Duke's unlikely ACC title season set to end against Arizona State in Sun Bowl

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Duke's unlikely ACC title season set to end against Arizona State in Sun Bowl

2025-12-30 23:58 Last Updated At：12-31 00:00

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Duke's unlikely Atlantic Coast Conference title didn't get the Blue Devils anywhere close to the College Football Playoff berth that's supposed to go to every Power Four conference champion.

The consolation prize comes Wednesday in the Sun Bowl against Arizona State, a team just a year removed from winning the Big 12, making the CFP and nearly pulling a huge upset against Texas in the quarterfinals.

Defensive tackle Aaron Hall and his teammates figured their CFP hopes were dim despite the 27-20 overtime victory against No. 20 Virginia, and couldn't have been surprised when the upset opened the playoff door for a second Group of Five school in the 12-team field instead of the Blue Devils (8-5).

Now they move on to face the Sun Devils (8-4). It's the second meeting between the schools — both in the Sun Bowl. The first was a 36-31 ASU victory 11 years ago.

“The ACC title is definitely up there, right?” Hall said. “But at the end of the day, we were just talking about it, the joy of that has kind of faded just a little bit, right? You're always hungry for the next thing. So for us, we're just making sure that now it's about the bowl game, making sure we get that podium feeling again.”

A five-loss team was still alive for a spot in the ACC title game because of a five-way tie for second place that included the league's highest-ranked team, Miami.

The Hurricanes got a CFP bid and won at Texas A&M in the first round. They will kick off a Cotton Bowl quarterfinal against No. 2 seed Ohio State in the Dallas area a few hours after Duke is finished playing about 600 miles away in far West Texas.

“What we said we would do, we're doing,” said Duke coach Manny Diaz, whose two seasons of 9-4 and 8-5 have identically matched the previous two under Mike Elko, now coaching the Aggies. “They know they’re gonna be put on the stage here to be extraordinarily successful in all ways. But the neat thing is that there is still a tinge of disappointment in this team, despite winning the ACC title this year, of some things that could have been that weren't in our control. And hopefully that’ll be the fuel for the '26 Blue Devils.”

Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham will be on the sideline for the first time since signing a five-year contract extension that averages $7.5 million per season. He had been mentioned for several high-profile jobs in a busy coaching cycle.

Dillingham won't have the quarterback who played a big part in ASU's turnaround from 3-9 in 2023 to 11-3 a year ago. Sam Leavitt sustained a season-ending foot injury in early November and is in the transfer portal.

Jeff Sims, a former Georgia Tech and Nebraska quarterback, will start the bowl game, according to Dillingham. Sims has 886 yards passing with seven touchdowns and five interceptions in nine games.

There have been reports that Duke quarterback Darian Mensah is considering a move to the NFL, but Diaz has said Mensah is planning to play in the Sun Bowl. Mensah led the ACC with a Duke-record 30 touchdown passes, throwing for 3,646 yards with five interceptions. He had just one pick in nine conference games, including the title game.

“I hope it's a story every December, where either we've got a quarterback that's considering making the jump early or we've got a quarterback that's finished his eligibility that expects to be one of the top quarterbacks in the (NFL),” Diaz said. “We want to be a very quarterback-friendly offense.”

The biggest name choosing not to play in the Sun Bowl is Arizona State receiver Jordyn Tyson, who is headed to the NFL draft and projects as a first-round pick. Raleek Brown, who rushed for 1,141 yards, also isn't playing.

The biggest missing piece on the ASU defense is linebacker Keyshaun Elliott, who had seven sacks among 14 tackles for loss. Duke will be without defensive end Vincent Anthony Jr., who had 7 1/2 sacks among 13 tackles for loss.

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After missing more than 2 months with right knee injury, Stephen Curry returns for Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry swished a 3-pointer on his second shot from deep and raised his arms in delight when the ball went through.

