The Arizona State Sun Devil men's basketball team (6-2), on a three-game win streak and winners of three of past four, travels to Lexington for an ESPN tilt with No. 5 Kentucky on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 3:15 ET, and then travels to UNLV on Wed., Dec. 16. Dave O'Brien and Dick Vitale have the call in Lexington, as the fifth-ranked Wildcats will mark the highest ranked non-conference team the Sun Devils will face since almost knocking off No. 2 Kansas in Madison Square Garden on Nov. 26, 1997 (90-88 overtime loss. Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd have the Sun Devil radio call on 98.7 FM and the Sun Devil Sports Radio Network, presented by MidFirst.
QUICK HITTERS: ASU has already played four games decided by three points or less and is 3-1...Sun Devils have eight players averaging between 6.6/13.4 points and 18/33 minutes, and have had had five players lead it in scoring and five players lead in rebounding through just eight games...want a halftime adjustment stat? The Sun Devils are averaging 42 points in the second half this year (32.9 in the first half). Also, ASU earned its largest halftime deficit win since December of 2008 when it came back from 41-33 to win at Creighton.
SO FAR, SO GOOD: Saturday will make game six of a seven-game Sun Devil stretch that is about as challenging as one can find among major conference teams early in the year. Last week the Sun Devils won 79-77 at Creighton (who was 89-0 when scoring 75 points in its home arena), topped #18 Texas A&M 67-54 (who beat Gonzaga) and now play at No. 5 Kentucky (Dec. 12) and at UNLV on Dec. 16 (already beat Oregon and Indiana). Prior to Creighton, the Sun Devils beat 2015 NCAA Tournament team NC State in Brooklyn, dropped an overtime game to surging Marquette in Brooklyn, and beat 19-game winner from year ago UCSB.
IT IS OK TO BE IMPRESSED: ASU is 6-2, including 2-0 against 2015 NCAA Tournament teams with wins over Belmont and NC State, and got a quality road win over Creighton Dec. 2 in front of 16,282 people screaming in blue shirts. ASU then had No. 18 Texas A&M down 25 in the second half before notching the 13-point win on Dec. 5.
?
#ASU basketball granted @DougHaller access to its Creighton trip. He witnessed just how Hurley is shaping the team: https://t.co/JtpITKSD4y
? azcentral sports (@azcsports) December 8, 2015?
NOT LETTING GO OF THE ROPE: After going 2-6 in games decided by three points or less last year (losing its first four chances), the Sun Devils have won three straight in this category. Creighton led for 28:27 of the Dec. 2 Sun Devil win, while UCSB led for 29:50 of the Nov. 29 Sun Devil win. ASU made it final 14 free throws to get the 70-68 UCSB win on Eric Jacobsen's putback with no time left, while the Sun Devils shot 18-of-28 (.643) from the field in the second half with the Blue Jays to get the road win. ASU trailed 77-76 with 18 seconds left at Creighton and trailed 68-65 with under a minute left vs. UCSB. ASU had 21 assists vs. Creighton (after having just 10 in each of the previous three games).
CLOSE STATS: In the final 10 minutes of the three close wins (NC State, UCSB and at Creigton) Andre Spight is 4-of-7 from the field (including 3-of-6 from the three), Eric Jacobsen is perfect in eight FTA and the Sun Devils have grabbed 14 offensive boards (opponents have just four). In the second half of those games, Savon Goodman is 12-of-15 from the field, ASU is 28-of-37 (.757) from the free throw line (opponents 20-of-31/.645) and has grabbed 25 offensive boards (opponents have just nine).
DON'T SLEEP ON THE BENCH: A big reason ASU won at Creighton despite being down eight the half? Three guys off the bench in 21 minutes combined to go 6-of-10 from the field, 4-of-6 from three and score 16 points with zero turnovers. Obinna Oleka had eight points in 11 minutes, including a three-pointer at 3:25 that broke a tie at 72. Andre Spight for the second game in a row had solid second half, as he hit a three-pointer at 8:10 to give ASU a 67-66 lead and a layup at 7:13 to give ASU a 68-67 lead. Kodi Justice hit a three-pointer at 11:23 to give ASU a 61-57 lead.
