The Arizona State Sun Devils (20-10; 8-10) -- who returned three players from last year's squad -- head to Las Vegas and T-Mobile Arena where it will take on Colorado in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament. Roxy Bernstein and Don MacLean have the Pac-12 Network matinee noon tip on Wednesday, March 7, while Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd have the voice-only version on the Sun Devil Radio Network. Under third-year head coach Bobby Hurley (two-time NCAA champion, 1992 Final Four MOP and NCAA career assist leader) the Sun Devils are led by seniors Tra Holder, Shannon Evans II and Kodi Justice, who have made .783 of their free throws (1,053-of-1,344) and scored 4,535 points. ASU is averaging 83.5 ppg. -- its best mark since the 1997-98 team (84.5) -- and has scored at least 80 in 19 games.
QUICK STUFF
v ASU played 15 single-digit Pac-12 games, the most by a team in past 22 seasons (1996-97 to present).
v ASU has come from behind at the half to win seven times and is averaging 44.3 second-half points.
v ASU averaged 10,603 fans per game this year, topping the 9,514 school record set in 1995-96.
v Shannon Evans needs five points to reach 1,000 in his two years at ASU.
GOOD COMPANY: ASU is one of five teams without a double-digit loss this year, joining MWC champion Nevada, Purdue, Villanova and ACC champion Virginia.
KEN POM: Taking a look at March 4 Ken Pom rankings, No. 38 ASU has seven top 65 wins: at No. 12 Kansas, No. 15 Xavier, No. 43 Kansas State, No. 46 USC, No. 50 UCLA, No. 60 San Diego State and at No. 61 Utah.
WINS: As of March 4 NCAA RPI, ASU has nine top-100 wins: No. 3 Xavier (27-4) in Las Vegas, at No. 5 KU (24-7), vs. 35 USC (21-10), vs. No. 38 UCLA (20-10), at No. 48 Utah (19-10), vs. No. 62 Kansas State in Las Vegas (22-10), vs. No. 86 Colorado (16-13), vs. No. 90 SDSU (18-10) and vs. No. 91 St. John's (15-16) in Los Angeles.
DID YOU KNOW?: The Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year officially returns for the first time in 30+ seasons in 2017-18. Players must not have exceeded more than 1/3 starts in league games. The previous Pac-10 Sixth Man of the Year was awarded from 1984-87. Remy Martin – with zero starts -- is averaging 9.6 points, has 86 assists and is 66-of-87 (.759) from the free throw line in 23.9 minutes per game. He has 19 double-figure scoring games including 14 of the past 19 tilts and in 12 Pac-12 games. He had a season-best 21 at No. 2 Kansas on Dec. 10. Against Utah on Jan. 25, he had a personal second-half 10-0 run in 2:18 that gave ASU a three-point lead after being down seven. At WSU on Feb. 4, he had all 10 points in the final 6:20 and added two steals as ASU outscored WSU 19-9 in final seven minutes.
KODI: Kodi Justice has 1,014 career points after scoring 83 (4.6 pg) in his freshman season, when his season was cut short due to a foot injury after 16 games. Kurt Nimphius (1976-80 with 27 points) is the only 1000-point Sun Devil who scored fewer points in his freshman year. He is the 37th member of ASU's 1,000 point-club.
SUN DEVIL 1,000-POINT CHART
32. Bobby Lazor (1997-99)/1,077
33. Royce Youree (1955-58)/1,036
34. Derek Glasser (2006-10)/1,028
35. Gary Jackson (1972-76)/1,017
36. Kodi Justice (2014-18)/1,014
HALFTIME: ASU is averaging 44.3 points in the second half, a mark that is closing in on one of the best by a Pac-12 team in the past 22 seasons (1996-97) according to STATS and Pac-12 Network research.
BEST SECOND-HALF POINTS AVERAGE BY PAC-12 TEAM (1996-97 TO PRESENT)
48.5/Arizona, 1997-98
46.6/UCLA, 2016-17
45.2/Arizona, 2003-04
44.4/Arizona, 1996-97
44.3/Arizona State, 2017-18
SHANNON: Shannon Evans II has notched 995 points in his two-year Sun Devil career, fourth on the Sun Devil two-year career list.
SUN DEVIL TWO-YEAR CAREER MOST POINTS
James Harden, 2007-09/1,309
Jahii Carson, 2012-14/1,261
Bobby Lazor, 1997-99/1,077
Shannon Evans II, 2016-18/995
VS. COLORADO: ASU and CU are tied 6-6 since it joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12...CU got a sweep in 2011-12 and ASU got a sweep in 2012-13...ASU has won six of the past 10 after CU swept the original Pac-12 series...ASU is 5-1 in Tempe vs. the Buffs and 1-5 in Boulder, but the teams have never met in the Pac-12 Tournament.
CLOSE: ASU has had 15 Pac-12 games decided by single digits, the most by any Pac-12 team in past 22 seasons. In its perfect (12-0) non-conference action, ASU played one single digit game (92-90 over Kansas State in Las Vegas). ASU's only three league margins in double digits are wins over California (84-53), Colorado (80-66) and at Washington State (88-78).
BENCH PLAY: ASU notched 41 bench points at California on Jan. 20, the second-most in the Bobby Hurley era at ASU. ASU's four-man 41-point bench at California was 16-of-28 (.571) from the field and had four three-pointers, 21 rebounds and four blocks in 73 minutes.
