The Arizona State Sun Devils (20-12 in 2017-18 and 2-0 in 2018-19) -- who advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 last year -- hosts Long Beach State on Monday, Nov. 12, as part of the MGM Resorts Main Event on the Pac-12 Network with Daron Sutton and Eddie House on the call. ASU fought off 2018 Big West Tournament champion Cal State Fullerton and its four returning starters in its opener with a 102-94 double overtime win and then topped McNeese State 80-52 on Nov. 9. ASU will play Long Beach and will face Mississippi State and Utah State/St. Mary's at T-Mobile Arena Nov. 19 and 21 as part of the four-team event. The Sun Devils have now won 15 straight regular season out of conference games.
GAME #2: ASU 80, McNEESE STATE 52/NOV. 9, 2018: McNeese State jumped out to an 8-3 lead at the first media timeout, but Luguentz Dort (25 points), Zylan Cheatham (16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists) and Kimani Lawrence (16 points and six rebounds) led ASU to the win as the Sun Devils outscored the Cowboys 47-29 in the second half. ASU held McNeese State to .319 from the field (15-of-47) and the 52 points allowed is the fewest in the Coach Hurley era at Arizona State.
FEWEST POINTS BY ASU OPPONENT UNDER BOBBY HURLEY
52 by McNeese State, 11/9/18
53 by California, 3/1/18
53 by Kennesaw State, 11/18/15
54 by No. 18 Texas A&M, 12/5/15
55 at Washington State, 2/6/16
56 at UNLV, 12/16/15
57 by San Francisco, 12/2/17
GAME #1: ASU 102, CAL STATE FULLERTON 94 (2 OT)/NOV. 6, 2018: ASU topped topped 2018 Big West Champion Cal State Fullerton – and its four returning starters – 102-94 in double overtime in a Nov. 6 game that was as good as it looks on the box score. ASU's 102 points was the most in an opener since it scored 111 vs. Jacksonville in 1996, as it placed five in double figures. Luguentz Dort's 28 points is the most by a Sun Devil freshman in a debut, and the most by any Sun Devil in an opener since Jeremy Veal had 32 on Nov. 16, 1997.ASU had 20 offensive rebounds and placed all five starters in double digits.
MOST OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS BY ASU PAST 13 SEASONS (2006-19)
23 vs. Oregon State (Jan. 13, 2007)
22 vs. Northern Colorado (Nov. 28, 2006)
21 vs. Houston Baptist (Nov. 25, 2010 @Alaska)
20 vs. Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 6, 2018)
20 vs. USC (Mar. 11, 2015 @Pac-12 Tournament)
WINGSPAN: ASU has five players with wingspan of at least 6-11: Uros Pavsic (7-2.5), De'Quon Lake (7-2), Zylan Cheatham (7-0.5), Romello White (7-0.25), Vitaliy Shibel (6-11.75) and Kimani Lawrence (6-11.5).
JUMP: Best standing verticals on the team: De'Quon Lake and Luguentz Dort both did 34 inches, while Zylan Cheatham is at 33.5 inches.
RUN AND JUMP: Best approach vertical on the team is Zylan Cheatham at 41.5 inches, with Remy Martin not far behind at 40 inches.
TALENT UPGRADE: From 2002-16, ASU signed six top-85 players according to 247Sports/Scout.com. It is very possible ASU could have a five-man lineup on the floor this year alone with top-85 recruits in Remy Martin (77) at the point, Lugentz Dort (33) and Kimani Lawrence (58) on the wings and Taeshon Cherry (29) and Romello White (81) underneath.
TOP-85 247SPORTS/SCOUT.COM ASU SIGNEES (2002-2018)
23. James Harden, 2007
29. Taeshon Cherry, 2018
33. Luguentz Dort, 2018
34. Jahii Carson, 2011
41, Sam Cunliffe, 2016
55. Ike Diogu, 2002
58. Kimani Lawrence, 2017
77. Remy Martin, 2017
79. Keala King, 2010
81. Romello White, 2016
HALFTIME: ASU averaged 43.9 points in the second half last year (tied for fifth-best in the nation) a mark that was 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/Washington, 2004-05
43.9/Arizona State, 2017-18
43.9/USC, 1996-97
KIMANI IS BACK: Last year gets an asterisk by Kimani Lawrence's name, as he started in all three exhibition games. He had 15 points and nine boards vs. Northern State and 18 points and five boards vs. Arizona Christian. The night before his freshman season opener he suffered a stress fracture in left foot that kept him out until Pac-12 play started. In the opener vs. Cal State Fullerton he matched his three-point total from all of last season (three) and posted career-bests in points (16 previous was nine) and minutes (36 prevous was 25). He posted 16 points and six rebounds vs. McNeese State on Nov. 9.