He was looking to do the same on the last possession with Golden State down a point, but missed a long, straightaway 3-pointer.

No matter the result, Curry is back and healthy at long last for the Warriors after a right knee injury, and everyone at Chase Center celebrated right along with him in Golden State’s 117-116 loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

Coming off the bench in the regular season for the first time in 14 years, Curry was greeted by a warm standing ovation and greetings on the big screen — he also expressed his gratitude on video — when he entered with 4:54 left in the opening quarter.

He immediately passed off for an assist on a dunk by Charles Bassey, who just signed with Golden State earlier in the day. Curry made a 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining in the period.

Curry finished with 29 points on 11-for-21 shooting and became the 26th player in NBA history with 9,000 field goals. He was 5 of 10 on 3s, playing 26 minutes.

Fans chanted “We want Steph! We want Steph!” during the fourth quarter, seemingly unaware of his minutes restriction.

This marked the first time he has come off the bench in a regular-season game since March 7, 2012, against Memphis. He last was a reserve in Game 4 of the first round of the 2022 playoffs during the Warriors’ last championship run.

Curry's pregame warmup is always a must-see show long before the main event, and the cheers were extra loud for his latest session now that he's finally back on the floor.

He was cheered pregame, too, and set to play about 25 minutes following a two-plus-month absence and 27 straight games sidelined because of a right knee injury.

He signed a few autographs after his shooting routine then missed his full-court heave before disappearing into the tunnel.

“He's one of the most beloved players in league history, Bay Area history in any sport and I think a long absence like this reminds everybody how lucky we are to see him, to watch him, to coach him, to play with him,” coach Steve Kerr said. “So tonight's a special night because we're reminded of how lucky we've been and how lucky we still are.”

Kerr said before the game that it's still unclear how many of the remaining games Curry will play given Golden State has five contests in eight days with a back-to-back the rest of the way — and the expectation is he wouldn't play on consecutive nights.

“We're going to manage it accordingly. The plan for tonight would be shorter bursts and we'll see on the minutes,” Kerr said. “But first game back he's not playing 48 minutes.”

The schedule will be determined by how Curry feels and input from Vice President of Player Health and Performance Rick Celebrini.

Rockets coach Ime Udoka knew Houston would have its hands full with No. 30 back.

“One of the best movers in the game. Four other guys at a time are concentrated on getting shots for him, so that’s not just one guy, and then does a good job in general with all the screens, off-ball actions, and pick-and-rolls,” Udoka said. "It’s a team effort. We need to be locked in on that, and obviously we’ve seen him enough and know some things that have hurt us in the past, and we need to prepare for that with him coming back.”

Curry scrimmaged several times this past week to test his injured right knee, and he said Saturday it was never a consideration to shut it down for the rest of the season. Kerr hoped to have Curry and younger brother Seth finally play together.

When Stephen Curry re-entered the game at the 6:19 mark of the second quarter, they did — the first time brothers played together in Warriors franchise history, according to Elias. Seth Curry also has been injured much of the season.

Seth Curry did appear in six preseason games for Golden State in 2013 then played for the team’s G League Santa Cruz Warriors that year — with the brothers playing all of 100 seconds together during the fourth quarter of two games during that ’13 preseason.

Kerr had said Saturday that Stephen Curry was expected to play for the first time since Jan. 30 against Detroit, though the Warriors listed him as questionable.

Curry warmed up in Kevin Durant's “Scoring Title” Nike KD 4s with former teammate Durant playing for the Rockets.

After Saturday's practice, Curry said dealing with the pain is part of his “new normal” and the offseason will require a significant reset.

The 38-year-old Curry initially expected to be playing right after the All-Star break, but the recovery was prolonged by some difficult moments when he would feel good, push hard then pay for it the following day.

The Warriors (36-42) lost their fourth straight game. They were 13-25 this season without Curry — including 9-18 during the recent stretch with him sidelined by patellofemoral pain syndrome.

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