The Arizona State Sun Devil men's basketball team (2-1) and New Jersey's Bobby Hurley head to Brooklyn and the Barclays Center for the Legends Classic and a tilt with NC State on Monday, Nov. 23. Mark Jones and Kara Lawson are on the call for the ESPN3 matchup, with the consolation/championship set for Tuesday and Marquette/LSU on the other side of the bracket. ASU is 2-1 with wins over Belmont (83-74) and Kennesaw State (91-53) and a 66-63 loss to Sacramento State in its opener. Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd have the radio call the Sun Devils on 620 AM. The games are part of the Legends Classic. ASU is 0-4 against NC State, but the teams have not met since a pair of games in the 1999-2000 season (both in Raleigh), when NCSU beat ASU 78-69 in the regular season and then 60-57 in the NIT.
QUICK COACH NOTE: Buffalo was 285-369 (.436) in 22 seasons after going Division I (1991-2013). Under Coach Hurley the Bulls were 42-20 (.678) in his two seasons.
NC STATE CONNECTIONS: Sun Devil assistant coach Levi Watkins helped lead the Wolfpack to four straight NCAA Tournaments from 2001-2005 and was part of the Wolfpack's top-ranked 2001 recruiting class along with Julius Hodge and Josh Powell and also was on Mark Gottfried's 2012 Sweet Sixteen staff. The Wolfpack also advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 2005. Coach Hurley went 6-2 vs. the Wolfpack in his playing days, including winning his last five. He averaged 13.1 points and 11.0 rebounds in those eight games and was 21-of-38 (.539) from the three-point stripe and had 15 assists in a 91-82 Raleigh win on Feb. 21, 1993.
We play @PackMensBball Monday in @LegendsBBall -- our asst coach @Levi_Watkins21 went to 4 straight NCAAs with Pack pic.twitter.com/C7rEAWDwwQ
? Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 20, 2015BARCLAYS CONNECTION: Brooklyn Nets head coach Lionel Hollins is one of six Sun Devils to have his number (33) honored in the rafters at Wells Fargo Arena. A 1986 ASU graduate with a degree in sociology, Hollins is a 1975 charter member of the ASU Hall of Fame and a two-time team Most Valuable Player who started every game in his two-year career and led ASU to a 43-13 (.768) record. He was the leading scorer at 17.3 ppg in 1973-74 as the Sun Devils went 18-9 and then averaged 16.7 points as ASU went 25-4 in 1974-75 and tied for the Western Athletic Conference title with a 12-2 record. In 1975, Hollins was a first-team All-American by The Sporting News and Converse Yearbook and earned third-team honors by the Associated Press and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
SAVON UPDATED: Junior Savon Goodman was bothered by a foot injury in the preseason and missed the team's scrimmage at Long Beach State (Oct. 31) and Nov. 7 exhibition game vs. Western New Mexico. After notching eight points and nine boards against Sacramento State in the opener, he posted 13 points and 12 rebounds in just 22 minutes vs. Belmont. In the past 15 games he is averaging 12.3 points and 9.3 rebounds and is 78-of-124 (.629) from the field.
KODI NOTE: Sophomore Kodi Justice has now made 22-48 (.458) from the three-point stripe in his 21 career games.
QUICK FALL SIGNING PERIOD NOTE: ESPN tabbed Arizona State's November signing period two-man class as 19th in the nation. Sam Cunliffe, a 6-6 wing from Seattle who averaged nearly 20 points per game in his junior season, is rated as the top 2016 player in Washington, while shot blocker Jethro Tshisumpa at 6-10 and 260 is ranked as the 12th-best center prospect.
NOTE ON THE SCHEDULE: Joe Lunardi released his preseason Bracketology on Nov. 11, and it included 12 teams on ASU's schedule (although only can play 11 of them). Belmont, North Carolina State, Marquette, LSU, Texas A&M, Kentucky and Stephen F. Austin are the teams in the non-conference slate, while Arizona, California, UCLA, Oregon and Utah were picked from the Pac-12. ASU will play North Carolina State on Nov. 23 and then play either LSU or Marquette on Nov. 24 in the Legends Classic in Brooklyn. ASU will play Arizona, California and UCLA twice in Pac-12 play, but won't host Utah or travel to Oregon. So the Sun Devils are scheduled to play 31 games this year, 14 of them against Bracketology projected NCAA teams.
ASU 91 (2-1), KENNESAW ST. 53 (11/18/15): ASU never trailed, jumped out to an 8-0 lead, outscored KSU 56-29 in the second half and outrebounded it 53-24 (+29), its highest rebounding margin since November of 2007. Four players were in double digits, led by Obinna Oleka with 19 off the bench. Eric Jacobsen collected his third career double-double. Gerry Blakes added a career-high 12 rebounds.
