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Arizona State men’s basketball bought coach Bobby Hurley some time with an 83-79 win over Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday.
It has long been believed the head coach’s 11th season at ASU — his final year under contract — would not be rewarded with an extension, and reports on Monday reflected that expectation.
But the Sun Devils on Tuesday led for all but the first 2:22 of the contest and held the line as they watched a 15-point second-half lead shrink to three with 5:47 remaining. The win also guarantees a finish above .500 now at 17-15 (8-11 Big 12).
The 12th seed in the conference tournament, ASU moves on to face fifth-seed Iowa State at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The Sun Devils fell by 21 points to the Cyclones in the regular-season finale after leading by four at the half.
ASU led by 11 with 9:33 remaining when Baylor had its best run at a lead behind a 10-2 run. The Bears got some help from Sun Devils center Massamba Diop when it appeared he mistakenly tipped in a Baylor miss at the rim for the final points of that run.
A seven-point response that included a Noah Meeusen 3 for the Sun Devils’ first hit from deep in over seven minutes followed to get the lead back out to double-digits.
After it was a three-point game, ASU outscored Baylor 15-7 over the following 5:11. Five Sun Devils finished with double-digit points, led by Pig Johnson’s 19 off the bench.
Bears point guard Isaac Williams led much of the comeback effort with nine of his 15 points coming in the second half, but he fouled out with 4:46 left.
ASU was 4-of-5 from 3 by the time Baylor made its second 3 of the game, as the Sun Devils built a first-half lead as high as 13 points with eight minutes left. Baylor responded with a 14-6 run to whittle the difference down to five before ASU made four of its last five shots to take a 44-35 halftime lead.
Andrija Grbovic, who made his first four shot attempts, and Pig Johnson kept the offense churning in the first half with 12 and 10 points, respectively, as season leading-scorer Moe Odum was held without a shot attempt with one assist (two turnovers and two fouls) in the opening half.
Baylor wing Cameron Carr, ESPN’s No. 23 NBA Draft prospect, had 15 points on 4-for-8 shooting in the first half, while the rest of the Bears were a combined 9 of 22 with 20 points. Carr scored eight of his 10 second-half points in the final 33 seconds.
Odum enters the second-round matchup tied with Mike Redhair (1989-90) for fourth on the all-time program list for most assists in a single season. His 185 assists are the most since Ahlon Lewis’ program-record 294 set in 1997-98.
Diop will enter with 67 blocks, the most in a season by a Sun Devil since Jordan Bachynski’s program-record 133 blocks in 2013-14 and four more than Jayden Quaintance’s 63 for the most by a freshman set last season. Diop ranks seventh among all Sun Devils for a single season and is two blocks away from tying sixth-place Tommy Smith (2002-03).
Duke was chosen No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for a record 150th time on Monday.
The Blue Devils received 56 of 61 first-place votes from a national media panel after wins over rivals NC State and North Carolina, leaving them in the top spot for the third consecutive week.
Arizona stayed second and received four first-place votes while Michigan received the other No. 1 ballot after its impressive win over No. 8 Michigan State.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position to do something special and make a run,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.
The Blue Devils reached No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time on Dec. 13, 1965, and they’ve spent more time there than any other men’s basketball program. UCLA is second with 134 weeks on top, while Kentucky is third (125).
Now, Scheyer’s crew heads into the ACC Tournament as the No. 1 seed, but potentially without two of their starters. Patrick Ngongba II and Caleb Foster both were wearing boots in the second half of Duke’s win over the Tar Heels on Saturday.
Defending national champion Florida climbed to fourth in this week’s AP poll, the highest the Gators have been since they were preseason No. 3. Houston moved up to fifth after finishing second to Arizona in the regular-season Big 12 race.
UConn dropped from fourth to sixth after the Huskies were upset by Marquette in their regular-season Big East finale.
Arizona, Houston, No. 14 Kansas and Texas Tech are the top four seeds in the Big 12 and earned double-byes into the quarterfinals on Thursday. Duke, No. 10 Virginia, Miami and No. 19 North Carolina are the top four in the ACC and likewise begin play Thursday, as will the top four seeds in the Big East: St. John’s, UConn, Villanova and Seton Hall.
Michigan, No. 11 Nebraska, Michigan State and No. 9 Illinois are the top four seeds in the Big Ten and will play their quarterfinal games on Friday. So will Florida, No. 15 Alabama, No. 17 Arkansas and No. 22 Vanderbilt, the top four seeds in the SEC Tournament.
