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Yesterday it was Zane Gonzalez's field goal against Utah (74%) taking down Brianna Macha's no hitter (26%) in the second matchup in the round of 16. Below are the up-to-date results of the bracket.
Today's matchup: Seed No. 7 ASU women's basketball makes the Sweet 16 vs. Seed No. 10 Jon Rahm winning the Ben Hogan Award.
Seed No. 7: ASU women's basketball advances to Sweet 16
Postseason basketball hasn't been as much a rarity for the Sun Devils' women's team as it may be in other parts of Arizona.
Head coach Charli Turner Thorne guided her 2014-15 unit to a remarkable 29-win season (the second-highest total in school history) that included an 18-1 start (best ever overall start), a 7-0 start in conference play (best in school history), and the team's 11th 20-win season. The Sun Devils also broke into the top ten of the Associated Press poll for the first time since 2006-07, peaking in the rankings at No. 9 in the nation.
More impressively, the Sun Devils managed to progress to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.
The Lady Sun Devils were awarded the No. 3 seed in the Greensboro Region and an opportunity to host the first two games of the tournament in Tempe. After handily defeating No. 14-seeded Ohio in the first round, 74-55, ASU would have to squeak out a victory over No. 11-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock.
The Sun Devils would get off to a very slow start, making the possibility of being upset a near reality. ASU would finish the first half with 17 points while shooting 6-of-28 (21.4 percent) from the field, however they only trailed by nine at halftime against a UALR team that had averaged 65.1 points per game.
Five minutes into the second half, UALR had opened a 16-point lead, and ASU looked as though its season would conclude that night.
Luckily, the Sun Devils' offense (which averaged 64.8 points per game) roared back to life with tenacity and vengeance in the final 15 minutes.
The Sun Devils would shoot 57 percent from the field in second half, finally finding success on the offensive end. Their offensive breakthrough was coupled with lockdown defense that would help ASU claw back into the game.
UALR was held scoreless for over five minutes at one point during the second half, as ASU was able to take advantage, going on a 9-0 run to bring themselves within four with 3:56 remaining.
With 2:11 left and the Sun Devils down by six, guard Elisha Davis heaved a long-range three-pointer to bring her team within one possession, claiming the momentum for ASU and draining any and all confidence from their opposition.
After a UALR layup with 1:50 left, the Sun Devils went on a 6-0 run, taking the lead into the closing seconds.
Two made free throws from guard Katie Hempen with seven seconds remaining in the game pushed the team's lead to 57-54, and ASU would move on to the Sweet 16.
Despite falling to No. 2-seeded Florida State, 66-65, in heartbreaking fashion the following game, the Sun Devils certainly had a very successful season, and provided one of the more entertaining campaigns of the 2014-15 Sun Devil athletics season.
Look for them to continue their strong play during the 2015-16 season.
- Kaelen Jones
Seed No. 10: Jon Rahm wins Ben Hogan Award
What a year it's been for Jon Rahm (so far).
Playing for a school widely criticized for its history of underachieving in athletics, the junior from Spain blossomed to the top of the college and amateur golf rankings (No. 1 player in World Amateur Golf Ranking and No. 2 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings), while bringing home collegiate golf's most prestigious individual award.
Rahm won four tournaments in 2014-15 and was awarded the 2015 Ben Hogan Award on May 18 by the Colonial Country Club, Friends of Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America. Rahm was the first Sun Devil to ever win the award and only the second to qualify as a finalist.
Rahm placed first in the Bill Cullum Invitational, Duck Invitational, ASU Thunderbird Invitational and the NCAA San Diego Invitational. With one year of eligibility remaining, his seven collegiate wins are third-most in ASU history, trailing only Billy Mayfair (8) and Phil Mickelson (16).
Rahm also dominated in the amateur circuit outside of the collegiate scope. He also won the World Team Amateur in Sept 13, 2014, with his 23-under score of 263 breaking Jack Nicklaus' 54-year-old record of 269.
Perhaps Rahm's most memorable moment of the year on the course, though, was his performance in the 2015 WM Phoenix Open in February. Playing under a sponsor's exemption that allowed him to compete in a PGA Tour event as an amateur, Rahm advanced all the way to the final round and finished with a tie for fifth-place at 12-under 272, trailing winner Brooks Koepka by just three strokes. Rahm wasn't afraid to show his Arizona State roots, as he played on the famous 16th hole wearing a Pat Tillman No. 42 jersey and throwing up pitchforks after every hole.
Not many college kids can say they beat both Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods in a golf tournament.
The scary part about Rahm's phenomenal year is that it still isn't over. Rahm and the Arizona State men's golf team are headed to the NCAA Men's Golf Championship in Florida, which starts Friday, with the No. 3 seed.
Rahm has clearly established himself as Arizona State's most dominant male student-athlete, and arguably the entire school with respect to cross-country runner Shelby Houlihan.
- Josh Nacion