MOST BENCH POINTS UNDER BOBBY HURLEY
42 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
41 at California (1/20/18)
41 vs. Longwood (12/19/17)
38 at Stanford (12/30/16)
KODI: In the final five games of 2016-17 Kodi Justice averaged 15.6 points including 22 in the Feb. 26 win over USC and was 17-of-35 (.486) from the three-point stripe. In his past 34 games, he is averaging 12.8 points, in the first 78 games of his career he averaged 7.2.
MICKEY: Mickey Mitchell, after starting in the first six Pac-12 games, came off the bench at Cal on Jan. 20 and led ASU in rebounding for the fifth time in his first 11 games. He missed the first eight games as a mid-year transfer, but is averaging 5.4 boards in just over 22 minutes per game. He has led or tied for ASU lead in rebounding in six games.
FG DEFENSE: Stanford shot (.508) from the field against ASU on Jan. 17, the first ASU opponent to shoot 50 percent in 12 games and just the third opponent on the year. Fifteen teams shot 50 percent against ASU last year, only five have done it this season. The last time ASU held at least 11 straight opponents under 50 percent field goal shooting was the final 13 games of the 2012-13 season. ASU is holding opponents to .436 from the field this year after allowing .479 last year.
MORE TRA: How good of a week did Tra Holder have in earning his first Pac-12 Player of the Week on Nov. 20? He averaged 23.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists in three ASU wins and shot .548 (23-of-42) from the field, .571 (12-of-21) from three and .813 (13-of-16) from the free throw line. He is 533-of-694 (.768) from the charity stripe, as both free throw marks are second in ASU history (Ike Diogu, 671-of-854). The 533 free throws made is ninth in Pac-12 history.
SUN DEVIL CAREER POINTS
1. Eddie House, 1996-2000/2,044
2. Jeremy Veal, 1994-1998/1,984
3. Ike Diogu, 2002-2005/1,946
4. Ron Riley, 1992-1996/1,834
5. Tra Holder, 2014-2018/1,772
TRA'S YEAR-BY-YEAR IMPROVEMENTS
SEASON: FG% / FT% / PPG / RPG / 3P MADE
2014-15: .317 / .708 / 7.0 / 2.2 / 12
2015-16: .387 / .727 / 14.2 / 3.5 / 49
2016-17: .433 / .772 / 16.2 / 3.7 / 46
2017-18: .411 / .846 / 18.6 / 4.2 / 64
FREE THROWS: In some big wins, free throw shooting has been very good. ASU was 20-of-25 (.800) vs. SDSU, 23-of-25 (.920) vs. #15 Xavier, 23-of-27 (.852) vs. Saint John's, 15-of-20 (.750) at #2 Kansas, 20-of-23 (.870) at Utah, 16-of-22 (.727) vs. Colorado and 25-of-28 (.893) vs. UCLA.
PUMPED UP CROWDS: ASU has done well under Coach Hurley in places that were large and loud outside of the Pac-12. In addition to this year's win over No. 2 Kansas on Dec. 10 in front of 16,300, ASU in the Coach Hurley era has won at Creighton (16,282), UNLV (13,014) and San Diego State (12,414) and hung tough with Kentucky (23,665) in his first season as it was a 32-31 Kentucky lead at the half and a four-point game with 13 minutes to play. Prior to Bobby Hurley, ASU was 8-22 in its previous 30 non-conference road games. It is 4-1 under Coach Hurley with wins at San Diego State, UNLV, Creighton and No. 2 Kansas.
ASU OOC ROAD GAMES UNDER COACH HURLEY/CROWDS
#16 ASU 95, #2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)/16,300
ASU 74, San Diego State 63 (Dec. 10, 2016)/12,414
ASU 66, UNLV 56 (Dec. 16, 2015)/13,014
#5 Kentucky 72, ASU 58 (Dec. 5, 2015)/23,665
ASU 79, Creighton 77 (Dec. 2, 2015)/16,282
DOWN AT HALF: ASU has come back from down at the half against USC, Oregon State, at Utah, at Kansas, vs. Xavier and Kansas State in Las Vegas and in Tempe vs. San Diego State In those seven wins in the second half Shannon Evans is averaging 19.1 minutes, 14.1 points and shooting 30-of-52 (.557) from the floor, 18-of-27 (.667) from three and 21-of-26 (.840) from the free throw line with 19 assists and just eight turnovers.
20: ASU has six players who have notched a 20-point game this year led by Tra Holder (15), Shannon Evans II (12), Kodi Justice (three) and Romello White (three), while Remy Martin and De'Quon Lake have done it once.
SPURTABILITY: ASU has come back from deficits of at least nine points in seven wins.
DEFICIT (TIME/HALF)/FINAL SCORE
Nov. 14: -9 vs. San Diego State (19:22/2nd)/90-68; +31 final 19 minutes
Nov. 23: -9 vs. Kansas State (18:16/2nd)/92-90; +11 final 18 minutes
Nov. 24: -15 vs. #15 Xavier (3:16/first)/102-86; 73 points final 23 minutes
Dec. 10: -13 at #2 Kansas (16:39/first)/95-85; +23 after 15-2 deficit
Dec. 17: -13 vs. Vanderbilt (15:03/first)/76-64; +25 after 13-0 deficit
Jan. 13: -13 vs. Oregon State (11:32/second)/77-75; 33-18 final 11:30
Feb. 8: -9 vs. USC (11:04/second)/80-78; 31-19 final 10:51
DOUBLE NICKEL+: Six of the top 11 scoring halves in the past 15 seasons have taken place this year. Prior to dropping 60 vs. Longwood in the second half on Dec. 19, ASU dropped 58 at No. 2 Kansas and 58 on No. 15 Xavier in Las Vegas. On Dec. 22 it had 57 in the second half vs. Pacific. It also had 56 against San Diego State in the second half and vs. UC Irvine in the first half.
