Tag: Arizona State Sun Devils

Ohio State baseball starts the season off with a road series victory

The Buckeye baseball team had a great weekend in Phoenix

All across the country, collegiate baseball got its start this past weekend and the Ohio State baseball team started off the year right with a road series victory.

Starting on Friday, they faced off against three different opponents in the Desert Invitational in Phoenix, Arizona. The Buckeyes lost the opener to Boston College 9-2, but rebounded quickly.

On Saturday Ohio State defeated Brigham Young 7-2 and then faced off against a future Big Ten opponent in USC on Sunday night on MLB.TV. The Buckeyes defeated the Trojans 5-2, finishing their opening weekend with a 2-1 record.

Offensively, it was Tyler Pettorini and Henry Kaczmar leading with way with 4 RBI each. On the mound, two of the Buckeyes starters, Colin Purcell and Gavin Bruni, each went five innings and allowed just one run.

The Buckeyes will stay out in the Phoenix-area for the remainder of the week as they return to the diamond on Tuesday to face Grand Canyon University.  They’ll take on Arizona State in their weekend series before heading back to Columbus.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.

NCAA history in Hawaii, Oregon freshman wins again among highlights from past week of college golf

No one has ever gone as low as Wenyi Ding did.

It’s hard to put into context what Wenyi Ding did in Hawaii.

The freshman at Arizona State was a mid-year enrollee for the Sun Devils. And in his first two tournaments, he has bested some ASU records set by former players such as Jon Rahm. In fact, Ding has set new NCAA benchmarks because of his stellar play.

It’s like he’s playing basketball on a five-foot hoop against a bunch of preschoolers, but instead he’s playing golf against some of the best amateurs in the world in stellar college tournaments across the United States.

However, Ding wasn’t the only great story last week. Here’s what you need to know from the past week in college golf.

More college golf: Practice facilities around the country

Arizona State freshman sets all-time college golf scoring record in just his second start

Ding is having a historic start to his college career at ASU.

Wenyi Ding is having a historic start to his college career at Arizona State.

The mid-year enrollee and 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, Ding was brilliant in his debut last month at the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson, Arizona. He finished solo second at 17-under 199, which tied the fourth-best 54-hole score in team history since 1993-94.

He destroyed that mark in his second college start in Hawaii.

Ding won the Amer Ari Invitational on Saturday at Mauna Lani’s North Course on the Big Island, topping a field that includes six of the top nine golfers in the NCAA individual rankings, and he did so in record fashion. Ding shot 27-under 189, shattering the previous ASU record, Jon Rahm’s 21-under 192 at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational.

Not only is that an ASU record, the 189 is believed to be the lowest 54-hole total in the history of men’s college golf.

Arizona State freshman Wenyi Ding at the 2024 Amer Ari Invitaitonal. (Photo: Alex Gelman/Sun Devil Athletics)

In his six collegiate rounds, Ding has yet to shoot worse than 67, and his worst round at the Amer Ari was 8-under 64. He joined Rahm and Alex del Rey as the only Sun Devil golfers since 1993-94 to shoot 16 under or better in two tournaments during their career. His 10-under 62 in the final round also tied the lowest 18-hole score in ASU history.

Ding was brilliant in Hawaii, recording only one bogey over 54 holes of play. He had 26 birdies and an eagle, as well. He beat Washington’s Finn Koelle and San Jose State’s Carl Corpus by nine shots.

In the team competition, ASU also set a 54-hole scoring record at 63-under 801. However, it was North Carolina taking the team title, beating the Sun Devils by five shots and finishing at 68-under 796.

Last year, Illinois also hit 796 as a team at the Missouri Tiger Collegiate.

Ding is 44 under in his first six rounds as a Sun Devil, and his latest round etched his name in the record books. He has shot sub-200 totals over his first two 54 holes tournaments, which is also believed to be the first time that has happened.

Balanced effort gives CU Buffs victory over Arizona State

Boyle’s Buffs got back to their winning ways

The box score doesn’t tell the whole story, but Colorado produced some encouraging numbers in Thursday’s 82-70 win over Arizona State.

For example, four different Buffs made at least four field goals, and CU went 26-for-29 from the stripe. Colorado also outrebounded the Sun Devils by eight and shot 47% on its home floor.

The eye test, however, brought about some different conclusions. In the eyes of head coach Tad Boyle, the Buffs had a few too many defensive breakdowns and struggled at times to turn defensive stops into points.

Still, Colorado played well enough to stay perfect at home (13-0) while improving to 7-5 in Pac-12 play.

“Our guys did a good job tonight,” Boyle said. “We didn’t play our best offensively. We had a few breakdowns defensively, but we did what we had to do and put away a really competitive, hard-playing Arizona State team.”

