The NFL selected State Farm Stadium as its contingency plan for Monday’s playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings if L.A. cannot host due to ongoing fires in the city, the league announced on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, the game was still planned to take place at SoFi Stadium with the league remaining in contact with public officials, the two teams and the NFLPA.

pic.twitter.com/X8s9LWPPEy

— NFL345 (@NFL345) January 8, 2025

Three major fires that ignited Tuesday and continued to burn uncontained on Wednesday have destroyed over 1,000 structures. More than 70,000 residents are under evacuation orders, more than a million people faced power outages and five deaths have been reported. Heavy winds have exacerbated the problem, and air quality throughout the city has been affected.

Monday’s NFC Wild Card Round playoff game is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. MST.

The Rams won the NFC West with a 10-7 record this season and clinched the fourth seed in the NFC. The Vikings finished the regular season 14-3, second to the Lions in the NFC North after losing in Detroit in Week 18.

Los Angeles defeated Minnesota 30-20 back on Oct. 24.

We’re thinking of our Rams friends, their community and the first responders during this time💜💛

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 8, 2025

State Farm Stadium has hosted other teams due to emergencies before, doing so in 2020 when the San Francisco 49ers finished their regular season in Glendale due to COVID-19 restrictions in California.

Sun Devil Stadium hosted a San Diego Chargers versus Miami Dolphins game in 2003 due to wildfires, as well.

The NHL postponed a Los Angeles Kings home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. The NBA is monitoring the situation with the Lakers scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday.

Both Los Angeles-based NFL teams made the playoffs, although the Chargers will start on the road Saturday at the Houston Texans.

The Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers train in areas not threatened by fires, but both teams are monitoring the air quality.

The Chargers changed their practice schedule Wednesday to minimize their players’ outdoor time in El Segundo, while the Rams don’t resume practice until Thursday.

The Rams are headquartered in Woodland Hills, a neighborhood located about 13 miles north of fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades but separated by the Santa Monica Mountains.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired infielder Grae Kessinger from the Houston Astros in exchange for minor league pitching prospect Matthew Linskey, reported on Tuesday.

The D-backs made the move official Wednesday, adding him to their 40-man roster, which is now at 38 players.

The Astros had designated Kessinger for assignment two weeks ago in order to make room for Christian Walker, after the former Diamondbacks’ first baseman signed with Houston.

A second-round pick from the 2019 MLB Draft, Kessinger played just a total of 49 games for the Astros, including 23 games in 2024. After making Houston’s Opening Day roster, he did not record a hit, drew three walks and struck out seven times across 25 plate appearances last season.

The 27-year-old played one game at first base, six games at second base, seven games at third base and three games at shortstop last year in the big leagues. The versatile defender is an option to fill former Diamondback Kevin Newman’s role as a utility infielder.

Last season, he split time between the Astros and their Triple-A affiliate, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, where he slashed .262/.337/.388 in 67 games.

His grandfather was six-time All-Star infielder Don Kessinger, who played for the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox from 1964-79. The elder Kessinger was the last player-manager in American League history with the White Sox back in 1979

Linskey was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 16th round of the 2023 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Rice University.

The 6-foot-7 relief pitcher spent last season between High-A Hillsboro, Low-A Visalia and the Arizona Complex League. Across 22 games he posted a 1-1 record with a 2.78 ERA. In 31.2 innings, he had 51 strikeouts and walked 16 batters.

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While dissatisfied Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler admitted his joy was gone, a disruption that led to a team-executed suspension, tangentially related trade candidate Bradley Beal played with a spark of joy in his first time coming off the bench for the Phoenix Suns.

Don’t believe me? There was an Instagram post in the NBA meme all-caps template with “HIS JOY MIGHT BE BACK.” Like the juxtaposition of Beal’s play next to his admitted disappointment in the role change, it’s hard to tell whether the meme was done sarcastically or not.

