Arizona State shocks Arizona with upset
Rivalry match ups command a certain kind of attention from a college’s student body, and at Arizona State, this holds true despite the fact that rival University of Arizona’s basketball team is one of the best in the nation. ASU students crammed into a student section as packed as the rest of sold-out Wells Fargo Arena the night of Valentine’s Day, prepared to cheer until their throats were sore despite the score.
Before the game, the average ASU student would have been realistic in their expectations of the upcoming match up: Always hopeful, but still rational. “I hope we don’t get beat too badly.”
Arizona’s loss to Cal, who ASU beat in a road victory back in January, and close game with Oregon gave a little boost in morale among the Sun Devils. But for a school with such lackluster overall spirit at basketball games (aside from the ever-faithful 942 Crew Student Section), most students didn’t see a realistic chance of sending the Wildcats back to Tucson with a loss.
Still, the energy in the arena was higher than ever by the time the game finally tipped off. Chants between Arizona and Arizona State fans echoed back and forth across the court and there wasn’t a single silent moment until WFA began to empty an hour after the game ended.
And it took quite some time to empty.
After three huge scoring plays from Jermaine Marshall, a clutch block by Jordan Bachynski, and a last-second thriller dunk from fan favorite Jahii Carson, ASU students scrambled to storm the court, even with 0.7 seconds left on the clock. Students left the game with painful bruises, bloody cuts and scrapes, and an overwhelming sense of Sun Devil pride. Chants of “A-S-U” rang not only through WFA, but the entire campus afterward.
After two upsetting losses to Colorado and Utah, respectively, every Sun Devil fan is clinging to this upset victory over the team down south.
Selfie!
