Pac-12 Conference Tournament: ASU Sun Devils Fall 85-65 To Stanford Cardinal

The Arizona St. Sun Devils fell 85-65 to the Stanford Cardinal in the first round of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament on Wednesday night. As ASU fans have seen over and over again this season, the team stumbled out of the gate to a slow start that it just couldn't overcome by night's end.

The first half was characterized by turnovers and static offense. The Sun Devils had 11 turnovers at halftime and scored only 30 points by halftime. Freshman guard Chasson Randle almost matched that total at the break by himself, tearing up the ASU defense to the tune of 27 points. ASU entered the locker room down 50-30, with plenty of work to do in the second half.

The Sun Devils did play well once play resumed, committing only two turnovers the rest of the way. Chris Colvin nailed a jumper with 15:09 left to cut the lead to 62-48. That, however, was as close as ASU would get all night. Stanford re-established its 20-point halftime lead in the end to hand ASU a 85-65 loss.

Chanse Creekmur led the way for the Sun Devils with 13 points off of the bench and Jordan Bachynski pitched in with 11 points as well; no other Sun Devil scored in double figures. Stanford's Randle, who put up an impressive 27-point total in the first half, scored only three more points after the break. His 30 points led all scores on this night.

This Pac-12 Tournament loss has to be viewed as a bit of a disappointment given ASU's solid play against the Arizona Wildcats in Sunday's 87-80 win. That game could have been a springboard to an exciting tournament run. Instead, the ghosts of ASU's season re-emerged and prevented the Sun Devils from moving on. The Cardinal won that honor instead, and they will play the Cal Golden Bears in the next round of the conference tournament on Thursday.