Beal admitted after coming off the bench in a 109-99 win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday that moving to the bench was difficult to take.

“It’s kinda two-fold. I’m a star in the league, I firmly believe that,” he told reporters. “No disrespect to anybody, but I’m a starter. That’s what I firmly believe. Coach made his decision. I’m not going to sit here and argue with him.

“I’m not going to sit here and be a distraction. I’m not going to sit here and be an (expletive). He made his decision.”

For a single game at least, call him Manu Beal. Or Bradley Ginobili.

Beal scored 25 points to go with five assists off the bench and led the Suns in scoring against the 76ers. Maybe he and also-benched Jusuf Nurkic fall back to earth or start moping themselves, but the game showed the complexity head coach Mike Budenholzer took in shaking up his starting lineup.

It also reflected the risks versus rewards the Suns are looking at if they truly want to engineer some sort of trade for their $50 million man with a no-trade clause. Beal was asked about the speculation regarding his benching having something to do with trade possibilities.

“If so, I need to be addressed because I hold the cards,” Beal told reporters in Philadelphia. “Until I’m addressed and somebody says something differently, then I’m going to be a Sun.”

There is a risk if losses keep stacking and players’ dissatisfaction with roles keeps brooding.

More than anything on the court, the optics of a Beal benching points a neon pink sign at him that reads “SCAPEGOAT” even when the blame goes far beyond him.

It is eerie we did not hear Budenholzer or Beal speak of the Suns at least giving him a selling point as to why they are making a change — that Beal can operate like Manu Ginobili did for those San Antonio Spurs, or like Jamal Crawford did in his many NBA stops.

For a game, Beal carried his disappointment in Budenholzer’s decision to bench him as if he did receive some pitch. Not only did he lead the Suns in scoring, he kept himself in rookie Ryan Dunn’s ear before the game and during it, throwing his arm around the new regular starter.

“When it was announced and all that, my first thought process was him,” Beal said. “I’m so proud of him, (rookie Oso Ighodaro), all of those guys who come in and be impactful. I’m super proud of the young fella.”

Added Dunn on the Suns’ postgame show: “(Beal) told me to keep doing my job and no matter what happens throughout this whole season, just keep being you and don’t change.”

And onto basketball reasons, Beal’s and Nurkic’s move to the bench served its purpose.

Suns elongate rotation as Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic move to bench

If you believe this isn’t some way to showcase trade assets, then you can argue it helps the non-stars: rookies Dunn and Ighodaro, who closed the game alongside the Big Three, plus backup point guard Monte Morris, new starting center Mason Plumlee and wing Josh Okogie.

“This is a real decision,” Budenholzer said before the game when asked if the change was just a flash in the pan. “Life in the NBA and life in general, I don’t ever think you should paint yourself into corners. This is what we plan to do. We’ll continue to evaluate but I would not term this a day-to-day type thing. Again, we’re going to try to be our best.”

The Suns rolled legitimately 11 deep with their new blueprint, getting a hyper-aggressive Beal (10-of-15 shooting in 30 minutes) and Devin Booker (3-of-16).

Even though Booker had his worst shooting night in a while, it put the ball in his hands as he led the team in usage (26%) and assists (10), leaving Kevin Durant and Beal to pick their spots.

“We got a lot of stuff to deal with,” Durant told reporters of the lineup change. “I think that was a spark that we kind of needed to kind of wake us up a bit. We spoke as a team the last couple days about the team we wanted to be and what we wanted to see going forward.”

The Suns stretched the rotation in the right places and reinforced the flaws with support, such as giving the starting unit an energy defender in Dunn.

There’s enough spacing with Durant and Booker to help Dunn find offensive confidence, too. He scored 15 points with a trio of threes and some straight-line drives.

Perhaps hidden in the lineup-change agenda was Monte Morris getting 22 minutes of run, outpacing and outplaying Tyus Jones’ 20 minutes by finishing second to Beal in plus-minus (11).

