ASU Men's Hoops Falls to No. 9 Texas Tech in Regular Season Finale

TEMPE - Arizona State fell to No. 9 Texas Tech on Saturday in their final regular season contest. It was their fifth matchup with a team that was ranked in the Top-10 at the time of the meeting. ASU ended the year at 13-18 and 4-16 overall, claiming the No. 15 seed in the Big 12 Championship. Basheer Jihad led the way with 22 points and six rebounds. The backcourt of Alston Mason (14) and Joson Sanon (16) combined for 30 points. The Sun Devils were only down four at the break, but were once again dealing with personnel obstacles due to injury.

Up next
The Sun Devils will travel to compete in the Big 12 conference tournament on March 11 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. 
 
Senior Day
Sun Devil Men's Basketball honored five seniors and five student managers prior to the game on Saturday. Alston Mason, Adam Miller, Basheer Jihad, Connor Braun, and Jordan Williams were recognized for their contributions to Arizona State in a pre-game ceremony. Additionally, graduating managers Jonas Carman, Parker Zidel, Nick Pappas, Spencer Schwartz, and John Lynch were celebrated for their commitment and dedication to the program.
 
Most blocked shots in a season
211 – 2013
182 – 2014
172 – 1997
170 – 2023
165 – 1995
165 – 1979
157 – 1980
144 – 1981
139 – 2025
139 – 2003
131 - 2022
 
Ba-Sheer force
Senior forward Basheer Jihad has been extremely effective at getting to the free throw line while also getting opposing big men in foul trouble. Jihad currently ranks second in the Big 12 in free throw attempts (173) and third made free throws (132). He now has seven games in which he has attempted 10+ free throws after shooting 10 at Arizona.
 
Mr. Reliable
Senior guard 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 23 of his 29 appearances and has played 38+ minutes on eleven occasions. He averages 36.4 minutes per game, the most in the Big 12 and also Top-25 nationally (22nd). Mason is also shooting a team-high 84.9% from the free-throw line, which is 6th in the Big 12.
 
Single-season free throw percentage
89.7 – DJ Horne, 2022 (35-39)
87.7 – Bryson Krueger, 2006
87.5 – Rihards Kuksiks, 2010
87.5 – Chris Beasley, 1984
87.4 – Stevin Smith, 1992
86.3 – Derek Glasser, 2010
86.3 – Alex Austin, 1989
85.9 – James Holliman, 1977
85.3 – Shannon Evans II, 2018
84.9 - Alston Mason, 2025 (90-106)
84.1 – Derek Glasser, 2008
84.0 – Isaac Burton, 1994
84.0 – Rick Taylor, 1978
 
Dialed in from deep
Arizona State has made 274 three pointers this season, the fourth-most in program history.
 
Most three-point field goals in a season
328 – 2017
288 – 2018
288 – 2009
274 – 2025
274 – 2023
271 – 2010
268 – 2014
 
Three-pointers made by freshman
76, Ty Abbott, 2007-08
66, Ron Riley, 1992-93
64, Christian Polk, 2006-07
57, Eddie House, 1996-97
54, Lu Dort, 2018-19
53, Jonathan Gilling, 2011-12
44, Joson Sanon, 2024-25
44, James Harden, 2007-08
44, Gee Gervin, 1996-97
44, Jeremy Veal, 1994-95
 
First half
Joson Sanon started things off for the Sun Devils with a two-pointer from the corner. Sanon followed up by swishing two free throws to give Arizona State an early 4-3 lead. The Sun Devils held a 6-5 advantage going into the first media timeout with 15:45 remaining in the half.
 
Down 11-7, Alston Mason found Basheer Jihad open in the paint for a layup. Jihad then connected on a jumper to tie the score. ASU trailed 15-14 midway through the first half, but back-to-back treys by Texas Tech increased its lead to 21-14.
 
Coming out of a media timeout, the Sun Devils needed a spark. A 6-0 scoring run put ASU within a point, but more Red Raider three-balls kept the scarlet and black in front. With four minutes left in the half, Alston Mason used a sweet finish at the basket to tie the game at 27.
 
Both teams continued to trade buckets for the rest of the half, and Texas Tech took a 36-32 lead heading into the locker room after a buzzer-beating three-pointer.
 
Second half
Basheer Jihad kicked off the second half scoring for the Sun Devils. Going into the first media timeout of the half, ASU trailed 40-35. After the timeout, Alston Mason cut the lead to three. However, a 7-0 Texas Tech run pushed the advantage to ten points.
 
With the Red Raiders ahead 58-48, Amier Ali converted a three-point play to make it a seven-point deficit. Despite this, Texas Tech's hot shooting prevented Arizona State from getting closer. With 6:42 left in regulation, Texas Tech led 68-53. The Red Raiders continued to pull away and secured the win.
 
Quotables
 
Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley
Opening statement
"They're a really good team. We made a push, we got the game right to where it's very manageable. We didn't finish the first half well. We have an expression we say like the ball scores, so we didn't really pick the ball up. They hit a three right at the end of the first half to go up four, so that wasn't great and then we just started the second half poorly. We had bad possessions on offense and they were able to immediately jump out on us. We did make some pushes to get it closer and have a chance, but we did some bad things. We fouled the three point shooter going under a screen on a guy that is a quality shooter and we talked about not doing that, not going under screens. I think it was Christian Anderson who got the four point play, it was a big part of the game and gave them a seven point lead. They started getting into doubles after that and JT Toppin took over and he was a problem. Even when we made him miss, his second jump was so good that he got off his feet again and got the rebound put back. They put a lot of pressure on us because of the shooting ability and then the interior presence of a guy like Toppin and even Darrion Williams. Tonight, I thought he was not what he was in our first game against them when I think he had 28 against us. But, they're a good team and they know how to win." 
 
On Adam Miller and Jayden Quaintance's injuries
"My guess is that Adam is going to play in the Big 12 tournament. He's had the hip pointer and then unfortunately he strained his oblique. When he came back in the first moments there at the Arizona game, that set him back and we couldn't risk bringing him here today. He wanted to play, so we're just going to look at him every day and he's got to show me, particularly by Monday, that he's moving in a normal way because I'm not going to risk him from getting injured again. Jayden wasn't ready today, and I don't think he's going to be ready by Tuesday. I wouldn't expect to see him play on Tuesday in Kansas City."
 
On Basheer Jihad and Alston Mason's last home game
"They're great kids, hard workers and very focused. They are always motivated to get better and they've given us everything that they could. I'm glad both of them individually, had nice performances today here in their last home game especially from Basheer. They were more aggressive with Alston today. They watched the Arizona game and were more active and aggressive on him. They made it hard for him to get the quality of shots that he got in the last game. Basheer had a good game going for him."
 
Senior Forward Basheer Jihad
On his time playing at Arizona State
"I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here and I wish things could have been better. We had a lot of close games that didn't go our way. I wish we would have had those. We'll be talking a lot differently for the rest of the season but I'm truly grateful for everything Arizona State's done for me."
 
On the team sustaining energy in the game
"Down the stretch, I think guys are trying to conserve energy, especially in the first half. I think that we can do a better job of at least giving spurts or giving a complete effort instead of just taking lapses. I think we have more in the tank and we can give more if we care enough then. It's tough for sure, but it's something that we're capable of doing."