MOST POINTS IN HALF/2003-04 TO PRESENT
72 vs. Citadel (Nov. 23, 2016)*
60 vs. Longwood (Dec. 19, 2017)*
58 at #2 Kansas (Dec. 10, 2017)*
58 vs. #15 Xavier (Nov. 24, 2017)*
58 vs. San Francisco (Nov. 20, 2009)/58 vs. Oregon (Feb. 11, 2006)*
57 vs. Pacific (Dec. 22, 2017)*
57 vs. Cal Poly (Nov. 13, 2016)*
56 vs. UC Irvine (Nov. 19, 2017)
56 vs. San Diego State (Nov. 14, 2017)*
56 vs. Kennesaw State (Nov. 18, 2015)
*notes second-half points
12-GAME STREAK: Much has been made about the best start in school history that not much was said about the win streak as it stood alone. The Dec. 22 win over Pacific gave ASU the second-best winning streak in ASU history. Only four ASU teams have posted 11-game winning streaks.
ASU TOP WINNING STREAKS
18: 1961-62
12: 2017-18
11: 1980-81 and 1962-63
JUSTICE SERVED: Kodi Justice has made 210 three pointers in 113 career games. He suffered a fractured navicular bone in his left foot on Jan. 25, 2015 and missed the remainder of freshman 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.
FOUR QUESTIONS WITH KODI JUSTICE
You can pick the brain of any coach, who is it? John Wooden
You can go watch a past sporting event live...which one? Rumble in the Jungle
Past Sun Devil (any sport) you wish you could have watched compete: Pat Tillman
Biggest challenge in my life: Being dyslexic
KODI'S YEAR-BY-YEAR IMPROVEMENTS
SEASON: FG% / 3PM / PPG
2014-15: .424 / 17 / 4.6
2015-16: .394 / 60 / 7.9
2016-17: .421 / 63 / 9.2
2017-18: .455 / 70 / 12.5
#DUNK-KWON: Junior college transfer De'Quon Lake is 85-of-120 (.708) from the field with 43 dunks. He has 56 offensive rebounds and posted five dunks against both Idaho State and San Diego State. He also had seven blocks vs. Pacific. ASU is 9-1 when he scores in double digits and 8-1 when he gets at least seven boards (at Oregon in loss he had 12).
LENGTH: ASU has solid wing spans this year. De'Quon Lake has a 7-2 wingspan, while Vitaliy Shibel and Romello White are at 7-0. Kimani Lawrence stretched to 6-11 on his 6-7 frame.
KU WIN: The Dec. 10 win over No. 2 Kansas marked the highest OOC ranked opponent the Sun Devils have defeated. Only the win over top-ranked and undefeated Oregon State on March 7, 1981, was higher. Kansas also marked ASU's first road win over a ranked team since James Harden led ASU to a win at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 17, 2009.
SPLASH GAMES: 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. He made his first 20 free throws to start last season. Also, he had 50 points in an exhibition win this year against Arizona Christian.
SHANNON EVANS II 25-POINT SCORING GAMES (4 AT ASU)
33 vs. Cornell (1/3/15)
28 at #13 Oregon (2/2/17)
28 vs. UNLV (12/3/16)
25 at Oregon (2/22/18)
25 vs. Idaho State (11/14/17)
25 vs. Washington (1/25/17)
25 at Ball State (2/4/15)
QUICK QUESTIONS WITH SHANNON EVANS
Most upset on the court: Losing the NCAA tournament
Happiest on the court: Winning the MAC championship
Past sporting event to watch live: Duke vs UNLV (March 30, 1991)
Past Sun Devil to go watch compete: Pat Tillman
SUN DEVIL CAREER STARTS
120, Jeff Pendergraph, 2005-09
119, Ty Abbott, 2007-11
118, Tra Holder, 2014-18
SUN DEVIL CAREER ASSISTS
551, Derek Glasser, 2007-10
454, Bobby Thompson, 1983-87
444, Fat Lever, 1978-82
443, Tra Holder, 2014-18
SUN DEVIL SINGLE-SEASON THREE-POINTERS
3. 96, Stevin Smith (1993-94)
4. 93, Rihards Kuksiks (2008-09)
5. 87, Shannon Evans II (2017-18)
SIX: ASU has six newcomers filling roles in 2017-18, led by three who were in the program last year. Romello White is a 6-8 forward from Marietta, Ga. who practiced last season as an academic redshirt and was a top-100 player (No. 77 by ESPN, No. 81 by Scout) in the 2016 signing class. Texan Mickey Mitchell is a skilled 6-7 sophomore who started seven games and played in 23 for Ohio State in 2015-16, came to ASU in December of 2016 and became eligible on Dec. 10, while 6-9 redshirt freshman Vitaliy Shibel has a great southpaw shooting stroke but missed last year with an ACL injury. Junior college transfer De'Quon Lake has a 6-10 frame and a 7-2 wing span. ESPN 2017 top-100 players Kimani Lawrence (New Hampton School/Providence, RI), is a 6-7 swingman with 6-11 wingspan ranked No. 54, while Remy Martin (Sierra Canyon/Chatsworth, Calif.) is a 6-0 lead guard and was No. 82 in the rankings.