No. 12 Gonzaga played Oregon State in the West Coast semifinals on Monday night, while No. 21 Saint Mary’s played Santa Clara in the other semifinal. The winners will meet for the conference championship Tuesday night.
No. 20 Miami (Ohio) is the top seed in the MAC tourney. The RedHawks play UMass in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
The rankings used by the NCAA to help seed its tournament varied slightly from the AP poll. The NET had Michigan instead of Arizona at No. 2 behind the Blue Devils. The Wildcats were third.
The RedHawks, who completed a 31-0 regular season, were ranked 55th by the NET due in large part to their strength of schedule.
The Big Ten has six ranked teams while the Big 12 and SEC have five apiece, though the Big 12’s five included three of the top seven and all within the top 16. The ACC has four ranked teams, the Big East and West Coast two apiece and the MAC one.
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Duke (56) | 29-2 | 1519 | 1 |
| 2. Arizona (4) | 29-2 | 1439 | 2 |
| 3. Michigan (1) | 29-2 | 1434 | 3 |
| 4. Florida | 25-6 | 1337 | 5 |
| 5. Houston | 26-5 | 1241 | 7 |
| 6. UConn | 27-4 | 1178 | 4 |
| 7. Iowa St. | 25-6 | 1137 | 6 |
| 8. Michigan St. | 25-6 | 1083 | 8 |
| 9. Illinois | 24-7 | 1037 | 11 |
| 10. Virginia | 27-4 | 953 | 13 |
| 11. Nebraska | 26-5 | 939 | 9 |
| 12. Gonzaga | 28-3 | 846 | 12 |
| 13. St. John’s | 25-6 | 733 | 18 |
| 14. Kansas | 22-9 | 608 | 14 |
| 15. Alabama | 23-8 | 602 | 16 |
| 16. Texas Tech | 22-9 | 554 | 10 |
| 17. Arkansas | 23-8 | 532 | 20 |
| 18. Purdue | 23-8 | 529 | 15 |
| 19. North Carolina | 24-7 | 488 | 17 |
| 20. Miami (Ohio) | 31-0 | 420 | 19 |
| 21. Saint Mary’s | 27-4 | 325 | 21 |
| 22. Vanderbilt | 24-7 | 323 | 24 |
| 23. Wisconsin | 22-9 | 201 | – |
| 24. Louisville | 22-9 | 140 | – |
| 25. Tennessee | 21-10 | 72 | 23 |
Others receiving votes in the AP college basketball rankings: Miami 60, TCU 19, BYU 18, Saint Louis 12, High Point 11, Georgia 10, Villanova 10, UCLA 3, VCU 3, Stephen F Austin 2, Utah St. 2, Ohio St. 2, Missouri 2, Akron 1.
The ownership group seeking to bring professional women’s soccer to Mesa’s former Fiesta Mall location said it expects to begin stadium construction this summer.
Sunny Day Sports, which is developing the Palo District near Alma School Road and Southern Avenue, said in a press release Monday that it is planning to move on that timeline while it attempts to attract a pro soccer franchise.
Since announcing its Founding Fans initiative in late January, Sunny Day Sports said it took 10 days to accumulate more than 15,000 sign-ups of supporters interested in bringing women’s soccer to Arizona.
“Sunny Day Sports is leading the charge, but the community is the real engine here,” said Sunny Day Sports chairwoman and owner Vicki Mayo in a release. “Thousands of fans are telling us they are ready for professional women’s soccer (in) Arizona.”
Sunny Day Sports has planned to build a $100 million women’s health campus at the former site of Fiesta Mall, which was demolished in 2023.
The 80-acre development will also include two hotels, which were announced last week.
At the heart of the project, however, is a plan for a domed stadium that will “prioritize female athletes and fans in its architectural DNA.”
The Mesa City Council voted last November to zone the Palo District as a theme park district, giving it tax breaks for construction that will be repaid from revenue generated by the completed project. It will be able to levy a sales tax on business done within the district.
SCOTTSDALE — Spring training is a great time for fans to watch top prospects compete with big league stars, and the Arizona Diamondbacks have supplied many opportunities with Ryan Waldschmidt, Jose Fernandez and Tommy Troy garnering attention.
At the same time, the Diamondbacks would benefit greatly from a couple young players who graduated prospect status last year taking the next steps in their development, as it is more likely Jorge Barrosa and Tim Tawa will be tasked with adding big league depth when the regular seasons begins.