ASU 67, #18 TEXAS A&M 54 (DEC. 5, 2015): ASU jumped out to a 33-19 halftime lead and led by as much as 25 in the second half before settling down and notching a 67-54 win over Texas A&M. Willie Atwood had 15 points, Tra Holder added 13, Gerry Blakes had 13/6 and Savon Goodman posted 10 points and 12 rebounds in the win. ASU shot just .364 from the floor, but held Texas A&M to 19-of-61 (.311), including just 6-of-27 (.222) in the first half. Kodi Justice added 10 points off the bench.
KNOCKING DOWN THROWS: The Sun Devils went 23-of-26 (.885) from the free throw line in its 70-68 win over UCSB on Nov. 29, which included making their final 14. The .885 mark is the second-best in school history for at least 25 attempts, behind only the 24-of-26 mark set on Dec. 19, 1981, vs. Cal State-Los Angeles. ASU is 120-of-163 (.736) from the free throw line in the past seven games. In case you were wondering, Coach Hurley made .776 of his free throws while in college (441-of-568).
WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED EARLY: Sophomore Tra Holder (7.0 ppg last year) is at 12.1 this year. He is 33-of-40 (.825) from the free throw line and has led the team in scoring in three games after doing it just once last year..senior Gerry Blakes is averaging 5.9 rebounds (4.2 last year) and is a career .802 free throw shooter (77-of-96)...senior Willie Atwood averaged 11.6 minutes last year but is at 26.8 this year...junior Savon Goodman has now led the team in rebounding in 17 of his 33 career games...after averaging 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in his first two years (64 games), senior Eric Jacobsen is at 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds past two seasons (43 games)....ASU is 67-of-89 (.753) from the free throw line in the past three games...the Sun Devils have outrebounded six opponents...the eight steals at Creighton is a season high.
GOOD ON REBOUNDING: ASU is outrebounding its opponents by 8.0 per game and has 38 more offensive rebounds (114-76). Five players have grabbed double-digit rebounds this year, and ASU's rebounding leader in all but one game has notched double-digits.
ANDRE BEEN A SECOND HALF GIANT: Andre Spight is slowly but surely figuring out what it takes to go from junior college to this level, and his second-half efforts vs. UCSB and Creighton have helped lead ASU to a pair of last second wins. Against UCSB on Nov. 29, he had eight second-half points in 11 minutes, including a three-pointer that tied the game at 68 with 34 seconds left. He had all eight points in the final 6:47 and added an assist in that span. At Creighton he had five points in five second-half minutes with two buckets that cut the lead to 67-66 at 8:10 and gave ASU 68-67 lead at 7:13.
"There comes a time when winter asks what you have done all summer." ... for @thelastchill summer = work. pic.twitter.com/TFq53Ru63O
? Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) December 8, 2015WILLIE THEN AND NOW: Last season Willie Atwood averaged 11.6 minutes, scored 92 total points (3.0 per game) and was 11-of-31 (.355) from the three-point stripe. With a slimmed-down frame, he is a new player this year. He is averaging 26.8 minutes, led ASU with a career-high 15 points vs. Texas A&M, made all three of his three-pointers at Creighton and had 14 points and is averaging 9.4 points and has two double-doubles.
WILLIE ATWOOD THEN (LAST YEAR) AND NOW (THIS YEAR)
2014-15
MIN PG: 11.6
FG/%: 25-73/.342
3P/%: 11-31/.355
REB/PG: 54/1.7
PTS/PG: 92/3.0
2015-16
MIN PG: 26.8:
FG/%: 24-47/.511
3P/%: 7-17/.412
REB/PG: 51/6.4
PTS/PG: 75/9.4
OBI ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON: Junior college transfer Obinna Oleka (Oh-BEE-nah Oh-LEH-ka) had no points and one rebound in the first two games, but since he only played five games for State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota two seasons ago and didn't play last year, a slow start was expected. Consider this: Before he took the court in the opener Nov. 13, his previous official game was Dec. 7, 2013...a 705-day break between games. Obi had 19 points vs. Kennesaw State on Nov. 18 to get warmed up, and then had 10 points and 14 rebounds (six on the offensive glass) in 29 minutes vs. Marquette on Nov. 24. Since those first two games he is averaging 8.8 points and seven boards. He also had eight second-half points in 11 minutes in the win at Creighton on Dec. 2 and had seven boards in the win over #18 Texas A&M on Dec. 5.
