It isn't every day the No. 1 team comes to town. So, no, it wasn't just another game.
Grant Hillย was in the house. So was Jason Kidd.ย Olympic great Michael Phelps. Governor Dougย Ducey.ย Football coach Herm Edwards was in the house for theย showdown televised by ESPN.
For most of the night it didn't look good for the No. 18 Sun Devils, but Bobby Hurley's squad battled through spells of poor shooting and pulled off the 80-76 upset on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 14,592 at Wells Fargo Arena โ thirdย third-largest crowd in history.
"That was one of the greatest sports moments of my life. That's the best way I can put it," Hurley said, after the celebration had subsided.
It was the 11th meeting between the schools with the previous 10 games split down the middle. It was the second time in as many years the teams have played. Last year the Sun Devils knocked off the then No. 2 Jayhawks,ย 95-85, at Kansas.
They did it this time in as many tries improbable fashion, trailing for 38 of the 40 minutes.
"This one was sweeter," sophomore point guard Remy Martin said. "Last year we were hitting shots from everywhere. It was almost surreal. This one we really had to battle."
ASU (9-2) didn't take its first lead until 2:12 left when Rob Edwards hit a 3-pointer to give the Sun Devils a 76-74 advantage. The home team had a chance to increase that lead seconds later, only to have freshman guard Luguentz Dort miss two free throws.
The contest was tied at 76 with 1:17 to play. Then cameย a heroic play byย Martin, who had 21 in the Sun Devils' upset a year ago. Martin unleashed an off-balanceย jumper from the top of the key that got nothing but net to make it 78-76.
That would prove to be the game winner.
The teams swapped turnovers.ย The tenacious ASU defense forced a backcourt violation with 6.9 seconds left for the second turnover in as many possession, the last one ย sealing the Jayhawks'ย fate. Edwards was fouled on the ensuing inbounds and he converted both free throws for a four-point edge that held up for the win.
As the buzzer sounded, the ASU faithful stormed the court in celebration.
"I didn't know they were going to rush the floor," Martin said. "It was crazy. I've never been in the middle of something like that. Those are the moments you live for."
Kansas shot 41.5 percent (27 for 65) for the game while ASU shot 41.3 (26 for 63). The rebounding totals were nearly even, too, 41-40 for Kansas. The Jayhawks fared better at the line, hitting 15 of 15 while ASU managed just 20 of 32.
The biggest lead for Kansas was 12 points, that advantage coming at 39-27 in the first half. The Sun Devils shot just 29 percent in a first half which ended with them down 39-31. Instead of thinking of that as a negative, Hurley saw it the other way.
"It could have been worse," he said "We were missing some shots and making some mistakes and we were only down by eight. I knew if we could start making a few of those we'd be right there."
It was a balanced scoring effort for the Sun Devils as Edwards had a season-high 15. He missed six games with a back injury and this was just his third game back. It took him two to start feeling good again.
"I feel like I'm getting back to my old self again and it feels good," he said.
Dort and Zylan Cheatham each chipped in with 13 with Cheatham also grabbing 11 rebounds, nine of those on the defensive end.
Kansas got 30 from Dedric Lawson, 18 of those in the first half. He also had 14 rebounds. Lagerald Vick added 14 and Devon Dotson 12.
"This proves a lot," Martin said. "We beat No. 1. It shows we can be the best team in the country."
ASU has one last game next Saturday at home against Princeton before starting Pac-12 play on Jan. 3 against Utah.