ONE BAD ONE: Villanova was the only team to have zero double-digit defeats in 2017-18, but ASU came close as it was one of just eight teams with one double-digit loss. The others were Cincinnati, Clemson, Duke, Nevada, Purdue, Virginia and Wichita State.
DORTING: Luguentz Dort's 53 points so far (28 vs. CSF and 25 vs. McNeese State) are the third-most by a Pac-12 freshman in his first two career games since 1996-97. Only Washington's Markelle Fulz (65 in 2016-17) and Oregon's Tajuan Porter (55 in 2006-07) had better point production in their first two games than Dort in the past 23 seasons.
FWIW LUGUENTZ DORT PHYSICAL STUFF
HT:6-4/WT:215
WINGSPAN:6-8.75/BORN:April of 1999
STANDING VERTICAL:34" (tied for best on team with De'Quon Lake)
APPROACH VERTICAL:39" (third on team behind Zylan at 41.5 and Remy at 40) MOST POINTS BY FRESHMAN IN FIRST TWO CAREER GAMES SINCE 1996-97
65-Markelle Fulz, Washington (2016-17)
55-Tajuan Porter, Oregon (2006-07)
53-Luguentz Dort, ASU (2018-19)
VS. LBSU: ASU leads the LBSU series 3-2, in a series that probably should be played more as the schools are just over 500 miles apart. ASU beat LBSU 72-55 on Dec. 21, 2010 in the past meeting, while the previous meeting was on March 16, 1990, in a NIT postseason matchup.
OFF THE BENCH: The Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year officially returned in 30+ seasons in 2017-18 and freshman Remy Martin shared the award with CU's Devon Collier. 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. Martin – with zero starts -- averaged 9.6 points, had 94 assists and was 71-of-94 (.755) from the free throw line in 23.8 minutes per game.He had 20 double-figure scoring games including 15 of the final 21 tilts. 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. He also had 20 in the Pac-12 Tournament loss to Colorado.
WHAT HAS CHANGED: The 2017-18 season saw a lot of upgrades for Sun Devil basketball beyond the NCAA Tournament appearance as attendance records were busted and it won a dozen straight for just the second time in school history. Below is a list of what was truth last year at this time and what ASU can flash the fork about now. LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME / #FORKSUP NOW
5,807 attendance in BH first year/10,603 in third year (school record)
11-game win streak in 1980-81 was awesome/Best start in school history 12-0
8-22 in road OOC games prior to CBH/4-1 under Bobby Hurley
12 wins when trail at half previous 5 seasons to BFH/15 under BH in 3 seasons
Averaged 80+ points twice in previous Pac-12 history/82.7 last year led Pac-12
NO. 3: ASU reached No. 3 in the Associated Press poll last year in late December, matching ASU's best ranking in history. It entered the polls last year after beating Kansas State and #15 Xavier in the Continental Tire Invitational on Thanksgiving weekend. It moved up to No. 5 after winning at second-ranked Kansas 95-85 on Dec. 10. It then reached No. 3 and was the last undefeated team in the nation when it took to the floor on Saturday, Dec. 30, in the Pac-12 opener at Arizona. The No. 3 ranking is the best in school history, matched only on March 9, 1981 when ASU was 22-3 and on Jan. 7, 1963, when ASU was 10-1.
IN THE NCAAS: ASU made its 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year and first since 2014. ASU is 13-15 in the Big Dance and has reached the final eight on three occasions (1961, 1963 and 1975) under Ned Wulk. In 2009, sixth-seeded ASU beat Temple 66-57 in Miami before falling to Syracuse 78-67.