15 HALFTIME DEFICIT WINS UNDER COACH HURLEY
(-4) USC 37, ASU 33/Feb. 8, 2018/ASU 80, USC 77
(-1) Oregon State 34, ASU 33/Jan. 13, 2018/ASU 77, OSU 75
(-1) @Utah 36, ASU 35/Jan. 7, 2018/ASU 80, @Utah 77
(-3) @#2 Kansas 40, ASU 37/Dec. 10, 2017/ASU 95, @KU 85
(-2) #15 Xavier 46, ASU 44/Nov. 24, 2017/ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86
(-2) Kansas State 44, ASU 42/Nov. 23, 2017/ASU 92, KSU 90
(-6) SDSU 40, ASU 34/Nov. 14, 2017/ASU 90, SDSU 68
(-1) USC 48, ASU 47/Feb. 26, 2017/ASU 83, USC 82
(-2) @UW 41, ASU 39/Feb. 16, 2017/ASU 83, @UW 81
(-1) Stanford 33, ASU 32/Feb. 11, 2017/ASU 75, Stanford 69
(-7) @SDSU 32, ASU 25/Dec. 10, 2016/ASU 74, @SDSU 63
(-3) #23 USC 30, ASU 27/Feb. 12, 2016/ASU 74, USC 67
(-12) @UNLV 37, ASU 25/Dec. 16, 2015/ASU 66, @UNLV 56
(-8) @Creighton 41, ASU 33/Dec. 2, 2015/ASU 79, @Creighton 77
(-2) UCSB 29, ASU 27/Nov. 29, 2015/ASU 70, UCSB 68
GIVE CREDIT TO FOLKS AT STATS FOR THIS ONE: Since STATS started tracking this stuff in 1996-97, they unearthed that ASU was the first Pac-12 team to score 90 points in six straight games in more than two decades.
RANKED: ASU has defeated four ranked teams in Bobby Hurley's tenure, as besides the win at #2 Kansas, it beat #15 Xavier 102-86 on Nov. 24, 2017 in Las Vegas, #23 USC 74-57 on Feb. 12, 2016 and #18 Texas A&M 67-54 on Dec. 5, 2015. The Nov. 24 Xavier win was the highest ranked OOC team ASU had topped since it beat No. 7 Maryland in the 1994 Maui Invitational...until it won at #2 Kansas on Dec. 10.
ASU WINS VS. RANKED TEAMS UNDER COACH HURLEY
ASU 95, @#2 Kansas 85/Dec. 10 2017
ASU vs. #15 Xavier/Nov. 24, 2017
ASU 74, #23 USC 67/Feb. 12, 2016
ASU 67, #18 Texas A&M 54/Dec. 5, 2015
GONNA' PLAY SOME FOLKS: Bobby Hurley is going to make an attempt to play some folks. In his first year after looking at a schedule he inherited that included tilts against NC State/Marquette in Brooklyn, at Creighton, at UNLV and against eventual No. 18 Texas A&M, he put the wheels in motion to make it even better by agreeing to play at Kentucky and filled a holiday break hole that could have been a yawner with Stephen F. Austin. In 2016-17, the squad played No. 1 Kentucky in the Bahamas, Purdue in New York City, at San Diego State, in Orlando for three games, and finished a series with No. 9 Creighton. Kansas will return the trip to Wells Fargo next year after ASU's win on Dec. 10, and ASU already played No. 15 Xavier and hosted 2017 NCAA Tournament product Vanderbilt Dec. 20. Coach Hurley has played four top-10 non-conference opponents in his three years, after ASU faced one in the previous 17 seasons.
ASU REGULAR SEASON OOC GAMES VS. TOP-10 TEAMS (SINCE JOINING PAC-10)
ASU 95 @#2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)
#9 Creighton 96, ASU 85 (Dec. 20, 2016)
#1 Kentucky 115, ASU 69 (Nov. 28, 2016 at Bahamas)
@#5 Kentucky 72, ASU 58 (Dec. 12, 2015)
#7 Duke 64, ASU 53 (Nov. 25, 2009 at MSG)
#2 Kansas 90, ASU 88, OT (Nov. 26, 1997 at MSG)
ASU 97, #7 Maryland 90 (November 23, 1994 at Maui)
@#8 Oklahoma St. 87, ASU 69 (December 2, 1993)
@#9 Kentucky 94, ASU 68 (December 14, 1991)
@#2 Kansas 90, ASU 67 (December 22, 1989)
#10 North Carolina 85, ASU 66 (December 23, 1984 at Tokyo)
#6 Missouri 48, ASU 47 (December 27, 1982 at Honolulu)
HOME: ASU won its first eight home games for the first time since the 2013-14 and 2008-09 seasons, also the last two times it made the NCAA Tournament. It also won the final eight home games in 2013-14, as it went 16-1 at home that season.
