Editor’s note: This continues the Star’s ongoing “Big 12 Blitz” series, where we introduce U of A fans to the on- and off-field need-to-know details surrounding each member of the 16-team Big 12 Conference. Today: a special double edition, touching on rivalry shared by ASU Sun Devils and the hometown U of A Wildcats.
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Those indelible moments of rivalry past are never too far from top of mind when it comes to Arizona and Arizona State.
UA safety Chuck Cecil’s 106-yard interception return in 1986 over then-undefeated ASU is one. Another: the season-long crescendo Jerry Kindall’s UA baseball team needed after losing its first seven matchups against the Sun Devils during the 1976 season; on the eighth try — the second time the teams were meeting that year in the College World Series — Arizona broke through, and one game later the UA was baseball’s national champion for the first time.
But as the schools embarked together on a new adventure this year as new Big 12 Conference counterparts, the Territorial Cup rivalry across virtually all sports is hot as ever.
Here’s a look at where the Wildcats and Sun Devils stand all-time in some high profile duels in the desert, as well as some of the more recent standout moments of celebration for both sides of the rivalry.
Arizona State players chase guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. (4) down the court after his buzzer-beater from beyond half court gave the Sun Devils an 89-88 upset win over Arizona at McKale Center on Feb. 25, 2023.
Men’s Basketball
All-time matchups: 247; Arizona leads 161-86 (65%-35%)
Current streak: Arizona, three straight
Recent rivalry moment: Feb. 25, 2023 at McKale Center; No. 7 Arizona looked poised for its seventh straight win over the Sun Devils. But a prayer by ASU’s Desmond Cambridge Jr. from well across half court — he let it fly from the Lute Olson signature adorning the floor not far from the UA bench — fell through as the buzzer sounded to give ASU an 89-88 upset win of the most shocking proportion.
Arizona senior Carlie Scupin is carried off the field after hitting a two-run, walk-off single to the left-center gap to secure a three-game sweep of rival ASU on the UA softball team’s Senior Day at Hillenbrand Stadium on April 21.
Softball
All-time matchups: 156; Arizona leads 102-61-1 (66%-34%)
Current streak: Arizona, four straight
Recent rivalry moment: April 21, 2024 at Hillenbrand Stadium; The most recent moment on the list came after ASU led the Wildcats 8-7 in the bottom of the last inning in the final game of the teams’ 2024 three-game set at Hillenbrand Stadium. On senior day, Tucson High School alum and Wildcat star senior Carlie Scupin hit a two-run walk-off single that flipped the game into a 9-8 Arizona victory. The win gave the Wildcats the weekend (and season) series sweep, and further solidified the UA’s NCAA Tournament positioning.
Arizona players swarm ASU running back Eno Benjamin (3) during the first quarter of the Wildcats’ macthup with the Sun Devils in Tucson on Nov. 24, 2018. ASU would trail by 19 in the fourth quarter, but Benjamin scored three times that final frame to push the Sun Devils to victory.
Football
All-time matchups: 98 matchups; Arizona leads 51-46-1 (53%-47%)
Current streak: Arizona, two straight
Recent rivalry moment(s): While there’s plenty of debate as to the legitimacy of Arizona’s all-time lead in the series — Sun Devil fans will argue that their team has the edge if counting games only since ASU was designated an equal-footing university, but we digress — recent years have seen both programs trade plenty of blowout paint. That includes Arizona’s 59-23 drubbing in Tempe last November, as well as ASU’s infamous 70-7 explosion in Tucson in 2020. For tight ones of late, though: Nov. 24, 2018, Arizona Stadium. That’s the day ASU scored 20 unanswered fourth-quarter points — back Eno Benjamin scored three times — to flip n 19-point UA final frame lead into a 41-40 shocker of a Sun Devil victory in Tucson. That was the first matchup including both schools’ first-year head coaches — ASU’s Herm Edwards and the UA’s Kevin Sumlin.
Baseball
All-time matchups: 493; ASU leads 263-229-1 (53%-47%)
Current streak: Arizona, one
Recent rivalry moment: April 19, 2023, Hi Corbett Field. Newcomer Cam Walty went seven innings, scattering five hits while striking out seven, to keep ASU scoreless. But Arizona wasn’t playing for a close win in this one. The Wildcat offense erupted for 20 runs on 19 hits in the most lopsided game in the UA-ASU series since a 32-3 Sun Devil win at ASU’s old Packard Stadium on March 4, 2000. In the more recent blowout, though, Wildcats Mac Bingham went 5-for-5 at the plate; Chase Davis was 4-for-4 with five RBIs, and Tony Bullard hit two home runs.
Women’s basketball
All-time matchups: 107; ASU leads 66-41 (62%-38%)
Current streak: Arizona, five straight
Recent rivalry moment: Feb. 28, 2021, Desert Financial Arena. Days after UA legend Aari McDonald said she did not plan to return to Arizona for another year and would declare for the WNBA draft, McDonald went for 30 points as the No. 9 Wildcats tried to stave off upstart ASU. But ASU, thanks to 19 points on five 3s from Taya Hanson, would prevail in overtime, 66-64, in front of cardboard cutouts instead of fans in Tempe in the wake of COVID-19’s impact on spectator sports. Coach Adia Barnes’ Wildcats would have the last laugh that year, though; the UA rolled into the NCAA Tournament and all the way through to the first Final Four (and NCAA title game) appearance in program history.