With 42 minutes of true point guard play, the table was set for a fresh Big Three to close on Monday.

The Suns return to action Tuesday against struggling Charlotte (7-27) before a three-game homestand against Atlanta (18-18), Utah (9-25) and the Hornets again.

Then it’s back on the road trip that begins at the Hawks, at the Wizards (6-27) and then the Pistons (18-18).

It’s a stretch that should bear out whether or not this rotation is sustainable and provides answers. Or we get more of the same, and the Suns must determine how to get out of check.

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The Jan. 6 deadline for ASU football players to enter the transfer portal has come and gone. The deadline was extended from the nationwide Dec. 28 date because ASU played its last game on Jan. 1, giving players an additional five days of an open window.

University compliance offices have 48 hours to process entries, so some may still come through the cracks, but ASU is on track to bring most of the 2024 two-deep into 2025.

ASU can’t bring everyone back, of course. Several impact players have exhausted their eligibility, including wide receivers Xavier Guillory and Melquan Stovall as well as linebacker Caleb McCullough.

A few others are expected to move onto the NFL, including defensive back Shamari Simmons, who has already declared for the draft. Cam Skattebo and center Leif Fautanu, who have also run out of eligibility, will likely follow.

Many players on the depth chart with remaining eligibility began making clear and public their plans to continue their Sun Devil careers as far back as November.

These are just players returning from the 2024 team and the lists do not include incoming freshmen or transfers. 

Who is expected to return to ASU on offense?

– QB: Sam Leavitt, Jeff Sims
– RB: Kyson Brown, Raleek Brown, Jason Brown Jr., Alton McCaskill
– WR: Jordyn Tyson, Malik McClain, Derek Eusebio, Zechariah Sample
– TE: Chamon Metayer, Cameron Harpole, Jayden Fortier, James Giggey
– OL: Ben Coleman, Joshua Atkins, Kyle Scott, Max Iheanachor, Jalen Klemm, Joey Su’a, Sean Na’a, Terrell Kim, Champ Westbrooks, Bram Walden

Run it back!🔱 Thank you Sun devil nation this is for y’all! @SunAngelNIL pic.twitter.com/lWXpu9EvY3

— jordyn tyson (@tyson_jordyn) January 7, 2025

What a loss Skattebo will be for this offense. But to have Leavitt back behind the center with his favorite target Tyson, who announced his return on Monday and should be healthy by spring camp, the offense should be able to move right along without a hiccup.

“It’s just gonna hurt me not to be with him next year,” a teary-eyed Leavitt said after the Peach Bowl loss with Skattebo to his side. “I got another year, but I’m just gonna go into this next season and not take anything for granted, offseason workouts, late nights at the facility and everything like that.”

To replace Skattebo, the Sun Devils will turn to incoming transfer Kanye Udoh from Army, who rushed for 1,101 yards as a sophomore at 6 feet and 215 pounds. While he presents more of a bruising style, ASU will likely also rotate through Raleek Brown and Kyson Brown, who provide the speedier and all-around looks, respectively.

The wide receiver depth may look shaky, but a few incoming freshmen and a few incoming transfers will help fill out the room.

The offensive line is on track to feature heavy continuity, aside from the key position of center. The Sun Devils could turn to Na’a, who practiced behind Fautanu throughout the season and was a member of the Tillman Leadership Council (eight of 12 expected to return).

Na’a lacks experience at the position in games, with 338 snaps coming at left guard over the last two years, including just 24 in 2024. He also took 61 snaps at left tackle along with 68 on the right side of the line in 2023, but he is yet to take any center snaps in-game. Coleman could also fill in as a veteran.

Klemm is maybe the most notable name to return on the line, as the former Washington transfer was expected to be a reliable starter but ran into a major health scare before his season could get started. He has since said he plans to run it back in Tempe.

Who is expected to return to ASU on defense?