While Colorado didn’t get much production from its bench — besides Julian Hammond III’s nine points — this was a good team win. J’Vonne Hadley recorded his first double-double of the season (19 points and 11 boards), KJ Simpson had 17 points, Tristan da Silva dropped 15 and Cody Williams scored 11 in his return from injury.

“One of the strengths on this team is everybody’s capable of getting it going on any given night,” Simpson said. “J’Vonne had it going early, Cody started getting it going, Eddie (Lampkin Jr.) has always been a post presence, Tristan got it going and Ju (Hammond) got it going.”

Colorado’s next task is to avenge last month’s 47-point loss to Arizona. The eighth-ranked Wildcats will be in Boulder on Saturday for an 8 p.m. MT tipoff (ESPN).

Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.

Five keys to Colorado bouncing back against Arizona State

We broke down five keys to Colorado staying perfect at home

Following a disappointing end to its second Pac-12 road trip, the Colorado men’s basketball team (15-7, 6-5) returns to Boulder for the Buffs’ second meeting against the Arizona State Sun Devils (11-11, 5-6) this season.

Colorado was bested by Arizona State just over a month ago, losing 76-73 in Tempe behind Jamiya Neal’s 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals. However, the Buffs are a modest 4-3 since then while the Sun Devils are 1-6.

With both teams having shot sub-40% from the field in each of their last two games, this Thursday evening matchup likely will come down to grit, hustle, and, most of all, playing clean basketball.

Tipoff at the CU Events Center is set for 6 p.m. MT on Fox Sports 1.

Here are five keys to Colorado avoiding a regular season sweep vs. ASU:

Pac-12 men’s basketball report: Arizona State and Bobby Hurley continue downward spiral

It has been a miserable season for USC. It’s the same for Bobby Hurley and ASU down in Tempe.

The USC Trojans are enduring a difficult men’s basketball season. So are the Arizona State Sun Devils and coach Bobby Hurley. ASU’s season unraveled last week in blowout losses at Oregon and Oregon State. The Sun Devils could not bounce back on Thursday night in the Pac-12, losing to Stanford due to a late-game implosion.

Arizona State led 60-54 with 7:10 left in regulation and then scored just two points in the final seven minutes of play. Stanford produced a 17-2 run to beat the Sun Devils, 71-62. Arizona State is 11-10 and fully eliminated from the chase for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth. ASU will need to win the Pac-12 Tournament to make March Madness. It’s a bitterly disappointing result for a team which made the NCAA Tournament a year ago and won a First Four game before nearly upsetting TCU in the first round.

Bobby Hurley has done well to get ASU to multiple NCAA Tournaments, but it’s hard to ignore that ASU’s best seasons under Hurley have not produced anything more than a double-digit NCAA Tournament seed as a bubble team. ASU has won First Four games under Hurley but never a Round of 64 game in March. ASU will miss the NCAAs (barring a Pac-12 Tournament title) for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12 on Thursday, Arizona blew out Cal in Tucson. UCLA fended off Oregon State in Westwood. Arizona’s win, coupled with Oregon’s win at USC, puts the Wildcats and Ducks at 7-3 in the league, one game ahead of three teams which are 6-4 in the conference.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire. Follow our newest sites, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

USC men’s basketball loses fourth straight Pac-12 game, fades late at Arizona State

Turnovers doomed USC in the desert.

In another disappointing performance in the desert, the USC Trojans endured a tough defeat against the Arizona State University Sun Devils, losing 82-67. This marks the Trojans’ second consecutive 15-point loss and extends their losing streak to four games in the Pac-12 Conference. With this defeat, USC’s overall record now stands at 8-11, with a conference record of 2-6.

The ongoing challenge for USC coach Andy Enfield in this game was the continued absence of star guard Boogie Ellis and freshman phenom Isaiah Collier. Bronny James had 7 points, 4 rebounds and a team leading 5 assists, but he looked hesitant and a step slow due to the incessant pressure on the ball by ASU that led to his three turnovers.  Without a proven point guard, USC struggled to find its rhythm on both ends of the court.

The game started with promise for USC. The Trojans shot a remarkable 54% from the field and 57% beyond the arc in the first half. However, their success was marred by sloppy ball-handling and passing, leading to a staggering 15 turnovers.

Arizona State’s coach, Bobby Hurley, implemented a full-court press that capitalized on USC’s lack of ballhandlers. Despite a double-double effort by Vince Iwuchukwu, who contributed a game-high 14 points and 12 rebounds, the Trojans were unable to overcome ASU’s defensive pressure.