PREDICTIONS: ASU was picked sixth in the Pac-12 Oct. 12 media poll announced, its top preseason ranking since picked fourth in the final year of the Pac-10 (2010-11). ASU has been picked 11th (2016-17 and 2012-13), eighth (2015-16), ninth (2014-15 and 2011-12) and seventh (2013-14) in six previous Pac-12 polls. UA was picked to finish first, followed by USC, UCLA, UO, STAN, ASU, UT, OSU, CU, UW, CAL and WSU.
QUICK STUFF
v ASU played 15 single-digit Pac-12 games, the most by a team in past 22 seasons (1996-97 to present).
v ASU has come from behind at the half to win seven times and is averaging 44.3 second-half points.
v ASU averaged 10,603 fans per game this year, topping the 9,514 school record set in 1995-96.
v Shannon Evans needs five points to reach 1,000 in his two years at ASU.
GOOD COMPANY: ASU is one of five teams without a double-digit loss this year, joining MWC champion Nevada, Purdue, Villanova and ACC champion Virginia.
KEN POM: Taking a look at March 4 Ken Pom rankings, No. 38 ASU has seven top 65 wins: at No. 12 Kansas, No. 15 Xavier, No. 43 Kansas State, No. 46 USC, No. 50 UCLA, No. 60 San Diego State and at No. 61 Utah.
WINS: As of March 4 NCAA RPI, ASU has nine top-100 wins: No. 3 Xavier (27-4) in Las Vegas, at No. 5 KU (24-7), vs. 35 USC (21-10), vs. No. 38 UCLA (20-10), at No. 48 Utah (19-10), vs. No. 62 Kansas State in Las Vegas (22-10), vs. No. 86 Colorado (16-13), vs. No. 90 SDSU (18-10) and vs. No. 91 St. John's (15-16) in Los Angeles.
DID YOU KNOW?: The Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year officially returns for the first time in 30+ seasons in 2017-18. Players must not have exceeded more than 1/3 starts in league games. The previous Pac-10 Sixth Man of the Year was awarded from 1984-87. Remy Martin – with zero starts -- is averaging 9.6 points, has 86 assists and is 66-of-87 (.759) from the free throw line in 23.9 minutes per game. He has 19 double-figure scoring games including 14 of the past 19 tilts and in 12 Pac-12 games. He had a season-best 21 at No. 2 Kansas on Dec. 10. Against Utah on Jan. 25, he had a personal second-half 10-0 run in 2:18 that gave ASU a three-point lead after being down seven. At WSU on Feb. 4, he had all 10 points in the final 6:20 and added two steals as ASU outscored WSU 19-9 in final seven minutes.
KODI: Kodi Justice has 1,014 career points after scoring 83 (4.6 pg) in his freshman season, when his season was cut short due to a foot injury after 16 games. Kurt Nimphius (1976-80 with 27 points) is the only 1000-point Sun Devil who scored fewer points in his freshman year. He is the 37th member of ASU's 1,000 point-club.
SUN DEVIL 1,000-POINT CHART
32. Bobby Lazor (1997-99)/1,077
33. Royce Youree (1955-58)/1,036
34. Derek Glasser (2006-10)/1,028
35. Gary Jackson (1972-76)/1,017
36. Kodi Justice (2014-18)/1,014
HALFTIME: ASU is averaging 44.3 points in the second half, a mark that is closing in on one of the best by a Pac-12 team in the past 22 seasons (1996-97) according to STATS and Pac-12 Network research.
BEST SECOND-HALF POINTS AVERAGE BY PAC-12 TEAM (1996-97 TO PRESENT)
48.5/Arizona, 1997-98
46.6/UCLA, 2016-17
45.2/Arizona, 2003-04
44.4/Arizona, 1996-97
44.3/Arizona State, 2017-18
SHANNON: Shannon Evans II has notched 995 points in his two-year Sun Devil career, fourth on the Sun Devil two-year career list.
SUN DEVIL TWO-YEAR CAREER MOST POINTS
James Harden, 2007-09/1,309
Jahii Carson, 2012-14/1,261
Bobby Lazor, 1997-99/1,077
Shannon Evans II, 2016-18/995
VS. COLORADO: ASU and CU are tied 6-6 since it joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12...CU got a sweep in 2011-12 and ASU got a sweep in 2012-13...ASU has won six of the past 10 after CU swept the original Pac-12 series...ASU is 5-1 in Tempe vs. the Buffs and 1-5 in Boulder, but the teams have never met in the Pac-12 Tournament.
CLOSE: ASU has had 15 Pac-12 games decided by single digits, the most by any Pac-12 team in past 22 seasons. In its perfect (12-0) non-conference action, ASU played one single digit game (92-90 over Kansas State in Las Vegas). ASU's only three league margins in double digits are wins over California (84-53), Colorado (80-66) and at Washington State (88-78).
BENCH PLAY: ASU notched 41 bench points at California on Jan. 20, the second-most in the Bobby Hurley era at ASU. ASU's four-man 41-point bench at California was 16-of-28 (.571) from the field and had four three-pointers, 21 rebounds and four blocks in 73 minutes.
MOST BENCH POINTS UNDER BOBBY HURLEY
42 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
41 at California (1/20/18)
41 vs. Longwood (12/19/17)
38 at Stanford (12/30/16)
KODI: In the final five games of 2016-17 Kodi Justice averaged 15.6 points including 22 in the Feb. 26 win over USC and was 17-of-35 (.486) from the three-point stripe. In his past 34 games, he is averaging 12.8 points, in the first 78 games of his career he averaged 7.2.