– DL: Clayton Smith, Prince Dorbah, C.J. Fite, Jacob Rich Kongaika, Elijah O’Neal, Justin Wodtly, Zac Swanson, J.P. Deeter, Roman Pitre, Blazen Lono-Wong, Albert Smith III
– LB: Keyshaun Elliott, Zyrus Fiaseu, Jordan Crook, Martell Hughes, Tate Romney, Krew Jackson
– DB: Xavion Alford, Myles “Ghost” Rowser, Javan Robinson, Keith Abney II, Montana Warren, Kyan McDonald, Rodney Bimage Jr., Plas Johnson, Chris Johnson, Tony Louis-Nkuba

LOVE THIS MAN TO DEATH. FOREVER RIDING WITH HIM. ALWAYS HAS MY BACK NO MATTER CIRCUMSTANCES. GIVE EVERYTHING I HAVE AND THEN SOME FOR HIM. I APPRECIATE YOU COACH. AND I CAN PROMISE YOU ONE THING.

WE WILL BE BACK.

— X̾a̾v̾i̾o̾n̾ ̾A̾l̾f̾o̾r̾d̾ (@100YARDLANDLORD) January 3, 2025

The ASU defense is on track to bring even more continuity into 2025 than the offense, as it expects to return four of five starting defensive backs, seven of eight rotational defensive linemen along with two more depth pieces and four of five rotational linebackers.

Expect a competition between Warren and incoming transfer Adrian Wilson from Washington State over spring and fall camps to determine whom takes over for Simmons at starting nickel.

Wilson played 319 of his 424 defensive snaps last season at either nickel or free safety, a position which defensive coordinator Brian Ward has said mirrors what ASU wants to do at nickel.

The secondary could be the thinnest position on the team in 2025 depending on how the young talent develops, but with such effective mainstays in starting spots, it’s the position that can most afford a lack of depth.

McCullough finished the year as the highest-graded linebacker and the one with the most snaps, so his loss after being a Sun Devil since 2020 will be felt in a big way.

“It means everything,” McCullough said of what it means to leave ASU in a better place than he found it. “This is what I came to college to do is play in games like this and do things like this. And to finally just in my fifth year, being able to do all of this stuff, is just everything to me.

“It’s everything to my family, it’s what you work for your whole life. You dream of stuff like this and to finally have it here, it’s just means everything.”

Among special-teamers, expect to see true freshman punter Kanyon Floyd take a step up in his sophomore season, and expect him to catch snaps from long snapper Tyler Wigglesworth, who made his first start in the Peach Bowl. ASU’s starting long snapper over the regular season, Cole Marszalek, entered the transfer portal after the Big 12 title game.

The decisions in this story are subject to change, as the spring transfer portal window runs from April 16-25.

The Phoenix Suns will have a much more complete roster on Monday at the 76ers, while Philadelphia superstar center Joel Embiid is out.

The Suns’ injury report on Sunday only listed wing Royce O’Neale out as he recovers from an ankle injury after missing the last two games.

Starting point guard Tyus Jones and reserve big man Oso Ighodaro were not listed on the report after they each sat out Saturday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers due to illness.

Center Jusuf Nurkic, meanwhile, will return after his three-game suspension for fighting Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall on Dec. 27.

Guard Bradley Beal, who played on Saturday after a questionable designation, is off the injury report and good to go.

The Suns need a win in Philadelphia to snap a four-game losing streak.

76ers injury report includes Joel Embiid, Kelly Oubre Jr.

Embiid was initially ruled questionable with a left foot sprain/sinus fracture designation. Injuries and injury management have limited the 2022-23 MVP to 13 contests this year, although he has scored at least 27 points in his last five games played.

Veteran point guard Kyle Lowry (right hip soreness), rookie standout Jared McCain (meniscus tear) and forward KJ Martin (left foot stress reaction) are out, as well.