QUICK REFRESH: ASU's top three scorers are gone and took with them many games and points, but the Sun Devil have six lettermen back along with a pair of high-level transfers and a top-20 recruiting class. Last year then third-year head coach Bobby Hurley (two-time NCAA champion, 1992 Final Four MOP and NCAA career assist leader) and the Sun Devils were the final undefeated team in college hoops (12-0), beat No. 1 seeds Xavier and Kansas along with Kansas State in its non-conference action and went 5-2 against NCAA Tournament teams, also topping UCLA and San Diego State. ASU averaged 10,603 fans per game last year, topping the 9,514 school record set in 1995-96.Proud to be part of the tremendous growth both @ASU and @Tempegov are leading https://t.co/L46y5ZDrZ9 Tip tonight at 7 p.m.!!!
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 12, 2018
GAME #2: ASU 80, McNEESE STATE 52/NOV. 9, 2018: McNeese State jumped out to an 8-3 lead at the first media timeout, but Luguentz Dort (25 points), Zylan Cheatham (16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists) and Kimani Lawrence (16 points and six rebounds) led ASU to the win as the Sun Devils outscored the Cowboys 47-29 in the second half. ASU held McNeese State to .319 from the field (15-of-47) and the 52 points allowed is the fewest in the Coach Hurley era at Arizona State.
FEWEST POINTS BY ASU OPPONENT UNDER BOBBY HURLEY
52 by McNeese State, 11/9/18
53 by California, 3/1/18
53 by Kennesaw State, 11/18/15
54 by No. 18 Texas A&M, 12/5/15
55 at Washington State, 2/6/16
56 at UNLV, 12/16/15
57 by San Francisco, 12/2/17
GAME #1: ASU 102, CAL STATE FULLERTON 94 (2 OT)/NOV. 6, 2018: ASU topped topped 2018 Big West Champion Cal State Fullerton – and its four returning starters – 102-94 in double overtime in a Nov. 6 game that was as good as it looks on the box score. ASU's 102 points was the most in an opener since it scored 111 vs. Jacksonville in 1996, as it placed five in double figures. Luguentz Dort's 28 points is the most by a Sun Devil freshman in a debut, and the most by any Sun Devil in an opener since Jeremy Veal had 32 on Nov. 16, 1997.ASU had 20 offensive rebounds and placed all five starters in double digits.
MOST OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS BY ASU PAST 13 SEASONS (2006-19)
23 vs. Oregon State (Jan. 13, 2007)
22 vs. Northern Colorado (Nov. 28, 2006)
21 vs. Houston Baptist (Nov. 25, 2010 @Alaska)
20 vs. Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 6, 2018)
20 vs. USC (Mar. 11, 2015 @Pac-12 Tournament)
WINGSPAN: ASU has five players with wingspan of at least 6-11: Uros Pavsic (7-2.5), De'Quon Lake (7-2), Zylan Cheatham (7-0.5), Romello White (7-0.25), Vitaliy Shibel (6-11.75) and Kimani Lawrence (6-11.5).
JUMP: Best standing verticals on the team: De'Quon Lake and Luguentz Dort both did 34 inches, while Zylan Cheatham is at 33.5 inches.
RUN AND JUMP: Best approach vertical on the team is Zylan Cheatham at 41.5 inches, with Remy Martin not far behind at 40 inches.
TALENT UPGRADE: From 2002-16, ASU signed six top-85 players according to 247Sports/Scout.com. It is very possible ASU could have a five-man lineup on the floor this year alone with top-85 recruits in Remy Martin (77) at the point, Lugentz Dort (33) and Kimani Lawrence (58) on the wings and Taeshon Cherry (29) and Romello White (81) underneath.