MICKEY: Mickey Mitchell, after starting in the first six Pac-12 games, came off the bench at Cal on Jan. 20 and led ASU in rebounding for the fifth time in his first 11 games. He missed the first eight games as a mid-year transfer, but is averaging 5.4 boards in just over 22 minutes per game. He has led or tied for ASU lead in rebounding in six games.
FG DEFENSE: Stanford shot (.508) from the field against ASU on Jan. 17, the first ASU opponent to shoot 50 percent in 12 games and just the third opponent on the year. Fifteen teams shot 50 percent against ASU last year, only five have done it this season. The last time ASU held at least 11 straight opponents under 50 percent field goal shooting was the final 13 games of the 2012-13 season. ASU is holding opponents to .436 from the field this year after allowing .479 last year.
MORE TRA: How good of a week did Tra Holder have in earning his first Pac-12 Player of the Week on Nov. 20? He averaged 23.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists in three ASU wins and shot .548 (23-of-42) from the field, .571 (12-of-21) from three and .813 (13-of-16) from the free throw line. He is 533-of-694 (.768) from the charity stripe, as both free throw marks are second in ASU history (Ike Diogu, 671-of-854). The 533 free throws made is ninth in Pac-12 history.
SUN DEVIL CAREER POINTS
1. Eddie House, 1996-2000/2,044
2. Jeremy Veal, 1994-1998/1,984
3. Ike Diogu, 2002-2005/1,946
4. Ron Riley, 1992-1996/1,834
5. Tra Holder, 2014-2018/1,772
TRA'S YEAR-BY-YEAR IMPROVEMENTS
SEASON: FG% / FT% / PPG / RPG / 3P MADE
2014-15: .317 / .708 / 7.0 / 2.2 / 12
2015-16: .387 / .727 / 14.2 / 3.5 / 49
2016-17: .433 / .772 / 16.2 / 3.7 / 46
2017-18: .411 / .846 / 18.6 / 4.2 / 64
FREE THROWS: In some big wins, free throw shooting has been very good. ASU was 20-of-25 (.800) vs. SDSU, 23-of-25 (.920) vs. #15 Xavier, 23-of-27 (.852) vs. Saint John's, 15-of-20 (.750) at #2 Kansas, 20-of-23 (.870) at Utah, 16-of-22 (.727) vs. Colorado and 25-of-28 (.893) vs. UCLA.
PUMPED UP CROWDS: ASU has done well under Coach Hurley in places that were large and loud outside of the Pac-12. In addition to this year's win over No. 2 Kansas on Dec. 10 in front of 16,300, ASU in the Coach Hurley era has won at Creighton (16,282), UNLV (13,014) and San Diego State (12,414) and hung tough with Kentucky (23,665) in his first season as it was a 32-31 Kentucky lead at the half and a four-point game with 13 minutes to play. Prior to Bobby Hurley, ASU was 8-22 in its previous 30 non-conference road games. It is 4-1 under Coach Hurley with wins at San Diego State, UNLV, Creighton and No. 2 Kansas.
ASU OOC ROAD GAMES UNDER COACH HURLEY/CROWDS
#16 ASU 95, #2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)/16,300
ASU 74, San Diego State 63 (Dec. 10, 2016)/12,414
ASU 66, UNLV 56 (Dec. 16, 2015)/13,014
#5 Kentucky 72, ASU 58 (Dec. 5, 2015)/23,665
ASU 79, Creighton 77 (Dec. 2, 2015)/16,282
DOWN AT HALF: ASU has come back from down at the half against USC, Oregon State, at Utah, at Kansas, vs. Xavier and Kansas State in Las Vegas and in Tempe vs. San Diego State In those seven wins in the second half Shannon Evans is averaging 19.1 minutes, 14.1 points and shooting 30-of-52 (.557) from the floor, 18-of-27 (.667) from three and 21-of-26 (.840) from the free throw line with 19 assists and just eight turnovers.
20: ASU has six players who have notched a 20-point game this year led by Tra Holder (15), Shannon Evans II (12), Kodi Justice (three) and Romello White (three), while Remy Martin and De'Quon Lake have done it once.
SPURTABILITY: ASU has come back from deficits of at least nine points in seven wins.
DEFICIT (TIME/HALF)/FINAL SCORE
Nov. 14: -9 vs. San Diego State (19:22/2nd)/90-68; +31 final 19 minutes
Nov. 23: -9 vs. Kansas State (18:16/2nd)/92-90; +11 final 18 minutes
Nov. 24: -15 vs. #15 Xavier (3:16/first)/102-86; 73 points final 23 minutes
Dec. 10: -13 at #2 Kansas (16:39/first)/95-85; +23 after 15-2 deficit
Dec. 17: -13 vs. Vanderbilt (15:03/first)/76-64; +25 after 13-0 deficit
Jan. 13: -13 vs. Oregon State (11:32/second)/77-75; 33-18 final 11:30
Feb. 8: -9 vs. USC (11:04/second)/80-78; 31-19 final 10:51
DOUBLE NICKEL+: Six of the top 11 scoring halves in the past 15 seasons have taken place this year. Prior to dropping 60 vs. Longwood in the second half on Dec. 19, ASU dropped 58 at No. 2 Kansas and 58 on No. 15 Xavier in Las Vegas. On Dec. 22 it had 57 in the second half vs. Pacific. It also had 56 against San Diego State in the second half and vs. UC Irvine in the first half.
