71 Jaxson Hayes-UT, 2018-19 (2.2)
67 Kevin Durant-UT, 2006-07 (1.9)
65 Arthur Johnson-MU, 2000-01 (2.0)
*Projected total in a 31-game season at current pace
Sun Devil Freshman Rebounds per Game Record (1978-79-present)
8.4 Jayden Quaintance, 2024-25
7.8, Ike Diogu, 2002-03
7.1, Romello White, 2017-18
6.8, Mario Bennett, 1991-92
6.2, Marcus Bagley, 2020-21
6.2, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
6.1, Jeff Pendergraph, 2005-06
5.8, Johnny Nash, 1976-77
5.4, Kyle Cain, 2010-11
5.3, James Harden, 2007-08
Free'd Up
An underrated part of Arizona State's success has been the steady play of senior guard/forward BJ Freeman. He once again scored in double figures against Baylor, leading the team with 22. Freeman has finished with 10+ points in 12 games this season, the most of any Sun Devil. It was his first 20-point game as a Sun Devil and 31st in his career, previously doing it 30 times at UW Milwaukee over two seasons.
Mr. Reliable
Alston Mason has been a steady presence in the lineup for Head Coach Bobby Hurley at point guard. Mason has led the team in minutes in 12 of the 15 games, including playing 40+ minutes in back-to-back games. In the matchup with Baylor, Mason played a season-high 42 minutes. He averages 34.7 minutes per game, which was third in the Big 12 behind only UCF's Darius Johnson and West Virginia's Javon Small coming into the game. Mason was also shooting a team-high 84.4% from the free-throw line, the eighth-best mark in the Big 12. He continued his success at the strip, going 5-of-6 tonight.
Turning them Over
The Sun Devils forced 16 turnovers in tonight's game, only the second time Baylor has committed that many turnovers. That was compared to only 9 assists for the Bears, the second time Baylor had been held to that few this season. ASU had 19 points off those 16 turnovers and only registered 11 turnovers of their own.
Restricting Roach
Baylor guard Jeremy Roach came into the game averaging 11.8 points on 43.4% shooting and the main key player to the flow of the Bears offense. The Sun Devils' defense was aware of that tonight and managed to hold Roach to seven points on 2-of-11 (18.2%) shooting from the field.
Overtime Note
Arizona State is now 7-9 in overtime under Bobby Hurley.
First Half:
After opening the scoring, Baylor went on a 4:27 scoring drought in the first 5 minutes of play. Alston Mason found Basheer Jihad on the fast break for a two-hand slam to give the Sun Devils their first points of the night. BJ Freeman created enough space to pull the trigger beyond the arc to tie the ball game up at 5-5 with 14:28 remaining in the half.
Coming out of the media timeout, Baylor was able to put together a 6-0 scoring run, but BJ Freeman found his shot from beyond the arc once again, bringing Arizona State's deficit within one. The Sun Devils trailed the Bears 11-10 with 11:57 remaining.
Baylor managed to increase their lead to nine, forcing Arizona State to call a timeout trailing 20-12 with 8:07 on the clock.
Alston Mason knocked one down in the corner to give the Sun Devils a spark of momentum, still trailing 22-16 with 5:43 remaining. Arizona State trailed Baylor 27-18 heading into the last media timeout of the half with 3:33 remaining.
The Sun Devils continued to fight the remainder of the half as they headed into halftime trailing 32-20 to the Bears.
Second Half:
Adam Miller knocked down a treyball to get the Sun Devils on track coming out of the half. Following that, BJ Freeman got to the rack and turned it into an and-1 play, bringing Arizona State's deficit within 10 with 17:03 remaining in regulation. BJ Freeman continued to make plays with a steal out of the full-court press, leading to a reverse layup to bring the Sun Devils deficit within seven points.
Jayden Quaintance took advantage of the fast break opportunity and found BJ Freeman who turned that opportunity into a two-hand slam, trailing 44-31 to Baylor. Following that, Alston Mason found Joson Sanon for a catch-and-shoot three, bringing the Sun Devils deficit within 10 with 13:04 remaining in regulation. Heading into the second media timeout of the half, Arizona State trailed Baylor 46-35 with 11:40 left in regulation.
Jayden Quaintance was able to grab the offensive rebound and put it back up for an easy layup, bringing the Sun Devils deficit within eight. Basheet Jihad found Alston Mason on the back-door cut for a mid-range jumper, still trailing 49-40 with 9:35 remaining. Jayden Quaintance got busy in the paint and out spun his defender for an easy layup, bringing Arizona State's deficit within eight with 7:25 left in regulation.
