The Arizona State Sun Devil men's basketball team (12-11; 2-8) continues its 2,316-mile round trip/three-games-in-six days jaunt at Washington State on Sat., Feb. 6 at 3:30 p.m PT. JB Long and Matt Muehlebach have the Pac-12 Network call while Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd have the radio call on the Sun Devil Sports Radio Network (620 AM), presented by MidFirst.
OBI SINCE WSU: It was the Jan. 14 WSU game where junior Obinna Oleka began to emerge as he has been in double figures in the past seven games (started with WSU) and is averaging 13.6 points and is 30-of-32 (.938) from the free throw line in that time. Only Tra Holder (13.7) is averaging more in the past seven. Obi also is tied with Savon Goodman for team's rebounding lead in that time (6.7).
TWEETABLES ABOUT @SUNDEVILHOOPS...
√ Willie Atwood: 16 double-digit scoring games/15 games of zero points last year
√ ASU averaging 76.4 ppg., its highest mark since 2002-03 NCAA squad scored 77.0
√ ASU has played eight games that were decided by five points or less (plus a 12 pt OT L)
√ Obi Oleka: 12.0 ppg. in past 13 games and 45-50 (.900) FTs
√ Obi Oleka: 36-39 (.923) FTs in Pac-12 games, best in the league
√ Tra Holder: 17.4 points in past 14 games/33-74 (.446) from 3PT in that time
√ FT% of .707 is best since 2009-10 (.712)
√ Willie Atwood: 72-92 (.783) from FTs on the year
√ Kodi Justice: 10.6 ppg past 7 games
√ Averaging 41.7 points in second half (34.3 in the first half)
√ As of Feb. 4 the Pac-12's top OOC RPI win is ASU over #11 Texas A&M (Dec. 5)
√ Tra Holder 26-57 (.456) 3PT in Pac-12; 10-34 (.294) 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 has 16 double-digit scoring games (he had two last year also had 15 games where he did not score).
ASU 84, WSU 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 .383 from the field (23-of-60) but was 28-of-33 (.848) from the free throw line (both remain as season highs). Tra Holder led ASU for the 11th time on the year with 20 points, while Kodi Justice added 16 off the bench.
WSU SERIES: ASU will try and sweep WSU for the 13th time, as it also swept WSU in 2012-13, 2009-10, 2002-03, 2001-02,1999-2000, 1998-99, 1997-98, 1991-92, 1989-90, 1986-87 (3-0), 1983-84 and 1980-81...ASU leads the series 38-36 (13-22 in Pullman) since joining the Pac-10 in 1978-79...ASU is 2-3 in its past five trips to WSU, as it won 63-59 on Jan. 31, 2013, and 81-70 on Feb. 4, 2010...ASU did not make a Pullman trip in its 2013-14 NCAA Tournament season,
52,961: The Sun Devils have had good practice in tough crowds this year. In early December ASU had a four-game stretch that included three road games and home game vs. a SEC ranked team. ASU won at Creighton (Dec. 2) and at UNLV (Dec. 16) and lost at #5 Kentucky (Dec. 12), playing in front of 52,961 in those three games, while last year in its nine Pac-12 road games, ASU played in front of 69,519. The home game in that stretch? A 67-54 win over No. 18 Texas A&M (in which ASU led by as much as 25) on Dec. 5, which itself was coming off wins over Gonzaga and Texas.
DOUBLE DIGITS: ASU had five players in double figures in the Oregon State, Texas A&M and Houston Baptist wins and in the loss at Washington. It had six players in double digits in the Washington loss in Tempe. Five players in double digits happened once last year.
UW 95, ASU 83 OT (FEB. 3, 2016): ASU fought hard but could not overcome 31-of-45 Washington free throws as it had three players foul out prior to overtime (Savon Goodman, Eric Jacobsen and Willie Atwood). Five players were in double digits, led by Tra Holder's 18 that included a career-best five three pointers. UW had 42 points in the paint (ASU had 22).
LAST W: VS. OSU (JAN. 28): ASU topped OSU 86-68 as its .593 shooting (32-of-54) was its best in a Pac-12 game since Feb. 2, 2013 (.638/37-of-58) at UW...ASU's 24 assists was its most in a Pac-12 game since it also had 24 vs. OSU on March 5, 2011...OSU's 17 points in the first half was the fewest by an ASU opponent since a 34-13 halftime lead at Cal last year (Jan. 22, 2015).
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.
EIGHT OF 75: ASU was one of eight in the "power five" conferences (75 teams) to play at least three out-of-conference "true" road games (true being on the opponent home floor). Others: Alabama, Auburn, Creighton, DePaul (4), Florida, Ole Miss (4) and Penn State.
