The 2016-17 Sun Devil men's basketball team (4-3) plays the UNLV Runnin' Rebels for the fourth straight year on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. MT on the Pac-12 Network in Tempe. ASU has zig-zagged across North America twice (to Orlando and the Bahamas) and is in the middle of a six-game stretch that has them playing No. 1, No. 15, and No. 10 along with the Rebels, at San Diego State and New Mexico State. The Sun Devils return two starters (Tra Holder and Obi Oleka) and four total lettermen from last year's squad that posted eight wins against top-100 RPI teams in Bobby Hurley's first season. Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd have the call on the Sun Devil Sports Radio Network, presented by MidFirst, on ESPN 620 AM in Phoenix. The Sun Devils are 61-14 (.813) at home the past five seasons, including 3-0 this year.
VS. UNLV: ASU leads the series 5-2 which includes three come-from behind wins in each of the past three seasons. UNLV led by 14 (45-31) at the 17:12 mark last year, 21-6 at 13:06 in December of 2014, and 56-49 (13:31) in November of 2013 before ASU came back to win each.
ASU 66, @UNLV 56 (DEC. 16, 2015): ASU trailed at UNLV 37-25 at the half and 45-31 at the 17:12 mark but it was all Sun Devils after that, as ASU outscored UNLV 35-11 to pull away 66-56 in Las Vegas. 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 Tra Holder getting a career-high nine to go along with 19 points.
ASU 77, UNLV 55 (DEC. 3, 2014): ASU fell behind fast (21-6 seven minutes into the game) but came back behind Eric Jacobsen's 16 points and 12 boards to top the Runnin' Rebels, 77-55 in Tempe. ASU outscored UNLV 40-18 in the second half, won the battle of the boards 46-32 and shot 11-of-22 (.500) from three. Kodi Justice had 13 points, six assists, five rebounds and no turnovers in 30 minutes.
ASU 86, @UNLV 80 (NOV. 19, 2013): Jahii Carson dropped 40 and seven assists in the 86-80 win at UNLV on Nov. 19 as Jordan Bachynski tied a career-high with 15 rebounds and had 17 points, while Jermaine Marshall had 20 points. ASU shot .556 (20-of-36) from the floor and outrebounded the Rebels 24-19 in the second half.
WHOA: Starting with its Nov. 28 game vs. top-ranked Kentucky, ASU will play six games in 23 days that are...well...challenging. Check out the six games and the basketball history of each opponent.
SUPER TOUGH SIX IN A ROW (RANKINGS AS OF NOV. 21)
Monday, Nov. 28 vs. #1 Kentucky at Bahamas (8-time NCAA champion)
Saturday, Dec. 3 vs. UNLV (6 NCAA Tournaments in past 10 seasons)
Tuesday, Dec. 6 vs. #17 Purdue at New York City (8 NCAA Tournaments past 10 seasons)
Saturday, Dec. 10 at San Diego State (7 NCAA Tournaments past 11 seasons)
Saturday, Dec. 17 vs. New Mexico State (4 NCAA Tournaments past 5 seasons)
Tuesday, Dec. 20 vs. #12 Creighton (10 NCAA Tournaments past 18 seasons)
THREE-DOT SUN DEVIL DATA: Junior Tra Holder leads ASU in scoring (17.1 ppg.) and is 35-of-45 (.778) from the free throw line on the year. He is 257-of-354 (.726) from the charity stripe in his 71-game career...senior Torian Graham has two 20-point games...Shannon Evans II is 27-of-32 (.844) from the free throw line on the year. He made his first 20 to start the season. He is 211-of-263 (.802) from the free throw line in his career...Obi Oleka is 20-of-27 (.741) from the free throw line and is averaging 12.4 points and 10.4 rebounds...Kodi Justice has made 87 three-pointers in 57 career games...ASU is 123-of-167 (.737) from the free throw line...seven players are averaging more than 15 minutes per game and five players are averaging double digits.
MILES: The Sun Devils last year had a tough out-of-conference schedule, playing three OOC road games for just the fifth time in 38 seasons. This year, it has one true "road" game but its travel schedule is even tougher. ASU between Nov. 16 (travel day) and Dec. 10 (game at San Diego State) will travel 12,900 miles and sleep in a hotel in 11 of 25 nights.