Coming out of the media timeout, Basheer Jihad found Adam Miller in the corner for a catch-and-shoot three, leaving the Sun Devils trailing 52-47 with 6:22 remaining. Arizona State remained poised on defense until the last media timeout of regulation, trailing 57-50 with 3:47 remaining.
The Sun Devils got aggressive on the full-court press defense and managed to force a turnover, leading to an and-1 play by BJ Freeman. After not being able to drain the free throw, Arizona State trailed 57-54 with 2:24 remaining. BJ Freeman took control and got a floater to drop inside the paint, still trailing 60-56 with 1:29 remaining. Alston Mason blew by his man and finished at the rim while contested, bringing the Sun Devils deficit within one point with 10 seconds remaining. Adam Miller did the unthinkable and took it all the way from one court end to the other and managed to get the floater to drop in, tying it at 61-61 with 2 seconds remaining. Baylor failed to convert the game-winning shot leading to overtime for the Sun Devils.
Overtime
The Bears managed to regroup in the overtime period, scoring the first eight points to build there lead back up. Despite several valliant efforts to cut back into the lead, Arizona State could not make up another deficit. The Sun Devils eventually fell to Baylor, 72-66.
Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley
Opening statement:
"We didn't get off to a great start. Defensively, I thought some of the stuff they were doing affected us. There was an adjustment period, and we were not very efficient on offense and just didn't have a lot of juice. This league will be an adjustment. Playing on Wednesday night in Kansas, flying back and now you're seeing this team. This league is strong, and we have to get used to being ready to do better. I think this is another case where we had two separate halves. So we have to try to figure some things out to be a little more consistent in both halves. I appreciated how the guys on the floor really fought and battled to get back in the game and give us a chance to win and get it to overtime. So that was a positive sign that they didn't give in."
On the team's second half performance:
"I thought that we were able to chip right away and get it to seven. They went on a spurt, and then we responded again. So we just kept answering their runs which was a positive sign. Offensively, it was kind of a tough game to call. They really switched a lot of stuff and it gave us some problems. But the pressure worked and the crowd helped. I thought we did a good job with that, just trying to create some turnovers."
On BJ Freeman's performance:
"He did great. He was disappointed that he missed the shot in overtime, but the reality is we wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for what he did at the offensive end. He's really finding himself in that way. I thought he had a little bit of a stretch in overtime where he maybe could have hit a few other guys. He kind of wanted to go make a play, but he had made a bunch of baskets so if he would have made it, I'd be praising him right now and what a great job he did."
Senior Guard Adam Miller
On his shot to force overtime:
"I'm not gonna lie, I knew if I got the ball, I was gonna shoot it so I was just trying to get as close as I could and throw it up and put a little touch on it and knocked it down. I was just ready for it and knew if I was going to get a chance to tie the game, I was gonna take the shot."
On what the team can do differently in tight games:
"We've just got to find ways to be locked in and have that extra boost in the times of the game when we need it. How we came back quick like that and how we took the lead in the first half, but you've got to do it for 40 minutes."
Up Next
Sun Devil Men's Basketball will be staying in Tempe to host UCF at Desert Financial Arena on January 14th at 9 PM MST. The broadcast can be found on ESPNU.
Sun Devils on Social
For exclusive content, the latest updates, and more information on the Sun Devil Men's Basketball program, follow our X/Instagram accounts (@SunDevilHoops), like our Facebook page (facebook.com/SunDevilHoops/), and visit our website (thesundevils.com). Follow Coach Hurley on X (@BobbyHurley11).
Arizona State (10-5, 1-3) could not complete the comeback against the Bears (11-4, 3-1), losing 72-66 in overtime after overcoming a 15-point deficit in the second half. Originally trailing 32-20 at the end of the first half and 44-29 at one point in the second, the Sun Devils flipped the script. Arizona State managed to outscore Baylor 41-29 in the second half, including a 13-4 run over the final 4:40 of regulation.
A 22-point performance by guard/forward BJ Freeman was a big reason behind the comeback. Arizona State managed to get better looks in the second half, shooting 51.9% from the field after registering a 26.1% clip in the first half. Tow Sun Devils were in double figures tonight, including Alston Mason who finished with 14 points, seven boards and five assists in a season-high 42 minutes. Basheer Jihad added 10 points of his own while collecting five boards. Freshman guard Joson Sanon made his return to the lineup and made an impact despite being limited by a minutes restriction.
Block Party
Freshman Jayden Quaintance has recorded 44 blocks thus far in the 2024-2025 season. That continued on Saturday against Baylor, as he managed to have two blocks in the paint. He has already surpassed Pac-12 career blocks leader Jordan Bachynski on the ASU freshman single-season blocks list. Quaintance has the second-most blocks in a single season by a freshman in program history and has done it in only 15 games. He has two or more blocks in 13 of 15 games this year, including six 4+ block performances.