OOC: ASU played five games away from Tempe in non-conference action, and went 3-2 (wins at UNLV, at Creighton and vs. NC State in Brooklyn). It lost at #5 Kentucky and in an overtime game to Marquette in Brooklyn. ASU went 3-10 on the road last year (3-13 away from home), and was 15-42 on the road (.263) and 21-56 (.272) away from home in the previous five seasons.
DEC. 2-16: ASU had a four-game December stretch (which included just one home games) that was solid. The Sun Devils won 79-77 at Creighton (16,282 attendance) 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). ASU had 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.
THEY WON'T QUIT: Scoring margins can be twisted and turned in many ways, but in ASU's 2-7 conference start, the margin in those games was just over a three-pointer (-3.1). ASU has trailed at the half in all seven of its losses, but had some big rallies fall just short. Quick notes on five second-half rallies.
SUN DEVIL SECOND-HALF RALLIES
@Stanford: Trailed 66-56 with 4:50 left, took 73-72 lead but lost 75-73 (17-7 run)
@California: Trailed 54-40 with 12:53 left, tied it at 65 at 2:25 (25-11 run over 10:28)
UW: Trailed by 12 with 19:34 left, cut it to 3 three times in final 10 minutes in 89-85 loss@UCLA: Trailed by 12 in first half, held 74-72 lead with two minutes left in 77-74 loss
@USC: Trailed by 17 with 10:27 left, yet had 3PTA to go ahead 1:02 (26-9)
OBI ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON: 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.
TOP FIVE SCORING GAMES FOR OBINNA OLEKA
19 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
17 vs. Oregon (1/31/16)
17 vs. Oregon State (1/28/16)
17 vs. Arizona (1/3/16)
14 at California (1/21/16)
14 vs. Houston Baptist (12/19/15)
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.
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. In the first 23 games this year he is averaging a team-best 15.5 points and has made 40 three-pointers. Already he has led the team in scoring in 13 games and has six 20-point games. He became the first Sun Devil to post five straight 20-point games since James Harden did it in his freshman season of 2007-08 and the first Pac-12 player to open league play with four straight 20-point games since Cal's Patrick Christopher in 2008-09. Tra had 23 vs. Cal-State Bakersfield on Dec. 28, then notched 24 vs. Arizona (1/3), 21 at USC (1/7), 26 at UCLA (1/9) and 20 vs. WSU (1/14).
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.
YOU CAN CALL IT A COMEBACK: The Dec. 16 win at UNLV was the fifth-biggest halftime comeback (down 12, 37-25) in 27 years of Sun Devil hoops (1989-90 to present). It marked the largest ASU halftime comeback since Dec. 14, 2008, when ASU came back from 16 down to beat IUPUI at America West Arena. It also is the largest ASU halftime comeback in a road game since Feb. 12, 1994, when ASU came back from 17 down at the half to win at Stanford. ASU trailed 45-31 at the 17:12 mark but it was all Sun Devils after that, as ASU outscored UNLV 35-1. ASU held UNLV to 5-of-26 (.192) from the floor in the second half and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds which led to 16-1 advantage in second-chance points. ASU outrebounded UNLV 43-30, which included starting guards Gerry Blakes (11) and Tra Holder (career-high nine) grabbing 20. Holder had 19 and Willie Atwood 14 to lead the scoring.
LARGEST HALFTIME COMEBACK DEFICITS (1989-1990 TO PRESENT)
(17) @Stanford 46, ASU 29--Feb. 12, 1994/ASU 71, @Stanford 69
(16) IUPUI 34, ASU 18 (@Phoenix)--Dec. 14, 2008/ASU 59, vs. IUPUI 58 (OT)
(16) New Mexico St. 45, ASU 29--Mar. 15, 2000/ASU 83, NMSU 77 (NIT)
(16) Georgia 39, ASU 23--Dec. 29, 1989/ASU 62, Georgia 61
(12) @UNLV 37, ASU 25--Dec. 16, 2015/ASU 66, @UNLV 56
LOOKING AHEAD: Shannon Evans transferred from Buffalo after having 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).
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 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 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.
8+ POINTS HALFTIME DEFICIT WINS PAST 10 YEARS (2006-PRESENT)
(16) IUPUI 34, ASU 18 (@Phoenix/Dec. 14, 2008)/ASU 59, vs. IUPUI 58 (OT)
(12) @UNLV 37, ASU 25--Dec. 16, 2015/ASU 66, @UNLV 56
(8) @Creighton 41, ASU 33--Dec. 2, 2015)/ASU 79, @Creighton 77
ASU 67, #18 TEXAS A&M 54 (DEC. 5, 2015): ASU jumped out to a 33-19 halftime lead and then led by as much as 25 before notching a 67-54 win over #18 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. ASU shot .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.
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)