MOST POINTS IN HALF/2003-04 TO PRESENT
72 vs. Citadel (Nov. 23, 2016)*
60 vs. Longwood (Dec. 19, 2017)*
58 at #2 Kansas (Dec. 10, 2017)*
58 vs. #15 Xavier (Nov. 24, 2017)*
58 vs. San Francisco (Nov. 20, 2009)/58 vs. Oregon (Feb. 11, 2006)*
57 vs. Pacific (Dec. 22, 2017)*
57 vs. Cal Poly (Nov. 13, 2016)*
56 vs. UC Irvine (Nov. 19, 2017)
56 vs. San Diego State (Nov. 14, 2017)*
56 vs. Kennesaw State (Nov. 18, 2015)
*notes second-half points
12-GAME STREAK: Much has been made about the best start in school history that not much was said about the win streak as it stood alone. The Dec. 22 win over Pacific gave ASU the second-best winning streak in ASU history. Only four ASU teams have posted 11-game winning streaks.
ASU TOP WINNING STREAKS
18: 1961-62
12: 2017-18
11: 1980-81 and 1962-63
JUSTICE SERVED: Kodi Justice has made 210 three pointers in 113 career games. He suffered a fractured navicular bone in his left foot on Jan. 25, 2015 and missed the remainder of freshman 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.
FOUR QUESTIONS WITH KODI JUSTICE
You can pick the brain of any coach, who is it? John Wooden
You can go watch a past sporting event live...which one? Rumble in the Jungle
Past Sun Devil (any sport) you wish you could have watched compete: Pat Tillman
Biggest challenge in my life: Being dyslexic
KODI'S YEAR-BY-YEAR IMPROVEMENTS
SEASON: FG% / 3PM / PPG
2014-15: .424 / 17 / 4.6
2015-16: .394 / 60 / 7.9
2016-17: .421 / 63 / 9.2
2017-18: .455 / 70 / 12.5
#DUNK-KWON: Junior college transfer De'Quon Lake is 85-of-120 (.708) from the field with 43 dunks. He has 56 offensive rebounds and posted five dunks against both Idaho State and San Diego State. He also had seven blocks vs. Pacific. ASU is 9-1 when he scores in double digits and 8-1 when he gets at least seven boards (at Oregon in loss he had 12).
LENGTH: ASU has solid wing spans this year. De'Quon Lake has a 7-2 wingspan, while Vitaliy Shibel and Romello White are at 7-0. Kimani Lawrence stretched to 6-11 on his 6-7 frame.
KU WIN: The Dec. 10 win over No. 2 Kansas marked the highest OOC ranked opponent the Sun Devils have defeated. Only the win over top-ranked and undefeated Oregon State on March 7, 1981, was higher. Kansas also marked ASU's first road win over a ranked team since James Harden led ASU to a win at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 17, 2009.
SPLASH GAMES: 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. He made his first 20 free throws to start last season. Also, he had 50 points in an exhibition win this year against Arizona Christian.
SHANNON EVANS II 25-POINT SCORING GAMES (4 AT ASU)
33 vs. Cornell (1/3/15)
28 at #13 Oregon (2/2/17)
28 vs. UNLV (12/3/16)
25 at Oregon (2/22/18)
25 vs. Idaho State (11/14/17)
25 vs. Washington (1/25/17)
25 at Ball State (2/4/15)
QUICK QUESTIONS WITH SHANNON EVANS
Most upset on the court: Losing the NCAA tournament
Happiest on the court: Winning the MAC championship
Past sporting event to watch live: Duke vs UNLV (March 30, 1991)
Past Sun Devil to go watch compete: Pat Tillman
SUN DEVIL CAREER STARTS
120, Jeff Pendergraph, 2005-09
119, Ty Abbott, 2007-11
118, Tra Holder, 2014-18
SUN DEVIL CAREER ASSISTS
551, Derek Glasser, 2007-10
454, Bobby Thompson, 1983-87
444, Fat Lever, 1978-82
443, Tra Holder, 2014-18
SUN DEVIL SINGLE-SEASON THREE-POINTERS
3. 96, Stevin Smith (1993-94)
4. 93, Rihards Kuksiks (2008-09)
5. 87, Shannon Evans II (2017-18)
SIX: ASU has six newcomers filling roles in 2017-18, led by three who were in the program last year. Romello White is a 6-8 forward from Marietta, Ga. who practiced last season as an academic redshirt and was a top-100 player (No. 77 by ESPN, No. 81 by Scout) in the 2016 signing class. Texan Mickey Mitchell is a skilled 6-7 sophomore who started seven games and played in 23 for Ohio State in 2015-16, came to ASU in December of 2016 and became eligible on Dec. 10, while 6-9 redshirt freshman Vitaliy Shibel has a great southpaw shooting stroke but missed last year with an ACL injury. Junior college transfer De'Quon Lake has a 6-10 frame and a 7-2 wing span. ESPN 2017 top-100 players Kimani Lawrence (New Hampton School/Providence, RI), is a 6-7 swingman with 6-11 wingspan ranked No. 54, while Remy Martin (Sierra Canyon/Chatsworth, Calif.) is a 6-0 lead guard and was No. 82 in the rankings.