Both players have the traits to be valuable role players for Arizona. They are fast, athletic and can fill in at multiple positions, with Barrosa a plus defender at all three outfield spots and Tawa able to play all over the diamond. Barrosa is a 5-foot-6 switch-hitter who frequently reached base and showed sneaky pop in the minor leagues, while Tawa blasted 31 home runs in 2024.
They each ran into trouble against big league pitching last season, however, when Tawa and Barrosa hit .201 and .141, respectively.
Barrosa (25) and Tawa (26) are at an important stage of their careers.
They made the major leagues but must prove they can stick. The Diamondbacks have questions with the back end of the starting lineup and bench, particularly early when their injured list will be long and the schedule daunting. Barrosa and Tawa went into the offseason focused on making the adjustments necessary to fill roles for a club that could use leaps from its youngsters to raise the floor of this roster.
Despite his smaller frame, Barrosa expanded the zone last year in his major league at-bats, chasing at a 35% clip (28% league average) and striking out 22 times with only two walks in 77 plate appearances, according to Statcast.
That’s not in line with his minor league track record, rather a sign of a player trying to do too much on the grand stage.
“Just play for the team, that’s one thing that you’re always trying to do,” Barrosa told Arizona Sports. “Be able to recognize more pitches and be patient, be more patient. Just swing at the right pitches. A lot of the guys that I’m learning from are (Lourdes Gurriel Jr.), I always talk to him. (Ildemaro Vargas). They always talk to me about game situations.”
Barrosa said he wants to see a lot more pitches this year, making the pitcher work before facing the bigger bats atop the order.
The Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System should be a useful tool, which Barrosa has experience with in the minor leagues. The ABS strike zone is slightly tighter than the average umpire’s zone, particularly at the top and bottom. Barrosa said he felt there were some high strikes called against him last year, and the ABS system should help with that.
Part of Barrosa’s approach focus, he said, is doing a better job of staying behind the baseball and trusting himself instead of getting too far out front. He can drive the ball, hitting 29 doubles in only 93 Triple-A games last year.
“I would say a lot with the hitting coaches is about approach, about mentality, what you’re going to do, where you want to see the ball, where you want the ball to start,” Barrosa said. “Be confident in your work that you put in the cages and be able to execute it in the game. … Don’t try to do too much.”
Manager Torey Lovullo said at the start of camp that Barrosa knows this is a big spring for him to compete, noting that pitch selection will be key.
Arizona’s Opening Day outfield projects to be Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas and Jordan Lawlar, with Lawlar getting his feet wet in center field this spring.
That would leave a bench spot for Barrosa as the fourth outfielder who could provide value as a defensive replacement, pinch runner or a pinch hitter for the right matchup. With Arizona’s top prospect being an outfielder (Waldschmidt) knocking at the door, along with Gurriel progressing faster than expected from a torn ACL, a light outfield could become pretty crowded sooner than later.
Barrosa also has no minor league options remaining, adding a level of urgency to perform.
Tawa was rolling when he got to the major leagues for the first time last year. The right-handed hitter clocked four home runs with two doubles and eight walks in his first 14 games. The pop he showed in the minor leagues was evident, but from there, pitchers peppered him with breaking balls and the strikeouts piled up.
So, Tawa went to work with Arizona’s hitting coaches this offseason to make both approach and physical adjustments.
“The approach is obviously a big part of it, and it’s important being able to control the zone and I’ve tried to put a big emphasis on that so far in my at-bats,” Tawa said.
“But I was feeling more like I was steep, and where my hands were loading, it was just tough to consistently get to the right spot and then have my bat path be the right way. So just trying to eliminate the variability, be a little bit more consistent just by having a little bit more of a set position and just be a little more point A to point B.”
Tawa feeling more balanced has been a positive sign this spring, he said, that allows him to be on more pitches. He’s off to a solid start, slashing .286/.400/.476 in 21 at-bats with a home run.
Lovullo said Tawa could fill into a Ben Zobrist-type role with his versatility, harkening back to the utility man who helped the Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs win championships during the mid-2010s. Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernandez are right-handed utility players who have benefited the Los Angeles Dodgers for years.
Blaze Alexander had been described with that potential before he was traded to Baltimore this offseason, which presents an opportunity for someone else to handle the do-it-all job.
Tawa played all three outfield spots, second base, third base and first base last season for the Diamondbacks. He has played mostly second base this spring but will continue to move around. He is not expected to play shortstop, but the ability to fill into other infield spots and the outfield should create playing time opportunities.
The Diamondbacks’ roster will change as the season progresses with players returning from injury or earning call-ups. That should create a level of internal competition all year for players with years of MLB service time or others getting started like Tawa and Barrosa.
