The Arizona State Sun Devil men's basketball team (11-6; 1-3) hosts the Washington Huskies on Saturday (Jan. 16) at 5 p.m. on Pac-12 Network with Spero Dedes and Matt Muehlebach on the call. Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd have the Sun Devil radio call on the Sun Devil Sports Radio Network (620 AM), presented by MidFirst. ASU is 55-10 (.846) at home in the past four seasons as it will try and sweep the Washington schools at home for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
TWEETABLES ABOUT @SUNDEVILHOOPS...
√ Tra Holder: 21.0 points in past 8 games and is 19-40 from 3PT in that time
√ Willie Atwood: 12.5 ppg. and 39-of-44 (.886) FTs in past 8 games
√ Obi Oleka: 10.3 ppg. in the past seven games
√ 274-of-375 (.731) from the free throw line in the past 16 games
√ Averaging 41.5 points in second half (33.8 in the first half)
√ 9.8 turnovers per game in the past five; 13.2 in first 12 games
√ ASU is second in the Pac-12 in FT% at .719, its best mark since 2008-09 (.737)
RPI/SOS: As of Jan. 15, here is a list of the seven top-40 RPI teams who also have a top-10 SOS: Villanova (1/1), Kansas (3/5), Oregon (7/7), Texas Tech (20/6), Florida (27/3), Texas (29/2) and ASU (40/10).
TRA NOTES: Sophomore Tra Holder is the first Sun Devil to post five straight 20-point games since James Harden did it in his freshman season of 2007-08. Tra also is the first player to post four straight 20-point games to open a Pac-12 season since Cal's Patrick Christoper in 2008-09.
ASU 84, WASHINGTON STATE 73 (1/14/16): ASU jumped out to a 40-25 halftime lead, WSU cut it to eight early in the second, but it was too much Tra Holder and Kodi Justice for the Cougars as ASU won its sixth straight vs. WSU in Tempe. ASU shot just .383 from the field (23-of-60) but was 28-of-33 (.848) from the free throw line. Tra Holder led ASU for the 11th time on the year with 20 points, while Kodi Justice added 16 off the bench.
QUICK NOTES FROM LAST WEEKEND: ASU fell at USC 75-65 (Jan. 7) and 81-74 at UCLA (Jan. 9), but had good chances down the stretch in both. ASU was down 54-37 at the 10:37 mark at USC but came back and was down 65-63 with the ball with a minute left before three missed shots resulted in run-out baskets for the Trojans. At UCLA, ASU led 74-72 with 2:01 left but gave up a three-pointer with just over a minute left after a UCLA offensive rebound. On the weekend Tra Holder was 17-of-30 (.567) from the field, 7-of-12 (.583) from three and had 21 at USC and career-best 26 at UCLA. ASU was uncharacteristic 6-of-15 from the free throw line at USC.
ONE CALENDAR YEAR: Last year after the Jan. 15 Utah game Tra Holder was shooting below 30 percent, had 15 buckets, two three-pointers and was averaging just over four points. One calendar year later, in the first 17 games this year he is averaging a team-best 16.5 points and has made 26 three-pointers. Already he has led the team in scoring in 11 games and has six 20-point games.
AT HOME: ASU is 55-10 (.846) at home in the past four seasons, the most home wins in a four-year period since the Lionel Hollins-led Sun Devils opened the building in 1974-75. Prior to this era, the most home wins in any four-year era was 51 (1991-95 and from 2007-11). The best winning percentage in a four-year span came from 1979-83, when the Sun Devils went 49-12 (.803). ASU is 22-7 (.759) in Pac-12 play at home in the past four years and is the only team to beat each of the past three Pac-12 champions in those seasons as it topped Arizona the past two seasons and beat UCLA in 2012-13.
QUICK HITTERS: ASU has played four games decided by three points or less (3-1)...ASU is averaging just 9.8 turnovers per game in the past five contests after averaging 13.2 in first 12 games...want a halftime adjustment stat? The Sun Devils are averaging 41.3 points in the second half this year (33.8 in the first half)...ASU had five players in double figures in the Texas A&M and the Houston Baptist wins. That happened once last year.
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 this year. He is averaging 28.9 minutes and is averaging 10.5 points and has three double-doubles. He has 40 offensive rebounds (after grabbing 20 last year) and 11 double-digit scoring games (he had two last year also had 15 games where he did not score).
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.
NOV. 23-DEC. 16: From the end of November until mid-December, ASU had a seven-game stretch (which included just two home games) that was solid. The Sun Devils won 79-77 at Creighton on Dec. 2 (who was 89-0 when scoring 75 points in its home arena), topped #18 Texas A&M 67-54 (who beat Gonzaga and Texas) on Dec. 5 and lost at No. 5 Kentucky (Dec. 12). Prior to Creighton, the Sun Devils beat 2015 NCAA Tournament team NC State and dropped an overtime game to surging Marquette in Brooklyn. It also beat 19-game winner from year ago UCSB. ASU is 3-2 against 2015 NCAA Tournament teams with wins over Stephen F. Austin, Belmont and NC State (loss at Kentucky and Arizona), 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, and finished it up with the comeback win at UNLV on Dec. 16.
NOT LETTING GO OF THE ROPE: After going 2-6 in games decided by three points or less last year (losing first four), the Sun Devils have won three straight in this category. Creighton led for 28:27 on Dec. 2, while UCSB led for 29:50 on Nov. 29. ASU made its final 14 free throws to get the 70-68 UCSB win on Eric Jacobsen's putback with one second left, while the Sun Devils shot 18-of-28 (.643) from the field in the second half against the Blue Jays. ASU trailed 77-76 with 18 seconds left at CU and trailed 68-65 with under a minute left vs. UCSB.
FTS: ASU went 23-of-26 (.885) from the FT line in its 70-68 UCSB win on Nov. 29 (made 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 274-of-375 (.731) from the free throw line in the past 16 games (includes 8-of-15 at Kentucky and 6-15 at USC). Coach Hurley made .776 of his free throws while in college (441-of-568).