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ASU men's basketball pulls off huge upset over No. 1 Kansas

No.18 ASU pulled out the victory in the final minutes

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 ASU redshirt junior guard Rob Edwards (2) takes a shot as ASU defeats University of Kansas 80-76 on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona.


The ASU men's basketball team upset the top team in the nation on Saturday with a last-minute 80-76 win over the Kansas Jayhawks, putting an end to the Jayhawks’ previously undefeated season.

The No. 18 Sun Devils (9-2) trailed the Jayhawks (10-1) most of the game until Sun Devil sophomore guard Remy Martin sneaked in a jump shot, breaking the 76-76 tie with only 59 seconds remaining.

“Wow, that was one of the great sports moments of my life,”  coach Bobby Hurley said in his opening press conference statement.

This marks yet another Sun Devil upset over Kansas, following last year's upset at Kansas's home court. 

Martin and redshirt junior guard Rob Edwards remained low profile with a handful of mishaps during of the first half. Their second half would provide a crucial leverage in the Sun Devils' four-point difference win.

With time frozen at six seconds, Edwards would go on to land a pair of free throw shots, completely forgetting the teams 12 missed free throw shots during the game.

"That's how we practice," Edwards said on his and Martin's resilience. "We both hit big shots at practice, so we just let it translate to the game. We didn't really think about them being No. 1, we just took it as another game."

The win was only the second time in the school's history that the Sun Devils took down a No. 1 ranked opponent. The Sun Devils defeated Oregon State in 1981 when ASU was ranked No. 5.

Edwards led the Sun Devils against the Jayhawks with 15 total points, four rebounds and 3-of-5 shooting on three-point shots.

On the other hand, the Jayhawks, who entered Saturday's match unscathed, controlled the ball for the majority of the game. 

With a game high of 30 points and 14 rebounds, redshirt junior forward Dedric Lawson helped propel his team to a lead that stretched as far as 12 points during the first half.

"He (Lawson) is a really good player," Martin said. "He got it going in the first half, and we just had to make adjustments but also our effort and our energy everything picked up another level."

Both ASU and Kansas were shooting exactly at 28.6 percent three-point shots at half time.

But by the half, the Sun Devils were not fazed by the eight point deficit.

"We were down and they (the students) were still with us," Martin said. "They didn't give up on us. They've been consistent throughout the first game to now."


Reach the reporter at Edith.Noriega@asu.edu or follow @Noriega_Edith on Twitter. 

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