ERIC JACOBSEN'S CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES (3)
15/10 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
16/12 vs. UNLV (12/3/14)
13/10 vs. Bethune-Cookman (11/17/14)
ERIC JACOBSEN'S TOP SCORING GAMES
20 vs. Pepperdine (12/13/14)
16 vs. UNLV (12/3/14)
16 vs. Hartford (12/5/12)
15 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
ASU 83 (1-1), BELMONT 74 (11/16/15):
ASU hit 10-of-21 threes and outrebounded OVC favorite and consistent NCAA Tournament participant Belmont 45-31 en route to an 83-74 quality win. Gerry Blakes had 22 points (22nd birthday), while Andre Spight added 15 points and six assists (four threes). Kodi Justice nailed three threes (13 points) off the bench and Savon Goodman posted a double-double as a reserve (13/12) as the ASU bench posted 29 points.
SACRAMENTO ST. 66, ASU 63 (11/13/15):
ASU opened the Bobby Hurley era with a 66-63 defeat to Sacramento State. The Hornets, who were 21-12 in 2014-15, made their first DI postseason appearance and set a school record with the 21 wins, shot 13-of-25 (.520) in the second half and outrebounded ASU 41-34. ASU led 48-38 (11:37) and 55-47 (6:42), but Sacramento State outscored ASU 19-8 in the final six minutes. Tra Holder had a career-high 17 points (including 8-of-9 from the FT line). Willie Atwood posted his first double-double 11 points and 11 rebounds. ASU struggled from the three-point stripe (2-of-17; 0-of-8 in the first half) and free throw line (15-of-27/.556).
TRA HOLDER TOP SCORING GAMES
17 vs. Sacramento State (11/13/15)
16 vs. Oregon (1/30/15)
15 vs. Stanford (3/5/15)
15 vs. #6 Arizona (2/7/15)
15 vs. Pepperdine (12/13/14)
47-8 PRETTY DARN GOOD: The Sun Devils entered 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).
QUICKLY ON THE SIX RETURNERS:
Senior Gerry Blakes had five 20-point games last year and shot .822 (60-of-73) from the free throw line. The Inglewood, Calif., native can score in bunches, as he had 16 straight points in 4:24 at Washington State and 17 at in 5:23 at Washington in back-to-back February games...senior Eric Jacobsen has trimmed down and is ready to have a great senior season. The Chandler, Ariz., product 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 entered his senior season with 98 games played and a career .576 shooter (148-of-257)...senior Willie Atwood will see quality time in the frontcourt this year. He once made 33-of-37 free throws in a junior college game...junior Savon Goodman in the final 12 games last year averaged 12.9 points and 9.7 rebounds while shooting 66-of-107 (.617) from the field...sophomore Kodi Justice is back after suffering a fractured navicular bone in his left foot on Jan. 25 as he missed the remainder of the season. The injury happened the game following a season-high 16 points at California...sophomore Tra Holder in in his first 15 games last year and made 15 shots. Two months later, he was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, as he averaged double digits in the final 14 (10.1).
TRA'S SEASON:
Back on Jan. 15, ASU had just lost to Utah 76-59 to drop to 8-9 overall and 0-4 in the league. Freshman point guard Tra Holder was averaging 4.2 points (tied for eighth on the team), had not played in two games, had made 15 shots and was averaging under 20 minutes per game. Nearly two months later, he earned Pac-12 All-Freshman honors. After not making a shot in his first four Pac-12 games, he averaged double digits in final 14. He posted a career-best 16 points vs. Oregon on Jan. 30, and and set career-best with eight assists (and 15 points) vs. #6 Arizona on Feb. 7 in the 81-78 win going against arguably the nation's best point guard in T.J. McConnell.
Back on Jan. 15, ASU had just lost to Utah 76-59 to drop to 8-9 overall and 0-4 in the league. Freshman point guard Tra Holder was averaging 4.2 points (tied for eighth on the team), had not played in two games, had made 15 shots and was averaging under 20 minutes per game. Nearly two months later, he earned Pac-12 All-Freshman honors. After not making a shot in his first four Pac-12 games, he averaged double digits in final 14. He posted a career-best 16 points vs. Oregon on Jan. 30, and and set career-best with eight assists (and 15 points) vs. #6 Arizona on Feb. 7 in the 81-78 win going against arguably the nation's best point guard in T.J. McConnell.
TRA COMPARSIONS FIRST FOUR PAC-12 GAMES/FINAL 14
POINTS PER GAME: 1.5/10.1
MINUTES PER GAME: 20.5/33.4
FIELD GOALS MADE: 0/35
THREE-POINTERS MADE: 0/10
FREE THROWS: 6-10 (.600)/62-82 (.756)
ASSIST-TURNOVER: 8-9/68-41
ABOUT THOSE HOME WINS:
ASU entered this year 47-8 (.854) in the previous three seasons at home (49-8 in previous 57), and is the only team to beat the past three Pac-12 champions ?in those seasons (UCLA in 2013, UA in 2014 and 2015). Wondering how 47 wins stacked up? In the Pac-12 it was fourth, but in the nation it was 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.