Philadelphia also listed former Suns forward Kelly Oubre Jr. questionable with a left hand sprain. He has missed the last three games.

Oubre has started 27 of 30 games played this year and has averaged 12.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per night.

Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. 

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The Arizona Cardinals enter the offseason coming off a victory, as they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 47-24 in Sunday’s season finale.

Kyler Murray threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns and the defense forced three turnovers in a game without any playoff implications.

Arizona doubled its win total from 2023 with an 8-9 record, good for third place in the NFC West. There will be pressure for this team to make a jump to the playoffs next season.

Here are reactions to Arizona’s final win of the season from Arizona Sports’ hosts and reporters:

Reaction from our staff to Cardinals win vs. 49ers

John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo:

What do you take out of a meaningless game that ends the season? Not much. The Cardinals played very well today and it was good to see them get up for this game and execute the game plan to near perfection. Kyler Murray had his way with a bad 49ers secondary and padded his season stats with 4 touchdown passes. Good for him because he came into the game with 17 so it got him over the hump of 20 touchdowns. My prediction before the season was 9-8 and they finished 8-9. It is a four-game improvement from last season — that is pretty good. What wasn’t good was going 2-5 down the stretch to end the season.

Now the real work begins for GM Monti Ossenfort identifying the needs of this team and addressing them. Figuring out who is a part of the next Cardinals team and who is not. What to do with Kyler. His season overall was pretty mediocre as has been most of his time in Arizona. He is not a bad quarterback. He is not a great quarterback. He is ok. You can win some games with him. Do you bring in a veteran backup? Do you draft a QB in the second/third round? Do you consider trading him? Or do you ride it out with him for one more season and if things don’t drastically improve you cut your losses after seven seasons? It is likely Murray is back next season but things have to be better for this era of Cardinals football to continue beyond 2025. More wins, better QB play and an offense that scares people are in order. Can Murray do it? Time will tell. So far he has done it here and there just not consistent enough to say for sure he is the future.

Dave Burns, co-host of Burns & Gambo:

The reaction to the game is pretty neutral. The Cardinals scored 40 points. Kyler had a really good game. Marvin Harrison Jr. had a TD. The Cards forced 3 turnovers. They’re not empty calories but the stakes were so low going into the game it’s not the kind of performance that creates momentum or builds towards the future. By the time the Cardinals open the 2025 season, this game will long be forgotten.

What we remember will be up to you. I’ll remember the six wins at the bye and only getting two wins over the final seven games. Maybe that’s not fair and the year-to-year accomplishments deserve more respect. Again, it’s up to you. But this season let me down. This team was in a position of strength and it was squandered and to me that’s what matters the most. Doubling the win total and getting three wins in the division compared to none a year ago is important. But fading down the stretch matters more to me.

Much will be said about this offseason. We all know they need an edge rusher. We all know that money needs to be spent and a commitment needs to be made. We all know Marvin Harrison Jr. needs to make a greater impact. What we don’t know is Kyler Murray’s ability to improve. Is there more there? Is this it? Is it a function of the talent around him? I’m deeply concerned that one more year won’t make a difference, that his ceiling is their ceiling, and he’s reached it.

Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta: 

I wasn’t really eagerly awaiting Sunday’s season finale for the Cardinals, and it’s hard to take much out of their 47-24 win over the 49ers at State Farm Stadium.

Yes, Kyler Murray played well. He threw four touchdown passes for the third time in his career. He didn’t turn the ball over — only the second time that’s happened post-bye week. Not coincidentally, the Cardinals won both of those games.

This is the type of game that Kyler supporters will point to, citing his tantalizing potential. It’s the type of game Kyler detractors will point to and say “where was that when the games mattered?”  The Kyler debate has raged for six full seasons in the desert, and it’s not ending anytime soon.

Trey McBride continues to be a stud. Saw some nice things from Marvin Harrison Jr. Greg Dortch was used well in the offense.