15 HALFTIME DEFICIT WINS UNDER COACH HURLEY
(-4) USC 37, ASU 33/Feb. 8, 2018/ASU 80, USC 77
(-1) Oregon State 34, ASU 33/Jan. 13, 2018/ASU 77, OSU 75
(-1) @Utah 36, ASU 35/Jan. 7, 2018/ASU 80, @Utah 77
(-3) @#2 Kansas 40, ASU 37/Dec. 10, 2017/ASU 95, @KU 85
(-2) #15 Xavier 46, ASU 44/Nov. 24, 2017/ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86
(-2) Kansas State 44, ASU 42/Nov. 23, 2017/ASU 92, KSU 90
(-6) SDSU 40, ASU 34/Nov. 14, 2017/ASU 90, SDSU 68
(-1) USC 48, ASU 47/Feb. 26, 2017/ASU 83, USC 82
(-2) @UW 41, ASU 39/Feb. 16, 2017/ASU 83, @UW 81
(-1) Stanford 33, ASU 32/Feb. 11, 2017/ASU 75, Stanford 69
(-7) @SDSU 32, ASU 25/Dec. 10, 2016/ASU 74, @SDSU 63
(-3) #23 USC 30, ASU 27/Feb. 12, 2016/ASU 74, USC 67
(-12) @UNLV 37, ASU 25/Dec. 16, 2015/ASU 66, @UNLV 56
(-8) @Creighton 41, ASU 33/Dec. 2, 2015/ASU 79, @Creighton 77
(-2) UCSB 29, ASU 27/Nov. 29, 2015/ASU 70, UCSB 68
GIVE CREDIT TO FOLKS AT STATS FOR THIS ONE: Since STATS started tracking this stuff in 1996-97, they unearthed that ASU was the first Pac-12 team to score 90 points in six straight games in more than two decades.
RANKED: ASU has defeated four ranked teams in Bobby Hurley's tenure, as besides the win at #2 Kansas, it beat #15 Xavier 102-86 on Nov. 24, 2017 in Las Vegas, #23 USC 74-57 on Feb. 12, 2016 and #18 Texas A&M 67-54 on Dec. 5, 2015. The Nov. 24 Xavier win was the highest ranked OOC team ASU had topped since it beat No. 7 Maryland in the 1994 Maui Invitational...until it won at #2 Kansas on Dec. 10.
ASU WINS VS. RANKED TEAMS UNDER COACH HURLEY
ASU 95, @#2 Kansas 85/Dec. 10 2017
ASU vs. #15 Xavier/Nov. 24, 2017
ASU 74, #23 USC 67/Feb. 12, 2016
ASU 67, #18 Texas A&M 54/Dec. 5, 2015
GONNA' PLAY SOME FOLKS: Bobby Hurley is going to make an attempt to play some folks. In his first year after looking at a schedule he inherited that included tilts against NC State/Marquette in Brooklyn, at Creighton, at UNLV and against eventual No. 18 Texas A&M, he put the wheels in motion to make it even better by agreeing to play at Kentucky and filled a holiday break hole that could have been a yawner with Stephen F. Austin. In 2016-17, the squad played No. 1 Kentucky in the Bahamas, Purdue in New York City, at San Diego State, in Orlando for three games, and finished a series with No. 9 Creighton. Kansas will return the trip to Wells Fargo next year after ASU's win on Dec. 10, and ASU already played No. 15 Xavier and hosted 2017 NCAA Tournament product Vanderbilt Dec. 20. Coach Hurley has played four top-10 non-conference opponents in his three years, after ASU faced one in the previous 17 seasons.
ASU REGULAR SEASON OOC GAMES VS. TOP-10 TEAMS (SINCE JOINING PAC-10)
ASU 95 @#2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)
#9 Creighton 96, ASU 85 (Dec. 20, 2016)
#1 Kentucky 115, ASU 69 (Nov. 28, 2016 at Bahamas)
@#5 Kentucky 72, ASU 58 (Dec. 12, 2015)
#7 Duke 64, ASU 53 (Nov. 25, 2009 at MSG)
#2 Kansas 90, ASU 88, OT (Nov. 26, 1997 at MSG)
ASU 97, #7 Maryland 90 (November 23, 1994 at Maui)
@#8 Oklahoma St. 87, ASU 69 (December 2, 1993)
@#9 Kentucky 94, ASU 68 (December 14, 1991)
@#2 Kansas 90, ASU 67 (December 22, 1989)
#10 North Carolina 85, ASU 66 (December 23, 1984 at Tokyo)
#6 Missouri 48, ASU 47 (December 27, 1982 at Honolulu)
HOME: ASU won its first eight home games for the first time since the 2013-14 and 2008-09 seasons, also the last two times it made the NCAA Tournament. It also won the final eight home games in 2013-14, as it went 16-1 at home that season.
PREDICTIONS: ASU was picked sixth in the Pac-12 Oct. 12 media poll announced, its top preseason ranking since picked fourth in the final year of the Pac-10 (2010-11). ASU has been picked 11th (2016-17 and 2012-13), eighth (2015-16), ninth (2014-15 and 2011-12) and seventh (2013-14) in six previous Pac-12 polls. UA was picked to finish first, followed by USC, UCLA, UO, STAN, ASU, UT, OSU, CU, UW, CAL and WSU.