Bobby Hurley, Providence, and why the Big 12 is deeper than it was last season. Observations @CBSSports: https://t.co/kGhgUK58gV #pcbb
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 7, 2015ROADIES: Kentucky (23,572 average attendance) trailed only Syracuse (23,854) last year, while Creighton (17,048) was sixth. In ASU's nine Pac-12 road games last year the Sun Devils played in front of 69,519. Kentucky, UNLV and Creighton, who ASU plays in this 14-day span, combined for an average total of 52,377 last year.
ASU 79, @CREIGHTON 77 (DEC. 2, 2015): ASU became the first team to beat CU in its building when it scores 75 (89-1) with the 79-77 comeback win, as Savon Goodman led the way 23 points and seven boards. ASU, the second Pac-12 team to visit Creighton in the regular-season since 1978, fell behind by nine early and was down eight at that half (41-33). ASU opened the half with a 14-4 run in the first 3:16 and shot 18-of-28 (.643) from the field in the scond half.
7+ POINTS HALFTIME DEFICIT WINS PAST 10 YEARS (2006-PRESENT)
(16) IUPUI 34, ASU 18 (@Phoenix/Dec. 14, 2008)/ASU 59, vs. IUPUI 58 (OT)
(8) @Creighton 41, ASU 33 (Dec.2,2015)/ASU 79, @Creighton 77
(7) @Stanford 35, ASU 28 (Feb. 25, 2010)/ASU 68, @Stanford 60
(7) LSU 34, ASU 27 (NIT @NYC/Nov. 27, 2009)/ASU 71, vs. LSU 52
(7) Arizona 28, ASU 21 (Jan. 9, 2008)/ASU 64, Arizona 59 (OT)
DEFENSE WINS SOME GAMES: In the past 10 seasons, ASU has won 165 games counting this year's 6-2 mark. Only seven times has it won a game shooting at .364 or lower, yet it has happened twice this year. ASU (20-55/.364) held Texas A&M to just 19-of-61 (.311) in the Dec. 5 win over the #18 Aggies. On Nov. 29, ASU shot just .339 (20-of-59) in the 70-68 win over UCSB, but made 23-of-26 (.885) from the free throw line. Only twice in the past 10 seasons has ASU shot lower than .339 and won the game.
FALL SIGNING PERIOD: 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.
QUICK COACH NOTE: Buffalo was 285-369 (.436) in its first 22 seasons after going Division I (1991-2013). Under Coach Hurley the Bulls were 42-20 (.678) in his two seasons.
TRA IMPROVEMENTS: In his first 15 games last year, Tra Holder averaged 4.2 points per game and made just over 63 percent of his free throws. Starting with the Colorado win on Jan. 17, his play not only earned him Pac-12 All-Freshman honors last year it has carried over to this year, as he is averaging 12.1 ppg and has been ASU's leading scorer in three games (after leading the Sun Devils in scoring just once last year). Tra had a then career-high 17 vs. Sacramento State in the opener, and then led ASU in scoring in both games in the Legends Classic in Brooklyn with 22 in the win over NC State and 15 in the championship loss to Marquette en route to All-Tournament honors. He already has made six three-pointers after making just 12 all of last season.
TRA HOLDER FIRST 15 GAMES OF CAREER
FT: 31-49/.633
PTS: 63/4.2
PAST 40 (STARTING W/ COLORADO WIN ON JAN. 17, 2015)
FTS: 99-128/.773
PTS: 246/10.4
TRA HOLDER TOP SCORING GAMES
22 vs. NC State (11/23/15)
17 vs. Sacramento State (11/13/15)
16 vs. Oregon (1/30/15)
15 vs. Marquette (11/24/15)
15 vs. Stanford (3/5/15)
15 vs. #6 Arizona (2/7/15)
15 vs. Pepperdine (12/13/14)
SAVON: 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. He posted 13 points and 12 rebounds in just 22 minutes vs. Belmont. Against NC State in his first start, he had a monster game with 21 points and 16 rebounds. In the past 20 games he is averaging 13.1 points and 9.2 rebounds and is 109-of-175 (.623) from the field. He has played 33 games at ASU and led team in rebounding in 17 of them.
