Arizona State pulls off another upset win at home over Arizona Wildcats

Bo Barnes took an inbound pass in the corner and immediately threw the ball in the air to run out the clock. By the time it landed on the hardwood, Arizona State’s fans were already racing onto the court.

Another year, another upset for the Sun Devils. Barnes scored 18 points, including a key three-pointer late, and Arizona State pulled off a second straight home upset over rival Arizona by holding off the sixth-ranked Wildcats, 81-78, on Saturday.

“Every time you beat U of A, it’s an amazing feeling,” said Barnes, who hit all eight of his free throws, including four in the final 19 seconds.

Arizona State (12-11, 4-6 Pac-12) shook off a lopsided loss to Arizona a month earlier by out-scrapping the Wildcats and working the ball around to get good shots against one of the nation’s best defenses.

The Sun Devils dominated Arizona inside early and were good from the perimeter, hitting seven of 15 from three-point range while shooting 50% overall. Unlike a few games this season, Arizona State was able to seal a victory by making its free throws, finishing 22 of 28 from the line.

Freshman Tra Holder gave the Sun Devils a lift early, attacking the Wildcats on his way to 15 points and eight assists.

Savon Goodman muscled his way past Arizona’s defenders, scoring 15 points on seven-for-nine shooting and grabbing nine rebounds.

“You can’t explain it,” Goodman said of the fans rushing the court after the victory. “It’s one of those things where you get caught in the moment and enjoy it.”

Arizona was caught in the middle of a Sun Devils storm for the second straight season.

The Wildcats (20-3, 8-2) were inconsistent on offense and had too many breakdowns on defense after routing Arizona State in Tucson a month ago.

T.J. McConnell had 25 points and Stanley Johnson added 16 for the Wildcats, who had to fight their way through Arizona State’s onrushing crowd for the second straight season.

“We just weren’t ready, to be honest,” said McConnell, who hit 11 of 19 shots. “When we have a team that is not ready, we aren’t going to win against any team.”

Utah 79, at Colorado 51: Brandon Taylor made a career-high six three-pointers to finish with 18 points and the No. 13 Utesh routed the cold-shooting Buffaloes.

Jordan Loveridge had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Utah (18-4, 8-2 Pac-12), which has put together back-to-back wins since losing last week at UCLA.

The Utes’ first win at the Coors Events Center since the schools joined the Pac-12 Conference three years ago completed a season sweep of Colorado. The Buffaloes lost the first meeting at Utah, 74-49, on Jan. 7.

Josh Scott, who missed eight of the last nine games with a back injury, had 10 points for Colorado (11-11, 4-6) in his return. But the Buffaloes missed leading scorer Askia Booker, who was sidelined by a hip pointer.