Boulder, CO – Don’t count them out of the NCAA Tournament just yet. 

Need some proof?  Watch this…

ASU basketball went on the road this past week to face Utah and Colorado.  After a tough loss to Utah, things looked gloomy and ASU was staring the NIT Tournament right in the face. With the regular season coming to an end soon, and the Sun Devils on the tournament bubble, ASU (19-7 / 8-5 Pac-12) needed to make a big statement.  Beating Colorado (17-8 / 7-6 Pac-12) on the road in front of a sold out crowd on ESPNU would help. 

Mission accomplished.

With Jake Plummer in the stands to support the Devils, Evan Gordon did his best “Jake the Snake” impression as he slithered through Colorado defenders to hit the game winning layup in overtime with one second left on the clock.  What followed was pure joy and celebration for the ASU basketball team.

The timing of the win was big on many different levels.  By beating a top conference opponent in Colorado, not only do the Sun Devils put themselves back in a relevant position for the NCAA tournament, but a win like this late in the season can do wonders for momentum and team confidence heading down the home stretch.  Also, these are the type of hard fought games that a team needs to learn how to win if they want to be successful when every game is crucial at the end of the year.

Gordon was the hero of the night, but Jahii Carson and Jordan Bachynski carried ASU for most of the game.  Carson finished with 18 points and Bachynski had 12 points and 3 blocks.   The entire team played physical, determined basketball and they earned this “gut check” win together.  Wins like this always make the flight home much more enjoyable.

Next up for ASU is Washington State at home on Wednesday night, February 20th. 

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