The Sun Devil men's basketball team will play an exhibition game on Saturday, Nov. 7, against Western New Mexico, with tip-off set for noon. Admission and parking are free in all Sun Devil surface lots around the arena, and seating is first-come, first-serve. There is no TV or radio for the game, but it will be live streamed at www.thesundevils.com
EXHIBITION NOTES
The Nov. 7 game will mark the first home exhibition game for ASU since November of 2007, as the team has gone the route of of NCAA-closed scrimmages the past seven seasons in addition to opening Grand Canyon's arena in November of 2011. The last time ASU played exhibition games, freshman James Harden had 21 points and eight boards on 9-of-11 shooting as ASU beat Western New Mexico 91-71 on Nov. 7, 2007, a few days after beating Grand Canyon 80-53 on Nov. 3.
OPENING THREE GAMES AT HOME
The team will open the Bobby Hurley era on Friday, Nov. 13, against Sacramento State (5:30 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks), who was 21-12 in 2014-15, made its first Division I postseason appearance and set a school record with the 21 wins. ASU's four November home games are Nov. 13 vs. Sacramento State (5:30 p.m.), Monday, Nov. 16 vs. Belmont (8 p.m.), Wednesday, Nov. 18 vs. Kennesaw State (6:30) and Sunday, Nov. 29 vs. UCSB (3 p.m.). All of those games are on Pac-12 Network.
ABOUT THOSE ROAD GAMES
Kentucky (23,572 average attendance) trailed only Syracuse (23,854) in average home attendance last year, while Creighton (17,048) was sixth behind only Louisville, North Carolina and Wisconsin. In addition, Kentucky was ranked No. 1 in the RPI last year. Want more? In ASU's nine Pac-12 road games the Sun Devils played in front of 69,519 fans last year. Kentucky, UNLV and Creighton, who ASU plays in a 14-day span in December, averaged a total 52,377 fans.
POINT OF REFERENCE
Buffalo was 285-369 (.436) in 22 seasons after going Division I (1991-2013). Under Bobby Hurley the Bulls were 42-20 (.678) in his two seasons.
GOOD SCHEDULE
ASU will have at least 10 non-conference games against teams in the top 150 of last year's RPI with Kentucky (1), Stephen F. Austin (35), NC State (40), LSU (54) or Marquette (142), Texas A&M (68), UCSB (88), Belmont (105), UNLV (104), Creighton (146) and Sacramento State (148). Kentucky, Stephen F. Austin, LSU, NC State, and Belmont made the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The Sun Devils will travel to Creighton (Dec. 2), Kentucky (Dec. 12/ESPN/1:15 p.m. ET) and UNLV (Dec. 16/CBS Sports Network/7 p.m. PT) in a two-week span, and host Texas A&M (Dec. 5/ESPN2/8:30 p.m.), who is in the ESPN Way-To-Early Preseason Top-25.
ABOUT THOSE 47 @SUNDEVILHOOPS HOME WINS
ASU is 47-8 (.854) in the past three seasons at home, and is the only team to beat the past three Pac-12 champions in that time (UCLA in 2013, UA in 2014 and 2015). Wondering how 47 wins stacks up? In the Pac-12 it is fourth, but in the nation it is tied for tenth. ASU has posted records of 16-4 (2012-13), 16-1 (2013-14) and 15-3 (2014-15) the past three seasons that includes a 21-6 mark in the Pac-12.
47-8 PRETTY DARN GOOD
The Sun Devils enter the 2015-16 47-8 (.854) at home in the past three seasons, one of the best marks in the four decades of hoops in Wells Fargo Arena. Since the Lionel Hollins-led Sun Devils opened the building in 1974-75, the most home wins in any four-year era is 51 (1991-95 and 2007-11). The best winning percentage in a four-year span came from 1979-83, when the Sun Devils went 49-12 (.803).
EJ MAKES SHOTS
He doesn't take a lot of them, but when he does, he makes them. Eric Jacobsen shot .626 from the field (102-of-163) last season, the fourth-best season mark in Sun Devil history. Jacobsen averaged 28.6 minutes, 8.3 points and 5.9 rebounds last year in 34 games after averaging 8.8 minutes, 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in his first two seasons. He will enter his senior season with 98 games played and a career .576 shooter (148-of-257).
FINAL FOUR IN 2017
Remember that Arizona State and Phoenix host the 2017 Final Four, the first Final Four held west of Texas since Seattle in 1995. It will be held at University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals. The 2017 Final Four will also mark the 25th anniversary of Bobby Hurley earning 1992 Most Outstanding Player honors.
REMINDER THIS GUY COULDN'T PLAY THE FIRST NINE GAMES LAST YEAR
After not playing in a college hoops game for 635 days and missing the first nine games last year after transferring, sophomore Savon Goodman in the final 12 games averaged 12.9 points and 9.7 rebounds while shooting 66-of-107 (.617) from the field. He posted 18 points off the bench in the 89-70 loss at Stanford on Jan. 17 and had 15 vs. No. 6 Arizona on Feb. 7 (7-of-9 shooting) to go along with nine rebounds. At Washington State he had career-high 14 rebounds, and then he went bonkers at Washington on Feb. 15 with 19 points and 13 rebounds prior to doing nearly the same Feb. 18 vs. UCLA with 20 points and 12 rebounds. His final game of the season he was off the charts, notching 14 points and 17 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end, in the NIT overtime loss to Richmond.
WHEN WAS LAST TIME ASU PLAYED THREE NON-CONFERENCE ROADIES?
When you toss out neutral site tournaments and talk only true road games, the 2015-16 season will be the just the second time since 1989-90 (also in 2010-11) that ASU will play three non-conference road games. This year will mark just the seventh time in ASU's 40 seasons of Pac-12 play it will go on the road for three non-conference games.
SEASONS OF THREE NON-CONFERENCE ROAD GAMES (1978-79 TO PRESENT)
2015-16 (at Creighton, Kentucky and UNLV)
2010-11 (at New Mexico, Baylor and Nevada)
1989-90 (at San Francisco, Northern Arizona and Kansas)
1982-83 (at DePaul, Ohio State and Kansas State)
1981-82 (at Kansas, Utah and Marquette)
1978-79 (at Purdue, Hawaii and San Diego State)
BIG IMPACT GUY
Coach Hurley and Danny Manning are the only current college coaches where earned NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors.