The Arizona State Sun Devil men's basketball team (5-2), coming off back-to-back two-point wins, hosts a ranked non-conference foe for just the third time in 32 years when No. 18 Texas A&M comes to town Saturday for an ESPN2 8:30 tip. Roxy Bernstein and Adrian Branch are on the call, while Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd have the Sun Devil radio call on 98.7 FM and Sirius 113/XM 203. ASU is 5-2, 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 has already played four games decided by three points or less (3-1). Its current four-game stretch is about as challenging as one can find among major conference teams in December. The Sun Devils won at Creighton (who was 89-0 when scoring 75 points in its home arena), host hot #18 Texas A&M (who beat Gonzaga), play at No. 1 Kentucky (Dec. 12) and then play at UNLV on Dec. 16 (already beat Indiana).
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 this year. 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).
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.?
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 103-of-139 (.741) from the free throw line in the past six games. In case you were wondering, Coach Hurley made .776 of his free throws while in college (441-of-568).
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WILLIE 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 through seven games this year. He is averaging 27.7 minutes, made all three of his three-pointers vs. Creighton in posting a career-high 14 points and is averaging 8.6 points and has two double-doubles.
WILLIE ATWOOD THEN AND NOW
2014-15
MIN: 11.6
FG: 25-73/.342
3PT: 11-31/.355
REB: 54/1.7
PTS: 92/3.0
2015-16
MIN: 27.7
FG:19-39/.487
3PT: 4-11/.364
REB/PG: 49/7.0
PTS/PG: 60/8.6
WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED EARLY: Sophomore Tra Holder (7.0 ppg last year) is at 12.0 this year. He is 27-of-33 (.818) 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 .804 free throw shooter (74-of-92)...senior Willie Atwood averaged 11.6 minutes last year but is at 27.7 this year...junior Savon Goodman has now led the team in rebounding in 16 of his 32 career games...after averaging 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in his first two years (64 games), senior Eric Jacobsen is at ?8.4 points and 6.2 rebounds past two seasons (42 games)....ASU is 50-of-65 (.769) from the free throw line in the past two games...the Sun Devils have outrebounded its past six opponents...the eight steals at Creighton is a season high...ASU is 2-1 when trailing at the half this year with wins over UCSB on Nov. 29 (trailed 29-27 and won 70-68) and Creighton (trailed 41-33 and won 79-77). ASU went 2-11 last year when it trailed at the half, and 12-64 (.157) in that category the previous five seasons to this year.
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 will only be 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 vs. #18 Texas A&M (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)
GOOD ON REBOUNDING: ASU is outrebounding its opponents by 9.4 per game and has 43 more offensive rebounds (103-60). Five players have grabbed double-digit rebounds this year, and ASU's rebounding leader in all but one game has notched double-digits. After getting out rebounded by seven in the season opener, the Sun Devils have posted rebounding margins of 14, 29, 12, 10, 3 and 5.
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.
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 10.0 points and seven boards. He also had eight second-half points in 11 minutes in the win at Creighton on Dec. 2.
ROADIES: 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.
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 the past two games have helped lead ASU to last second wins. Against UCSB on Nov. 29, he had eight second-half points in 11 in 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. Against ?Creighton he had five points in five second-half minutes with two buckets that cut lead to 67-66 at 8:10 and gave ASU 68-67 lead at 7:13.
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 was the second Pac-12 team to visit Creighton in the regular-season since 1978, and it 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.
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 12.0 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 five 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 24 (STARTING W/ COLORADO WIN ON JAN. 17, 2015)
FTS: 93-121/.768
PTS: 246/10.3
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)
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. 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 19 games he is averaging 13.2 points and nine rebounds and is 106-of-169 (.627) from the field. He has played 32 games at ASU and led team in rebounding in 16 of them.
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.
SCHEDULE: Joe Lunardi released his preseason Bracketology on Nov. 11, and it included 11 teams on ASU's schedule. Belmont, North Carolina State, Marquette, 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.
