Following a 70-63 win on Saturday against the Utah Utes, the Sun Devils looked to send off seniors Anthony “Pig” Johnson, Allen Mukeba and Moe Odum with a win on senior night against No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks.
“Yeah, it’s a very emotional game for a lot of reasons. The senior day always is,” said ASU head coach Bobby Hurley on the senior day game.
The Jayhawks looked to bounce back after an 84-61 loss to the No. 2 ranked Arizona Wildcats.
Freshman center Massamba Diop got the scoring going early for ASU knocking down a three- point shot, then a smooth two pointer. Diop would add another two points scoring seven of the Sun Devils first nine points, to get out to an early six-point lead.
The offense was hard to find for Kansas, as they started the game 1-8 from the field and had four turnovers five minutes into the game. Although Kansas struggled to put the ball in the basket, the Sun Devils offense shot 6-17 halfway through the first half.
With six minutes to go in the first half, Kansas head coach Bill Self picked up a double technical foul, resulting in Self being ejected from the game. Odum made three of the four technical free throws to give the Devils a 26-16 lead.
Kansas guard and potential first overall pick Darryn Peterson notched his first points on a pair of free throws with four minutes to go in the half. Just as the half could not get worse for the Jayhawks, assistant coach Jacque Vaughn picked up a technical foul resulting in two more made free throws for Odum.
The Sun Devils ended the half on a 13-2 run in the last four minutes of the half. Odum led the way for ASU with 15 points going 3-5 from three-point range. Diop’s strong start cooled down as he ended with 11 points.
ASU took an impressive 40-20-point lead into the half against the fourteenth team in the nation. Senior guard Tre White led the Jayhawks in scoring with just five points.
Needing a strong start to the second half, Kansas got just that, going on a 13-2 run to cut the lead to 11 with 15 minutes remaining. Arizona State’s Santiago Trouet put an end with a free throw to push the lead back to 12.
Peterson quickly went on a mini 6-0 making threes on back-to-back possessions.
The Sun Devils started the second half shooting 3-14 only scoring nine points eight minutes into the second.
Kansas’ Elmarko Jackson was given a flagrant foul after a hard foul on ASU’s Mukeba. Mukeba would be assisted to the locker room after the foul.
Odum nailed the flagrant free throws, following them up with a deep three to give the Devils a 54-42 lead with 11 to play.
Going four minutes without a point, Arizona State’s once 20-point lead was cut down to just four with seven minutes left. That scoreless streak snapped after Odum put in his fifth three pointer of the night.
With under six minutes to go, Kansas’ Peterson would pick up his fourth personal foul.
Up two with three and a half minutes to go, Johnson hit his first three of the game. The following possession, Odum grabbed a steal and found a streaking Johnson for a tough finish at the rim to put ASU up 62-55.
The Sun Devils held on strong, stacking up an 11-0 to beat their second top 15 opponent in Big 12 play. In his last game in front of the Sun Devil faithful, Moe Odum led the way with 23 points. Diop followed up 19 points and nine rebounds.
“Coming to ASU, my dream school and just being the player everybody likes, everybody loves, and just let everybody know who I am,” said senior guard Odum.
After a two-point first half, Peterson ended with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while White put together a 16 point and 14 rebound performance.
“Peterson is a phenomenal prospect, and he showed in the second half especially why, but I know there were a lot of NBA guys in the building, and they had to be looking at that guy, (Diop)” Hurley said talking about Diop’s outing.
Arizona State hung on despite a shaky second half to defeat No. 14 Kansas 70-60.
ASU plays another ranked opponent in No.6 Iowa State on the road Saturday, as they prepare for the upcoming Big 12 tournament.
