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The madness is beginning and that was evidenced by a stunner in the Grand Canyon State on Saturday.
Trailing No. 7 Arizona in the final seconds of their rivalry showdown on Saturday, Arizona State’s Desmond Cambridge nailed a half-court prayer at the buzzer to lift the Sun Devils to an 89-88 victory that may have saved their NCAA Tournament hopes. Take a look.
DESMOND CAMBRIDGE HALF-COURT GAME WINNER FOR ARIZONA STATE!!! pic.twitter.com/7RZK0gpcJd
— Aram Cannuscio (@AC__Hoops) February 25, 2023
That’s the stuff. That’s what we’re here for at this time of the year.
ASU entered this rivalry tilt as a heavy 12.5-point underdog at DraftKings Sportsbook and as a fading bubble team, desperately needed a victory like this to keep itself in the NCAA Tournament conversation. The Sun Devils went blow-for-blow with the favored Wildcats all afternoon but found themselves down two after Oumar Ballo made one of his two free throw attempts. That’s where Cambridge proved to be a hero, possibly saving the Sun Devils’ hopes to go dancing and head coach Bobby Hurley’s job.
As for Arizona, it entered the day sitting two games behind UCLA for first place in the Pac-12 standings. With this outcome, the Bruins have clinched at least a share of the regular season title and can clinch the outright crown with a win over Colorado on Sunday. Madness.