Sun Devil Freshman Blocks Record (1978-79-present)
55, Mario Bennett, 1991-92
44, Jayden Quaintance, 2024-25
33, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
31, Ike Diogu, 2002-03
If he were to maintain his current pace of blocks over a 31-game season, Quaintance would finish with the second-most blocks ever by a Big 12 freshman behind only Texas' Mohamed Bamba.
Blocked Shots by Big 12 Freshman
111 Mohamed Bamba-UT, 2017-18 (3.7)
˜ 90 Jayden Quaintance-ASU, 2024-25 (2.9)*
90 Chris Mihm-UT, 1997-98 (2.9)
89 Myles Turner-UT, 2014-15 (2.6)
86 Tristan Thompson-UT, 2010-11 (2.4)
85 Yor Anei-OSU, 2018-19 (2.7)
77 Kevin Samuel-TCU, 2018-19 (2.1)
72 Joel Embiid-KU, 2013-14 (2.6)
71 Jaxson Hayes-UT, 2018-19 (2.2)
67 Kevin Durant-UT, 2006-07 (1.9)
65 Arthur Johnson-MU, 2000-01 (2.0)
*Projected total in a 31-game season at current pace
Sun Devil Freshman Rebounds per Game Record (1978-79-present)
8.4 Jayden Quaintance, 2024-25
7.8, Ike Diogu, 2002-03
7.1, Romello White, 2017-18
6.8, Mario Bennett, 1991-92
6.2, Marcus Bagley, 2020-21
6.2, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
6.1, Jeff Pendergraph, 2005-06
5.8, Johnny Nash, 1976-77
5.4, Kyle Cain, 2010-11
5.3, James Harden, 2007-08
Free'd Up
An underrated part of Arizona State's success has been the steady play of senior guard/forward BJ Freeman. He once again scored in double figures against Baylor, leading the team with 22. Freeman has finished with 10+ points in 12 games this season, the most of any Sun Devil. It was his first 20-point game as a Sun Devil and 31st in his career, previously doing it 30 times at UW Milwaukee over two seasons.
Mr. Reliable
Alston Mason has been a steady presence in the lineup for Head Coach Bobby Hurley at point guard. Mason has led the team in minutes in 12 of the 15 games, including playing 40+ minutes in back-to-back games. In the matchup with Baylor, Mason played a season-high 42 minutes. He averages 34.7 minutes per game, which was third in the Big 12 behind only UCF's Darius Johnson and West Virginia's Javon Small coming into the game. Mason was also shooting a team-high 84.4% from the free-throw line, the eighth-best mark in the Big 12. He continued his success at the strip, going 5-of-6 tonight.
Turning them Over
The Sun Devils forced 16 turnovers in tonight's game, only the second time Baylor has committed that many turnovers. That was compared to only 9 assists for the Bears, the second time Baylor had been held to that few this season. ASU had 19 points off those 16 turnovers and only registered 11 turnovers of their own.
Restricting Roach
Baylor guard Jeremy Roach came into the game averaging 11.8 points on 43.4% shooting and the main key player to the flow of the Bears offense. The Sun Devils' defense was aware of that tonight and managed to hold Roach to seven points on 2-of-11 (18.2%) shooting from the field.
Overtime Note
Arizona State is now 7-9 in overtime under Bobby Hurley.
First Half:
After opening the scoring, Baylor went on a 4:27 scoring drought in the first 5 minutes of play. Alston Mason found Basheer Jihad on the fast break for a two-hand slam to give the Sun Devils their first points of the night. BJ Freeman created enough space to pull the trigger beyond the arc to tie the ball game up at 5-5 with 14:28 remaining in the half.
Coming out of the media timeout, Baylor was able to put together a 6-0 scoring run, but BJ Freeman found his shot from beyond the arc once again, bringing Arizona State's deficit within one. The Sun Devils trailed the Bears 11-10 with 11:57 remaining.
Baylor managed to increase their lead to nine, forcing Arizona State to call a timeout trailing 20-12 with 8:07 on the clock.
Alston Mason knocked one down in the corner to give the Sun Devils a spark of momentum, still trailing 22-16 with 5:43 remaining. Arizona State trailed Baylor 27-18 heading into the last media timeout of the half with 3:33 remaining.
The Sun Devils continued to fight the remainder of the half as they headed into halftime trailing 32-20 to the Bears.