Turnovers continued to haunt the Trojans, reaching a season-high of 22. These turnovers translated into fast-break points for ASU, with a significant +16 advantage. Furthermore, the Sun Devils capitalized on USC’s mistakes, scoring 24 points off turnovers.  The discrepancy in steals was notable, with ASU recording 12 steals compared to USC’s 3. This issue plagued the Trojans in their previous game against the Arizona Wildcats, resulting in an identical score and similar loss.

A hot start to the second half for ASU’s Frankie Collins — who scored eight straight points — stretched the lead to 51-40 for the Sun Devils. In a game of runs, ASU went on a final 17-2 run down the stretch to push its lead near 20 inside the final three minutes, sealing USC’s fate.

Jose Perez emerged as a key player for the Sun Devils, leading the way with impressive 50% shooting from the floor. He contributed 20 points to his team’s victory.

Next up for the Trojans is a home game against their crosstown rival, the UCLA Bruins.  The game tips off just after 5 p.m. local time at USC’s Galen center.  It will be televised on ESPN2 and the radio broadcast is on KABC 790 AM.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.

Photos: TV personality Blair O’Neal through the years

O’Neal played on the then-fledgling Symetra Tour, then joined TV’s “School of Golf” show in 2015.

Blair O’Neal had a successful youth golf career that included highlights such as winning the 1997 Arizona Junior Golf Association Ping Phoenix Junior Championship, being a member of the 1997 U.S Junior Ryder Cup Matches and the AJGA West Canon Cup Team, and playing for the Arizona State golf team. Twice she was NCAA long-drive champion.

What helped O’Neal get back into golf was a chance to appear twice on the Golf Channel’s Big Break. She finished second at Prince Edward Island despite having only a month to prepare. She won in the Dominican Republic. She played on the then-fledgling Symetra Tour, which began in 2004, then joined the network’s “School of Golf” show in 2015.

A participant in the 2024 Tournament of Champions, O’Neal made headlines in the 2020 edition of the event when she played while six months pregnant. She finished sixth, playing from the same set of tees as the men.

“I figured it would be a really cool experience to be able to look back on and say that I did it with my little baby,” she said with a smile that lit up the Four Seasons Orlando.

Her first son, Chrome, was born later in 2020 and she had a second son, Canon, in 2022.

Aside from making regular appearances on Golf Channel, O’Neal has played in numerous celebrity golf tournaments and has been a popular influencer with more than a half-million Instagram followers.

Here’s a look at some of her career in photos.

Sooners latest to offer the best 2025 prospect from state of Arizona

Oklahoma is still on the hunt for more wide receivers as they offered four-star wide receiver Cooper Perry out of Arizona.

Many members of Oklahoma’s 2024 class are in the building and starting their journeys as Oklahoma Sooners as we speak. That officially signals the end of recruiting for the 2024 class in Norman.

The page is officially turned, and now the class 2025 is top priority on the recruiting trail. Oklahoma has had a terrific start for 2025, third nationally, with nine commits already as things stand today.

The Sooners are looking to add to that tally, and they recently reached out to four-star wide receiver Cooper Perry out of Arizona this week. Perry is the 220th-ranked player on 247Sports’ player rankings, and most recruiting services consider him the number one prospect in the state for 2025.

Perry has decent size at 6-foot-1 and is a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands, making multiple highlight plays after the catch. His high school team utilized him from the slot and outside, allowing him to develop into a versatile receiving threat. Arizona, Ole Miss, Oregon, and California are among the many schools that have offered Perry.

Cooper Perry’s Recruiting Profile

Film

Hudl

WBB Recap: Ducks find the win column with victory over ASU

WBB Recap: Ducks find the win column with victory over ASU

It had been a long three weeks between wins for the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team and all they needed was a little home cooking.

Playing a team 1-20 in their last 21 conference games helped too.

The Ducks used a big second half and defeated Arizona State 65-53 to capture their first Pac-12 victory. Oregon is now 10-7 overall and 1-3 in league action. The Sun Devils are 8-8 and 0-4 in Pac-12 play.

It was 33-29 Ducks at halftime, but then Oregon outscored ASU 16-6 in the third quarter and cruised in the fourth.

Chance Gray led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-17 from the field, including the team’s only two three-pointers on the night. Grace VanSlooten added 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Phillipina Kyei put up her 10th double-double of the season with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Arizona State was led by Journey Thompson’s 12 points.

The bigger Duck team pounded the Sun Devils on the glass to the tune of a 48-27 advantage which included 19 boards on the offensive end and 19 second-chance points.

Now the Ducks will try to build upon this win as they host Arizona Sunday, Jan. 14 for a 12 pm tip.