TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) Poised down the stretch after trailing most of the night, No. 18 Arizona State pulled off one of the biggest victories in school history by knocking off No. 1 Kansas 80-76 on Saturday.
This was a huge moment for our basketball program, Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said.
It wasnt easy.
Arizona State (9-2) had a hard time stopping Kansas preseason All-American Dedric Lawson inside, blew numerous shots at the rim and had a rough night at the free throw line.
Trailing by up to nine points, the Sun Devils rallied by double-teaming Lawson, digging in on defense and making the biggest plays down the stretch to beat a No. 1 team for the second time as a program.
As it did in beating Kansas a year ago in Lawrence, Arizona State rallied late, using a 10-0 run to go up 76-74 with 90 seconds left.
Kansas (10-1) turned it over twice in its final three possessions and Rob Edwards, who scored 15 points, hit two free throws with 6.1 seconds left to start the celebration.
Those are the moments we live for, said Arizona States Remy Martin, who had 10 points, including two from a pull-up jumper with 58 seconds left.
Kansas led nearly the entire game and had plenty of chances down the stretch to win its first true road game of the season, even with big man Udoka Azubuike missing his fourth straight game due to an ankle injury.
The Jayhawks were unable to come up with the defensive stops during Arizona States run and couldnt get off a tying shot down two in the closing seconds, finding themselves at the center of a Sun Devil celebration and likely out of the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25.
Its a very tough one because we had the game and we let it slip right through our hands, said Lawson, who led Kansas with 30 points and 14 rebounds.