ROAD TRIP(S)!!! ... ROUND TRIP MILES FROM PHOENIX
Orlando/Tire Pros Invitational (Nov. 17-20)=3,680
Bahamas vs. #1 Kentucky (Nov. 28)=4,320
Jimmy V Classic @NYC vs. #15 Purdue (Dec. 6)=4,300
San Diego @SDSU (Dec. 10)=600
FINAL FOUR IN 2017: ASU 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 marks the 25th anniversary of Bobby Hurley earning 1992 MOP.
ASU 96, CAL POLY 74 (11/13/16): ASU led just 39-38 at the half the Sun Devils scored 57 in the second half and raced to a 96-74 win. Tra Holder posted 24 points, while Shannon Evans II added 20 and Torian Graham had 18 off the bench. Evans II became the first Sun Devil since Ike Diogu (Jan. 17, 2004 vs. USC) to go perfect in at least 12 free throw attempts, while ASU's 57 second-half points was the most in a half since it scored 58 vs. San Francisco on Nov. 20, 2009.
ASU 88, PORTLAND STATE 70 (11/11/16): Tra Holder and Torian Graham (9-of-11 FGs off the bench) led ASU with 23 points, while Shannon Evans added 19 in the 88-70 win over Portland State to open the season. Obi Oleka added 13 rebounds. Graham's 23 points marked the most by a Sun Devil in a career debut since Jerren Shipp had 23 on Nov. 13, 2006.
MOST POINTS IN ASU DEBUT (1987-88 TO PRESENT)
28-Isaac Burton, Jr.,/ASU 106, BYU 95 (Nov. 27, 1993)
26-Steve Moore, Jr./ASU 80, Arkanas-Little Rock 72 (Nov. 22, 2003)
23-Torian Graham, Sr./ASU 88, Portland State 70 (Nov. 11, 2016)
23-Jerren Shipp, Fr./NAU 75, ASU 71 (Nov. 13, 2006)
23-Gee Gervin, Fr. /ASU 111, Jacksonville 69 (Nov. 22, 1996)
MOST ASU POINTS OFF BENCH (1997-98 TO PRESENT)
31-Steve Moore, 2/10/05 at UCLA
29-Shawn Redhage, 2/8/03 at Washington
24-Savon Goodman, 12/20/14 vs Lehigh
24-Tommy Smith, 2/10/01 vs. Washington
24-Tanner Shell, 1/20/00 at USC
23-Torian Graham, 11/11/16 vs Portland State
THREE-POINT NOTE: Entering 2016-17 ASU had made a three-pointer in 522 straight games. The last time ASU did not make a three-pointer was in an 89-57 win over Washington in Tempe on Feb. 10, 2001. That streak is now up to 529 games.
OBI ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON: It was the Jan. 14 WSU game where forward Obinna Oleka (Oh-BEE-nah Oh-LEH-ka) began to emerge last season. Obi was in double figures in 13 of the final 16 games and averaged 11.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and was 41-of-49 (.837) from the free throw line in that time. He also had three of his four double-doubles in that span. Oleka had no points and one rebound in the first two games, but because he only played five games for State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota the previous two seasons and didn't play in 2014-15, 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 OLEKA FIRST 10 CAREER GAMES/PAST 29
MPG: 19.0/28.8
3PT MADE: 3/29
FT: 17-27 (.630)/76-94 (.806)
RPG: 4.9/7.7
PPG: 6.4/11.2
TOP SCORING GAMES FOR OBINNA OLEKA
20 vs. Citadel (11/23/16)
19 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
17 vs. Cal Poly (11/13/16)
17 vs. #23 Oregon (1/31/16)
17 vs. Oregon State (1/28/16)
17 vs. #8 Arizona (1/3/16)
OOC SCHEDULE: Last year's Sun Devil OOC schedule was 13th-best in the nation, and this year expect the same. ASU faces AP preseason top-25 teams #2 Kentucky in Bahamas, Purdue (#15) in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 6 and host #22 Creighton at 7 p.m. MT on ESPN2 on Dec. 20. ASU is one of four Pac-12 teams hosting a preseason AP Top-25 team.
