No. 12 seed Arizona State fends off Baylor’s late surge for an 83-79 Big 12 Tournament win

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Arizona State guard Anthony Johnson celebrates after making a basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Baylor at the Big 12 Conference tournament Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Arizona State guard Anthony Johnson celebrates after making a basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Baylor at the Big 12 Conference tournament Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Baylor guard Tounde Yessoufou (24) shoots over Arizona State forward Santiago Trouet (1) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Big 12 Conference tournament Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Baylor guard Tounde Yessoufou (24) shoots over Arizona State forward Santiago Trouet (1) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Big 12 Conference tournament Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Arizona State guard Noah Meeusen (15) gets a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Baylor against Baylor at the Big 12 Conference tournament Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Arizona State guard Noah Meeusen (15) gets a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Baylor against Baylor at the Big 12 Conference tournament Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Baylor guard Tounde Yessoufou (24) looks to shoot under pressure from Arizona State forward Allen Mukeba during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Big 12 Conference tournament Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Baylor guard Tounde Yessoufou (24) looks to shoot under pressure from Arizona State forward Allen Mukeba during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Big 12 Conference tournament Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley motions to his players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Baylor at the Big 12 Conference tournament Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley motions to his players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Baylor at the Big 12 Conference tournament Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
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11:51 AM on Tuesday, March 10

The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Pig Johnson had 19 points, Andrij Grbovic scored 14 and No. 12 seed Arizona State turned away a second-half run by Baylor for an 83-79 victory over the No. 13 seed Bears in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday.

Santiago Trouet added 13 points and nine rebounds, Noah Meeusen scored 12 points and Massamba Diop had 11 for the Sun Devils (17-15), who advanced to play fifth-seeded Iowa State in the second round on Wednesday.

Cameron Carr led all scorers with 25 points and Isaac Williams IV had 15 before fouling out for the Bears (16-16), who are staring at their first non-winning season since 2006-07. Tounde Yessoufou also had 14 points but was 0 for 5 from 3-point range.

Every indication is that Arizona State intends to move on from coach Bobby Hurley after this season, when his contract is up. But his team apparently has every intention of pushing off that coaching change as long as possible.

After a couple of late-season wins over Utah and No. 14 Kansas, the Sun Devils jumped ahead early on Baylor, which beat them just a couple of weeks ago in Waco, Texas. They built a double-digit lead midway through the first half and led 44-35 at the break.

Baylor trailed by as many as 15 in the second half before it began to chip away at its deficit, at one point scoring on nine consecutive trips down the floor. By the time Diop accidentally tipped Dan Skillings Jr.'s miss into his own bucket, the Bears closed to within 67-64 with 6:01 remaining in the game.

Trouet answered at the other end for Arizona State, though, and Williams fouled out moments later on a drive to the basket. The Sun Devils promptly ran off eight consecutive points, building a lead they could take to the finish.

Up next

Arizona State has quick turnaround before playing the Cyclones in the second round.

Baylor will miss out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven editions.

___

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