The defense was terrible in the first half but improved and played aggressively in the second half.

Their four-win improvement over last year isn’t insignificant. It does put a little wind in the team’s sails going into the offseason. But the front office has a lot of work to do. The same personnel needs that were evident a year ago remain needs.  Edge rusher, line depth on both sides, shutdown corner, linebacker and wide receiver positions need to be improved if this team wants to rise above mediocrity, which is what they displayed over the last seven weeks of the season.

Tyler Drake, lead Cardinals reporter and co-host of Cardinals Corner:

Say what you want about the 2024 Cardinals, but at least they played to the final whistle. In a meaningless game with zero postseason implications, Arizona didn’t lay down in its season finale win over San Francisco. For the first time in a while, the offense was much more sound. Crazy what will happen when your franchise quarterback keeps the ball out of the other team’s hands. Kyler Murray looked like his first-half-of-the-year self behind four touchdowns and a noticeable rhythm. And maybe Greg Dortch should have gotten some more touches! Gannon isn’t big on momentum, but at least the Cardinals can head into what should be a very busy offseason on a high note. One thing is for sure, though, posting a sub-.500 record in Year 3 of this new regime cannot happen.

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PHOENIX (AP) — Tyon Grant-Foster’s 23 points helped Grand Canyon defeat Southern Utah 82-71 on Saturday night.

Grant-Foster also contributed nine rebounds and three steals for the Antelopes (11-4, 1-0 Western Athletic Conference). Collin Moore scored 17 points, shooting 7 for 13, including 2 for 4 from beyond the arc. Duke Brennan shot 5 of 10 from the field and 6 for 7 from the free-throw line to finish with 16 points, while adding 15 rebounds.

Perhaps the highlight of the game was a ferocious dunk from Moore with 1:17 left in regulation. The 6-foot-4 guard effectively put the game out of reach (79-68) after JaKobe Coles bypassed a Southern Utah double team and found Moore cutting to the basket. He threw down a one-handed slam over Thunderbirds forward Brock Felder and gave the home crowd a thrill.

COLLIN MOORE DETONATION!!! 💥🤯 pic.twitter.com/Jve6EU7BPQ

— Grand Canyon Men’s Basketball (@GCU_MBB) January 5, 2025

With the 11-point win, GCU lengthened its winning streak to five games. Head coach Bryce Drew moved to 5-0 in WAC openers.

Moore, who also added two assists and two steals, was a standout player defensively for Drew and ended with a on-court rating of +19.

“When he was on the court, our defense was significantly better,” Drew said postgame. “Really pleased with him. Thought he had a rough patch that second half, and he really regrouped and came back. And that’s a great sign of his maturity, his confidence in himself, his confidence in wanting to win. He had a really good all-around game tonight.”

The ‘Lopes trailed Southern Utah for the first time (59-58) with 7:40 remaining in the second half before Brennan scored 11 of his 16 to help his squad pull away.

GCU finished its nonconference schedule with a blowout 112-66 win over Bryant behind a career-high 31 points from Makaih Williams. The sophomore guard did not find the scoring column in this one, but contributed two assists and two steals in his 17 minutes.

Dominique Ford led the Thunderbirds (8-7, 0-1) in scoring, finishing with 22 points and six rebounds. Jamir Simpson added 13 points for Southern Utah. Tavi Jackson had 12 points, nine assists and two steals.

GCU will head to Utah Valley (9-6, 1-0) for a Thursday night showdown while Southern Utah will host Tarleton State (6-10, 1-0) on the same day.

BJ Freeman was ejected in the second half of ASU’s 81-61 win over Colorado on Saturday after a flagrant 2 was called as he fought through a screen.

This is what they called a Flagrant 2 against Freeman. The call implies intent that is tough to determine IMO. pic.twitter.com/NqNv8l1lVM

— Chris Karpman (@ChrisKarpman) January 5, 2025

“I’m trying to fight through the screen and, I accidentally hit him somewhere nobody wants to be hit at, so I apologize. It wasn’t nothing that was intentional or nothing like that,” Freeman said postgame of his first ejection in 72 career games.

