Denied! ASU Falls in Pac-!2 Tourney

LAS VEGAS – It was there for the taking for Arizona State. A terrible start, a terrific comeback, and then running out of gas in overtime. The Sun Devils lost to Oregon Friday night 79-75 in overtime and now must play the waiting game through Sundays NCAA Tournament Selections to see if they are in the Big Dance. From the opening tip it just wasn’t ASU’s night. Remy Martin left the floor with an injury and was in the locker room for a good potion of the first half. . Arizona State couldn’t shoot straight in the opening twenty minuets and it looked like the Sun Devils Pac-12 tourney run was going to come to an end.
But good old fashioned guts and guile took over for Bobby Hurley’s team. Martin came out of the locker room looking like a dazed fighter, but he’d clear the cobwebs to get the Sun Devils back in the game, trailing 35-28 at the half.
In the second half, Rob Edwards would give ASU a 9-point lead, 49-40, but the Sun Devils would have no answer for Oregon guard Payton Pritchard, who would score 18 points on the night.
I will have more on Arizona State’s short term future in a notes column tomorrow. Lots of interesting scenarios floating around.