SAVON GOODMAN CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES (8)
10/12 vs. #18 Texas A&M (12/5/15)
21/16 vs. NC State (11/23/15)
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)
SCHEDULE: Joe Lunardi released his preseason Bracketology on Nov. 11, and it included 11 teams on ASU's schedule. Belmont (83-74 win on Nov. 16), North Carolina State (79-76 win on Nov. 23), Marquette (78-73 overtime loss on Nov. 24), Texas A&M (67-54 win on Dec. 5), 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 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.
THE 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...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...Tra Holder in his first 15 games last year 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).
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 is a career .576 shooter (171-of-297) in 106 career games.
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)
LOOKING AHEAD: The Sun Devils might have the best scout-team backcourt in the nation, Shannon Evans (transferred from Buffalo) and Torian Graham (transferred from Houston) give the regular rotation fits in practice. Evans spent two seasons under Coach Hurley at Buffalo and as a sophomore averaged 15.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists helping lead the Bulls to 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 (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.
THREE NON-CONFERENCE ROADIES? When you toss out neutral site tournaments and talk only true road games, the 2015-16 season is just the second time since 1989-90 (also in 2010-11) that ASU will play three non-conference road 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)
OOC RANKED TEAM: ASU has hosted the likes of Final Four-bound Kansas in 1990-91, Final-Four bound Oklahoma State in 1994-95, Texas, Georgia, Kerry Kittles-led Villanova, Kenny Thomas-led New Mexico, BYU, 2006 defending Big Ten Tournament champ Iowa and Louisville since 1990, but for whatever reason No. 18 Texas A&M was only the third non-conference ranked opponent to to visit Wells Fargo Arena in the past 32 seasons (1984-85 to present). No. 17 Xavier is the highest ranked non-conference foe to visit ASU since No. 14 ASU beat No. 7 Ohio State 71-58 on Dec. 20, 1980. ASU defeated XU 77-55 on Dec. 15, 2007. Xavier was the first non-conference ranked foe to visit Tempe since No. 18 UTEP topped ASU 60-55 on Dec. 18, 1983. ASU then beat No. 25 Marquette 79-77 on Nov. 25, 2013, on Jordan Bachynski's walk-off block en route to the NCAA Tournament.
RANKED NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS AT WELLS FARGO ARENA (REGULAR SEASON SINCE JOINING PAC-10)
ASU 67, #18 Texas A&M 54 (Dec. 5, 2015)
ASU 79, #25 Marquette 77 (Nov. 25, 2013)
ASU 77, #17 Xavier 55 (Dec. 15, 2007)
#18 UTEP 60, ASU 55 (Dec. 22, 1983)
#14 ASU 71, #7 Ohio State 58 (Dec. 20, 1980)
ASU 96, #12 Iowa 88 (Dec. 6, 1980)
GERRY: Inglewood native Gerry Blakes averaged 11.1 points and 4.2 rebounds last year after playing 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...had 24 at WSU on Feb. 13 (including ASU's final 16 in 4:24)...in Feb. 15 win at UW, he had 17 points in 5:23 of the second half (11:05 to 5:42) and ASU needed every bucket to stop an eight-game skid against UW and give ASU its first win in Seattle since another southpaw (with a small beard) was doing his thing in 2008.
GERRY BLAKES CAREER 20-POINT GAMES (6)
24 at Washington State (2/13/15)
23 at Washington (2/15/15) and 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)
ASU WINS VS. RANKED TEAMS PAST 10 SEASONS
ASU 67, #18 Texas A&M, Dec. 5, 2015
ASU 81, #6 Arizona 78, Feb. 7, 2015
ASU 69, #2 Arizona 66 (2 OT), Feb. 14, 2014
ASU 79, #25 Marquette 77, Nov. 25, 2013
ASU 68, #24 Washington 51, Jan. 8, 2010
#23 ASU 75, #13 Washington 65/Pac-10 Tourney, Mar. 13, 2009
#18 ASU 74, #11 UCLA 67, Feb. 12, 2009
#16 ASU 61, @ #9 UCLA 58 (OT), Jan. 17, 2009
ASU 72, #7 Stanford 68 (OT), Feb. 14, 2008
ASU 77, #17 Xavier 55, Dec. 15, 2007
ASU 68, #22 USC 58, Feb. 18, 2007