Sun Devils falter late, fall short of inaugural “Crown”

Arizona State falls to Nebraska 86-78 in inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (KYMA, KECY) - While the ultimate prize in men's college basketball will be decided during at the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas, there are other teams from across the country making their way to Las Vegas this week in hopes of experiencing their own "crowning" moment.

The College Basketball Crown is the latest postseason basketball tournament for teams looking to end their season on a high note and possibly build momentum going into next year. 

What makes this tournament unique is the prize: Over $500,000 is up for grabs towards the winning school's Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) fund.

One of the schools competing hails from right here in the Grand Canyon State as the Arizona State Sun Devils look to end this season on a positive note.

Saying the Sun Devils had a turbulent season would be an understatement. After beginning the year 9-2 in non-conference play, with strong showings against national powers Gonzaga and Florida, the Devils were unable to sustain that early season success in their first year in the Big 12. ASU would go 4-16 in the Big 12, finishing near the bottom of the league.

The Devils have only won one game since the start of February, losing 11 of their final 12 games of the season.

The Sun Devils were not the lone team from the Big 12 to make their way to Sin City as Utah, the University of Central Florida, Colorado and Cincinnati are also participating in the inaugural tournament.

Arizona State's first matchup in the tournament came against the University of Nebraska, who themselves had a similar season to the Sun Devils.

Fred Hoiberg's Cornhuskers come into the College Basketball Crown with a respectable 17-14 record despite finishing near the bottom of the Big 10. 

Both teams played the first half at a blistering pace, going up and down the court, getting shots up quickly but not putting a ton of points on the board.

While relatively close throughout the first half, the Sun Devils would create separation late in the first half and go into the locker room up 38-30 at the break.

The second half would see a more frenetic pace and physical play on both ends of the court, with both teams needing to be separated at times. Arizona State would stretch out to an eleven-point lead early in the second half; but just like much of the season, the Sun Devils could not slam the door shut on their opponent.

Nebraska would storm, cutting the lead down to one midway through the second half. Their comeback spurred on by Nebraska junior Connor Essegian, who scored all 17 of his points in the second half.

The Sun Devils would also be hurt by foul trouble as their lone big man Shawn Phillips Jr. would foul out with around six minutes remaining.

Arizona State could not contain the bleeding as the Cornhuskers stretched their lead to double digits with just under four minutes to play and never looked back. Sun Devils would fall 86-78 in their opening game of the College Basketball Crown.

After the game, head coach Bobby Hurley talked about what this experience meant to his team.

"You know, there's value playing [in this tournament]. There's value in competition," said Hurley. "Our guys prepared and gave great effort and I really can't thank them enough for what they've done for Arizona State Basketball."

He also spoke on the challenges his team faced all season long and why this year may have been the most frustrating of his career.

"This season will haunt me more than any other that I've had as a head coach," said Hurley. "There's a lot of things you have to do to be an NCAA Tournament team and I felt we had the pieces in place to be just that."

With this loss, Arizona State finishes the year with a 13-20 record on the season.