MOST HOME WINS PAST THREE SEASONS (2012-15)
53: Arkansas (53-5)
51: Kentucky (51-4), Ohio State (51-7)
50: Virginia (50-5)
49: Arizona (49-2), Oregon (49-7)
48: Kansas (48-5), Maryland (48-8), Duke (48-1)
47: Wichita St. (47-2), UCLA (47-6), ASU (47-8), Notre Dame (47-10)
FINAL FOUR IN 2017: Arizona State and Glendale/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.
LEGENDS CLASSIC: Eight teams from across the nation are competing in the ninth annual Legends Classic with NC State, Marquette, LSU, and ASU serving as regional hosts. Regional action began on Nov. 13 with the four hosts advancing to the Championship Rounds, Nov. 23-24, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The remainder of the field will participate in the Subregional Round held in Kennesaw, Ga., also on Nov. 23-24.
TRA AGAINST NBA PLAYER T.J.: How good was Tra's 15 points and eight assists vs. Arizona in the Feb. 7, 2015, ASU win vs. Arizona and T.J. McConnell? Jahii Carson was one of the best freshmen guards in the Pac-12 the past decade. He did that in a Pac-12 game once in his freshman year (21/8 vs. USC). Derek Glasser, a four-year starter at point guard who is the Sun Devil career record holder for games played (131), assists (551) and free throw percentage (.838) and is the only Sun Devil with 1,000 career points and 500 assists, never had eight assists in his freshman season (2006-07) and scored 15 points twice all season.
GERRY, GERRY, GERRY: Senior southpaw and Inglewood native Gerry Blakes averaged 11.1 points and 4.2 rebounds last year after playing his first two seasons at San Bernardino Valley College (2012-14)...SBVC coach was ASU alumni Quincy Brewer, who played on the Sun Devil 1994-95 Sweet Sixteen team...posted five 20 point games in 2014-15, with a career-high 24 at Washingon State on Feb. 13 (including ASU's final 16 in 4:24)...in the Feb. 15 win at Washington, he had 17 points in 5:23 of the second half (11:05 to 5:42) and ASU needed every second and every bucket in that time to stop an eight-game skid against Washington and give ASU its first win in Seattle since another southpaw (with a small beard) was doing this thing in 2008.
GERRY BLAKES CAREER 20-POINT GAMES (6)
24 at Washington State (2/13/15)
23 at Washington (2/15/15)
23 vs. Colgate (11/29/14)
22 vs. Belmont (11/16/15)
21 vs. Alabama @Kansas City (11/25/14)
20 at Marquette (12/16/14)
ABOUT OUR ROADIES: Kentucky (23,572 average attendance) trailed only Syracuse (23,854) in 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.
GOOD SCHEDULE: ASU will have at least 10 non-conference games against teams in the top 155 of last year's RPI with Kentucky (1), Stephen F. Austin (33), NC State (39), LSU (57) or Marquette (147), Texas A&M (67), UCSB (87), Belmont (105), UNLV (114), Sacramento State (142) and Creighton (151). 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.
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 entered his senior season with 98 games played and a career .576 shooter (148-of-257).
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, 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 at Richmond in the NIT, notching 14 points and 17 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end, in the NIT overtime loss to Richmond.
SAVON'S TOP SCORING GAMES
24 vs. Lehigh, 12/2014
22 vs. Detroit, 12/23/14
20 vs. UCLA, 2/18/15
SAVON GOODMAN CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES (6)
13/12 vs.Belmont (11/16/15)
14/17 at Richmond (3/22/15)
20/12 vs. UCLA (2/18/15)
19/13 at Washington (2/15/15)
22/11 vs. Detroit (12/23/14)
24/12 vs. Lehigh (12/20/14)
SAVON GOODMAN TOP REBOUNDING GAMES
17 at Richmond (3/22/15)
14 at Washington State (2/13/15)
13 vs. Belmont (11/16/15)
13 at Washington (2/15/15)
13 vs. LaVerne (12/13/12 at UNLV
LOOKING AHEAD: The Sun Devils might have the best scout-team backcourt in the nation this year, Shannon Evans (transferred from Buffalo) and Torian Graham (transferred from Houston) will give the regular rotation fits in practice. Evans spent two seasons under Bobby Hurley at Buffalo and as a sophomore averaged 15.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game helping to lead the Bulls to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament as he earned second-team All-MAC honors. As a true freshman he averaged 8.5 points and 3.3 assists per game and was named to the All-MAC Freshman Team. He played in all 29 games off the bench posting one of the highest minute totals amongst all bench players nationally logging 26.4 minutes per game. Graham played two seasons at Chipola Junior College and left Buffalo to go with Coach Hurley and was rated as the No. 91 overall prospect by ESPN and No. 67 by Rivals in the Class of 2012.
BEAT LEAGUE CHAMPS: ASU is the only team to beat Pac-12 champions in each of the past three seasons. ASU and Oregon State beat Arizona in 2014-15 (16-2). In 2013-14 only California, Oregon and ASU beat the Wildcats (15-3). In 2012-13, UCLA won the league at 13-5, with losses at WSU, at Cal, at Oregon, at ASU and to USC in Pauley Pavilion. The Pac-12 champions are 44-10 in the past three seasons, and ASU is the only team to have three of the wins.