TOP-85 247SPORTS/SCOUT.COM ASU SIGNEES (2002-2018)
23. James Harden, 2007
29. Taeshon Cherry, 2018
33. Luguentz Dort, 2018
34. Jahii Carson, 2011
41, Sam Cunliffe, 2016
55. Ike Diogu, 2002
58. Kimani Lawrence, 2017
77. Remy Martin, 2017
79. Keala King, 2010
81. Romello White, 2016
HALFTIME: ASU averaged 43.9 points in the second half last year (tied for fifth-best in the nation) a mark that was 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/Washington, 2004-05
43.9/Arizona State, 2017-18
43.9/USC, 1996-97
KIMANI IS BACK: Last year gets an asterisk by Kimani Lawrence's name, as he started in all three exhibition games. He had 15 points and nine boards vs. Northern State and 18 points and five boards vs. Arizona Christian. The night before his freshman season opener he suffered a stress fracture in left foot that kept him out until Pac-12 play started. In the opener vs. Cal State Fullerton he matched his three-point total from all of last season (three) and posted career-bests in points (16 previous was nine) and minutes (36 prevous was 25). He posted 16 points and six rebounds vs. McNeese State on Nov. 9.
ONE BAD ONE: Villanova was the only team to have zero double-digit defeats in 2017-18, but ASU came close as it was one of just eight teams with one double-digit loss. The others were Cincinnati, Clemson, Duke, Nevada, Purdue, Virginia and Wichita State.
DORTING: Luguentz Dort's 53 points so far (28 vs. CSF and 25 vs. McNeese State) are the third-most by a Pac-12 freshman in his first two career games since 1996-97. Only Washington's Markelle Fulz (65 in 2016-17) and Oregon's Tajuan Porter (55 in 2006-07) had better point production in their first two games than Dort in the past 23 seasons.
FWIW LUGUENTZ DORT PHYSICAL STUFF
HT:6-4/WT:215
WINGSPAN:6-8.75/BORN:April of 1999
STANDING VERTICAL:34" (tied for best on team with De'Quon Lake)
APPROACH VERTICAL:39" (third on team behind Zylan at 41.5 and Remy at 40) MOST POINTS BY FRESHMAN IN FIRST TWO CAREER GAMES SINCE 1996-97
65-Markelle Fulz, Washington (2016-17)
55-Tajuan Porter, Oregon (2006-07)
53-Luguentz Dort, ASU (2018-19)
VS. LBSU: ASU leads the LBSU series 3-2, in a series that probably should be played more as the schools are just over 500 miles apart. ASU beat LBSU 72-55 on Dec. 21, 2010 in the past meeting, while the previous meeting was on March 16, 1990, in a NIT postseason matchup.
OFF THE BENCH: The Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year officially returned in 30+ seasons in 2017-18 and freshman Remy Martin shared the award with CU's Devon Collier. 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. Martin – with zero starts -- averaged 9.6 points, had 94 assists and was 71-of-94 (.755) from the free throw line in 23.8 minutes per game.He had 20 double-figure scoring games including 15 of the final 21 tilts. 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. He also had 20 in the Pac-12 Tournament loss to Colorado.
WHAT HAS CHANGED: The 2017-18 season saw a lot of upgrades for Sun Devil basketball beyond the NCAA Tournament appearance as attendance records were busted and it won a dozen straight for just the second time in school history. Below is a list of what was truth last year at this time and what ASU can flash the fork about now. LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME / #FORKSUP NOW
5,807 attendance in BH first year/10,603 in third year (school record)
11-game win streak in 1980-81 was awesome/Best start in school history 12-0
8-22 in road OOC games prior to CBH/4-1 under Bobby Hurley
12 wins when trail at half previous 5 seasons to BFH/15 under BH in 3 seasons
Averaged 80+ points twice in previous Pac-12 history/82.7 last year led Pac-12
NO. 3: ASU reached No. 3 in the Associated Press poll last year in late December, matching ASU's best ranking in history. It entered the polls last year after beating Kansas State and #15 Xavier in the Continental Tire Invitational on Thanksgiving weekend. It moved up to No. 5 after winning at second-ranked Kansas 95-85 on Dec. 10. It then reached No. 3 and was the last undefeated team in the nation when it took to the floor on Saturday, Dec. 30, in the Pac-12 opener at Arizona. The No. 3 ranking is the best in school history, matched only on March 9, 1981 when ASU was 22-3 and on Jan. 7, 1963, when ASU was 10-1.
IN THE NCAAS: ASU made its 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year and first since 2014. ASU is 13-15 in the Big Dance and has reached the final eight on three occasions (1961, 1963 and 1975) under Ned Wulk. In 2009, sixth-seeded ASU beat Temple 66-57 in Miami before falling to Syracuse 78-67.