Arizona State Sun Devils vs Colorado Buffaloes Match Player Stats On Feb 24, 2022

It might be time to take Arizona State more seriously in the Pac-12.

Jay Heath's 18 points led a balanced attack for the Sun Devils, who thumped a conference opponent by a double-digit margin for the third time in eight days Thursday night, beating Colorado 82-65 in Boulder, Colo.

Arizona State (11-16, 7-10 Pac-12) earned its fourth victory in the past five overall, with Marreon Jackson adding 17 points, Luther Muhammad 15 and Jalen Graham 14.

The Sun Devils took an 11-point lead into halftime and carried a double-digit lead for the entire second half, putting an emphatic end to the Buffaloes' five-game winning streak.

Colorado (18-10, 10-8) was led by Evan Battey's 13 points, Jabari Walker's 12 and Keeshawn Barthelemy's 10. The Buffaloes made only 21 of 54 field-goal attempts (38.9 percent) while the Sun Devils sank 30 of 61 (49.2 percent).

Arizona State made 55.2 percent of its shots in the second half, and the Sun Devils outrebounded Colorado 38-26 overall.

On Feb. 17, Arizona State hammered Oregon by 24 points, and two nights later, the Sun Devils cruised by Oregon State by 20. Arizona State's only recent slip was a 14-point loss to No. 12 UCLA on Monday.

The Sun Devils were tough on defense and consistent with shots on offense against the Buffaloes.

Arizona State led 25-16 on Thursday, but the Buffaloes went on a brief run to make it 26-23 with 5:37 left in the first half. An 11-1 Arizona State surge over three minutes late in the half was the turning point, and Colorado never recovered.

Back-to-back steals off errant passes allowed Arizona State to build on the lead, and Muhammad scored 11 straight points for the Sun Devils over a three-plus-minute stretch in the second half to help his team take control for good at 58-41.

--Field Level Media