“It’s just me trying to fight through a screen so that I don’t gotta hear coach Hurley mouth (off) about nothing or get chewed out,” he said with a smile. “Because I’ve been having a hard time fighting through screens and playing help defense. I apologize to that player, it wasn’t intentional.”

It came after he posted a season-high 19 points (8-for-12 shooting) to key the Sun Devils’ first Big 12 win, and it was the first time in an ASU uniform Freeman looked like the all-conference guard he’s been for the past two years, albeit when he was in a much lesser Horizon League.

Freeman’s best stretch came as ASU had gone 4:18 without points between the end of the first half and the start of the second. He emphatically ended the drought with eight of ASU’s next 10 points over less than 2:30, also drawing an offensive foul in the stretch.

The performance came at a good time as leading scorer Joson Sanon (13.5 points per game) was out with an ankle injury sustained late in Tuesday’s loss to BYU, his first missed game of his career.

The ejection meant the already-shallow Sun Devils — which had played just seven players to that point — were even more so, as they entered the game without depth guard Austin Nunez in addition to Sanon being out.

“He’s moving fairly good and doing more everyday,” head coach Bobby Hurley told reporters postgame, noting Sanon’s availability for Wednesday’s game at No. 7 Kansas was still uncertain.

The lead, which was up to a game-high 25 points at the time, gave the shorthanded Sun Devils enough room for error to escape with the 20-point win.

How did BJ Freeman, ASU open up big lead vs. Colorado?

After Colorado opened with a 6-5 lead, the Sun Devils rattled off a 26-6 run in which three of the Buffaloes’ points came on a 3-pointer from a player who has just three makes on the year.

ASU, meanwhile, was 6-of-11 from 3 to start as it took Colorado 12 attempts to get two makes.

Colorado got back one of its most important wings in Andrej Jakimovski, who missed Monday’s 10-point loss to No. 5 Iowa State, but he struggled offensively with nine points on 4-for-14 shooting.

Instead it was ASU forward Basheer Jihad hitting two 3s in the first half as the team assisted on nine of 15 made field goals. He ended the game with 17 points (6-of-9, 4-of-6 from 3) and six rebounds.

ASU was up 40-17 before Colorado crammed in a 10-point run to end the half and make it more of a game.

The Sun Devils’ healthy star freshman, Jayden Quaintance, picked up a second straight double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go with his two steals and three blocks.

ASU next plays at No. 7 Kansas on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MST on ESPN2.

The College Football Playoff quarterfinal game played at the Peach Bowl between Arizona State and Texas saw record-breaking TV viewership.

At 17.3 million viewers, it was the most-watched bowl game with a kickoff before 3 p.m. EST ever. The game was also the second-most watched college football game this season and saw viewership peak at 23.6 million viewers.

Only Ohio State vs. Oregon at the Rose Bowl garnered more viewers at 21.3 million, with a peak of 24.3 million.

Comparatively, 7.8 million watched last season’s Peach Bowl between Ole Miss and Penn State (although it was not a playoff game).

The Fiesta Bowl between Penn State and Boise State at Glendale’s State Farm Stadium was ESPN’s least-watched College Football Playoff quarterfinal at 13.9 million viewers, with a peak of 15.9 million viewers.

The Peach Bowl was the highest-rated ASU game of the 2024 season by a large margin. The Big 12 Championship between Arizona State and Iowa State on Dec. 7 saw 6.9 million viewers.

Before the College Football Playoff quarterfinals were played, the Sun Devils had a total of nearly 14 million viewers for the rest their games during the 2024 season, the 37th most in the country.

Arizona State, along with Colorado and Kansas State, co-leads the nation with the most national broadcast games this season with 14.

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