Second Half:
Adam Miller knocked down a treyball to get the Sun Devils on track coming out of the half. Following that, BJ Freeman got to the rack and turned it into an and-1 play, bringing Arizona State's deficit within 10 with 17:03 remaining in regulation. BJ Freeman continued to make plays with a steal out of the full-court press, leading to a reverse layup to bring the Sun Devils deficit within seven points.
Jayden Quaintance took advantage of the fast break opportunity and found BJ Freeman who turned that opportunity into a two-hand slam, trailing 44-31 to Baylor. Following that, Alston Mason found Joson Sanon for a catch-and-shoot three, bringing the Sun Devils deficit within 10 with 13:04 remaining in regulation. Heading into the second media timeout of the half, Arizona State trailed Baylor 46-35 with 11:40 left in regulation.
Jayden Quaintance was able to grab the offensive rebound and put it back up for an easy layup, bringing the Sun Devils deficit within eight. Basheet Jihad found Alston Mason on the back-door cut for a mid-range jumper, still trailing 49-40 with 9:35 remaining. Jayden Quaintance got busy in the paint and out spun his defender for an easy layup, bringing Arizona State's deficit within eight with 7:25 left in regulation.
Coming out of the media timeout, Basheer Jihad found Adam Miller in the corner for a catch-and-shoot three, leaving the Sun Devils trailing 52-47 with 6:22 remaining. Arizona State remained poised on defense until the last media timeout of regulation, trailing 57-50 with 3:47 remaining.
The Sun Devils got aggressive on the full-court press defense and managed to force a turnover, leading to an and-1 play by BJ Freeman. After not being able to drain the free throw, Arizona State trailed 57-54 with 2:24 remaining. BJ Freeman took control and got a floater to drop inside the paint, still trailing 60-56 with 1:29 remaining. Alston Mason blew by his man and finished at the rim while contested, bringing the Sun Devils deficit within one point with 10 seconds remaining. Adam Miller did the unthinkable and took it all the way from one court end to the other and managed to get the floater to drop in, tying it at 61-61 with 2 seconds remaining. Baylor failed to convert the game-winning shot leading to overtime for the Sun Devils.
Overtime
The Bears managed to regroup in the overtime period, scoring the first eight points to build there lead back up. Despite several valliant efforts to cut back into the lead, Arizona State could not make up another deficit. The Sun Devils eventually fell to Baylor, 72-66.
Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley
Opening statement:
"We didn't get off to a great start. Defensively, I thought some of the stuff they were doing affected us. There was an adjustment period, and we were not very efficient on offense and just didn't have a lot of juice. This league will be an adjustment. Playing on Wednesday night in Kansas, flying back and now you're seeing this team. This league is strong, and we have to get used to being ready to do better. I think this is another case where we had two separate halves. So we have to try to figure some things out to be a little more consistent in both halves. I appreciated how the guys on the floor really fought and battled to get back in the game and give us a chance to win and get it to overtime. So that was a positive sign that they didn't give in."
On the team's second half performance:
"I thought that we were able to chip right away and get it to seven. They went on a spurt, and then we responded again. So we just kept answering their runs which was a positive sign. Offensively, it was kind of a tough game to call. They really switched a lot of stuff and it gave us some problems. But the pressure worked and the crowd helped. I thought we did a good job with that, just trying to create some turnovers."
On BJ Freeman's performance:
"He did great. He was disappointed that he missed the shot in overtime, but the reality is we wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for what he did at the offensive end. He's really finding himself in that way. I thought he had a little bit of a stretch in overtime where he maybe could have hit a few other guys. He kind of wanted to go make a play, but he had made a bunch of baskets so if he would have made it, I'd be praising him right now and what a great job he did."
Senior Guard Adam Miller
On his shot to force overtime:
"I'm not gonna lie, I knew if I got the ball, I was gonna shoot it so I was just trying to get as close as I could and throw it up and put a little touch on it and knocked it down. I was just ready for it and knew if I was going to get a chance to tie the game, I was gonna take the shot."
On what the team can do differently in tight games:
"We've just got to find ways to be locked in and have that extra boost in the times of the game when we need it. How we came back quick like that and how we took the lead in the first half, but you've got to do it for 40 minutes."
Up Next
Sun Devil Men's Basketball will be staying in Tempe to host UCF at Desert Financial Arena on January 14th at 9 PM MST. The broadcast can be found on ESPNU.
Sun Devils on Social
For exclusive content, the latest updates, and more information on the Sun Devil Men's Basketball program, follow our X/Instagram accounts (@SunDevilHoops), like our Facebook page (facebook.com/SunDevilHoops/), and visit our website (thesundevils.com). Follow Coach Hurley on X (@BobbyHurley11).