Arizona State earns its first NCAA Tournament win since 2019 as it defeats Nevada 98-73 in a blowout victory
DJ Horne led a torrid offensive display in the first half and finished with 20 points as Arizona State defeated Nevada 98-73 in the final First Four game of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday.
Desmond Cambridge Jr. had 17 and Jamiya Neal added 16 for the Sun Devils (23-12), who advance as the No. 11 seed to play No. 6 TCU in a West Region first-round game in Denver on Friday. .
Arizona State’s Devan Cambridge chipped in with 15 points and Luther Muhammad chipped in 12 points.
The Sun Devils used a 22-2 first half run to build an insurmountable 53-26 halftime lead. Arizona State finished 11-for-21 (52.4 percent) from 3-point range to record its first NCAA Tournament win since 2019, which was also a Top Four win.
Will Baker scored 17, Tre Coleman added 14 and Darrion Williams had 12 to lead Nevada (22-11), allowing Arizona State to shoot 63.6 percent from the field during the game.
Warren Washington #22 of Arizona State reacts off the bench late in the second half
Nevada’s Will Baker #50 and ASU’s Desmond Cambridge Jr. #4 battle for a loose ball
Jamiya Neal (right) scored 16 points for the Sun Devils as they won a first-round matchup
The game was a matchup of two high-profile coaches as Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley outpointed Nevada’s Steve Alford.
After Wolf Pack center Will Baker hit a 3-pointer in the opening seconds, Arizona State responded with the next 13 points and took control of the game.
Neal had two spectacular plays on back-to-back trips down the court that put the Sun Devils ahead 25-12 midway through the first half.
His direct, one-handed three-pointer to the face was followed by a spinning layup under the basket, with the ball tumbling through the net as it fell hard onto the court beyond the baseline.
Desmond Cambridge Jr. hit a pair of 3-pointers on back-to-back drives late in the first half.
Alonzo Gaffney then hit a long 3-pointer from the left sideline off the Nevada bench and shrugged it off in a move reminiscent of Michael Jordan in the 1992 NBA Finals against Portland.
Arizona State’s eighth 3-pointer in 12 attempts put the Sun Devils up 51-22 with 2:29 remaining in the first half. The Sun Devils shot 8-for-14 from behind the arc before halftime.
Just 20 seconds into the second half, the Sun Devils continued their 3-point assault as Horne’s 3-pointer extended the lead to 56-26. Nevada couldn’t get close to 19 in the second half.
ASU’s Luther Muhammad (1) and Desmond Cambridge Jr. (4) were all smiles after
Tre Coleman #14 of Nevada attempts a three pointer during the second half of the game