PAC-12 SCHOOLS HOSTING AP PRESEASON TOP-25 TEAMS
#17 Saint Mary's at Stanford, Nov. 30
#7 Xavier at Colorado, Dec. 7
#22 Creighton at Arizona State, Dec. 20
#8 Virginia at Cal, Dec. 21
GOT IT DONE FAST: Buffalo was 285-369 (.436) in 22 seasons after going Division I (1991-2013). Under Bobby Hurley the Bulls were 42-20 (.678) in his two seasons.
BEST THING ABOUT FRESHMAN IS THEY BECOME SOPHOMORES: Tra Holder averaged 14.2 points in 2015-16 after averaging 7.0 in his freshman season. The +7.2 increase is the best from first year to second year Sun Devil since Jeremy Veal went from 7.4 in 1994-95 to 18.9 in 1995-96 (+11.5).
BIGGEST SUN DEVIL SCORING IMPROVEMENTS (FIRST SEASON TO SECOND)
Jeremy Veal, +11.5 (7.4 in 1994-95 to 18.9 in 1995-96)
Dennis Hamilton, +11.1 (6.2 in 1963-64 to 17.3 in 1964-65)
Art Becker, +10.1 (9.0 in 1961-62 to 19.1 in 1962-63)
Arthur Thomas, +9.4 (4.3 in 1984-85 to 13.7 in 1985-86)
Tra Holder, +7.2 (7.0 in 2014-15 to 14.2 in 2015-16)
TRA HOLDER 20+ SCORING GAMES
26 at UCLA (1/9/16)
24 vs. #8 Arizona (1/3/16)
24 vs. Cal Poly (11/13/16)
23 vs. Portland State (11/11/16)
22 vs. Citadel (11/23/16)
23 vs. CSU-Bakersfield (12/28/15)
22 vs. North Carolina State (11/23/15)
21 at USC (1/7/16)
20 vs. #23 USC (2/12/16)
20 vs. Washington State (1/16/16)
HE CAN PLAY: Transfer Shannon Evans II arrived at ASU after having spent two seasons under Coach Hurley at Buffalo. As a sophomore in 2014-15 he averaged 15.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists and led the Bulls to the NCAA Tournament as he earned second-team All-MAC honors. As a freshman, he averaged 8.5 points and 3.3 assists per game and was named to the All-MAC Freshman Team. He sat the 2015-16 season but has two years to play starting in 2016-17.
SHANNON EVANS II 20-POINT SCORING GAMES (11)
33 vs. Cornell (1/3/15)
25 at Ball State (2/4/15)
24 at UT-Arlington (11/18/14)
23 at Western Michigan (1/10/15)
23 at Grand Canyon (11/25/14)
21 vs. Tulane (11/18/16)
21 at Kent State (2/28/15)
21 at St. Bonaventure (12/3/14)
20 vs. Niagara (12/19/14)
20 vs. Manhattan (12/21/13)
20 vs. Cal Poly (11/13/16)
YOU CAN CALL IT A COMEBACK: The Dec. 16 win at UNLV was the fifth-biggest halftime comeback (down 12, 37-25) in past 27 years of Sun Devil hoops (1989-90 to present). It marked the largest 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, 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.
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
JUSTICE SERVED: Kodi Justice has made 87 three pointers in 57 career games. He suffered a fractured navicular bone in his left foot on Jan. 25, 2015 (freshman year) and missed the remainder of that season, but bounced back with a solid sophomore season. His injury happened the game following a season-high 16 points at California, so he was just starting to get in the groove, and then adapted to a new coaching staff in the summer of 2015 while getting healthy. He posted 10 double-digit scoring games last year (three in 18 games in 2014-15). He tied for second on the team in assists with 76 and third in steals with 30.
KODI JUSTICE TOP SCORING GAMES
20 vs. Citadel (11/23/16)
20 vs. Houston Baptist (12/19/15)
17 vs. Washington (1/16/16)
16 vs. Washington State (1/14/16)
16 at California (1/22/15)