UPDATE FROM USF ATHLETICS THURSDAY EVENING
Friday's men's basketball game against Arizona State slated for a 6:00 p.m. tip has been postponed due to the air quality levels which have risen to unhealthy levels in the greater Bay Area.
As of Thursday evening, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in San Francisco surpassed 200. Earlier today the Dons cancelled all outdoor practices. With rising concerns for the health of everyone involved in Friday's contest, as well as concerns for those affected by the tragic fires in Butte County and Southern California it was agreed that playing the game was not in the best interest of anyone.
Director of Athletics, Scott Sidwell in conjunction with Arizona State's athletic director Ray Anderson are working together to find alternate plans for the Dons and Sun Devils to play.
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BELOW ARE GAMES NOTES THAT WERE TO BE USED FOR THE GAME
The Arizona State Sun Devils (20-12 in 2017-18 and 3-0 in 2018-19) -- who advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 last year -- hit the non-conference road where they have been solid under Coach Hurley. The Sun Devils play at San Francisco on Friday, Nov. 16, as USF was 22-17 last year and has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1981-82. USF advanced to the finals of the College Basketball Invitational, its first postseason tournament finals appearance since 1956. ASU will then play No. 17 Mississippi State and Utah State/St. Mary's at T-Mobile Arena Nov. 19 and 21 as part MGM Resorts Main Event. The Sun Devils have won 16 straight regular season out of conference games.
ROAD SHOW: ASU has done well under Coach Hurley in places that were large and loud outside of the Pac-12. In addition to the Dec. 10, 2017 win over No. 2 Kansas 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 a four-point game at the 13-minute mark. 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
3 ROADIES? When you toss out neutral site tournaments and talk true road games, 2018-19 is just the third time since 1989-90 (2010-11 and 2015-16 in CBH's first year) that ASU will play three OOC true road games.
SPARKY SEASONS OF THREE NON-CONFERENCE ROAD GAMES (1978-79 TO PRESENT)
2018-19 (at San Francisco, at Georgia, at Vanderbilt)
2015-16 (at Creighton, Kentucky and UNLV)
2010-11 (at New Mexico, Baylor and Nevada)
1989-90 (at San Francisco, Northern Arizona and Kansas)
1982-83 (at DePaul, Ohio State and Kansas State)
1981-82 (at Kansas, Utah and Marquette)
1978-79 (at Purdue, Hawaii and San Diego State)
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).
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
GAME #3: ASU 90, LONG BEACH STATE 58/NOV. 12, 2018: ASU took control early and never looked back in a game that had one tie and one lead change as six Sun Devils scored in double digits. ASU led 38-16 at the half and collected 63 rebounds, most in a game since it had 63 vs. Utah on Nov. 27, 2002. It held LBSU to just .274 from the field, ASU's best defensive effort since Feb. 11, 2010 when it help Oregon State to 14-of-47 (.246). Remy Martin had 15 points while Luguentz Dort had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
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.
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 and 13 points vs. LBSU on Nov. 12.
REMY!!!: 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. 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/12-0 start
8-22 in road OOC games prior to CBH/4-1 under Bobby Hurley
12 wins trail at half previous 5 seasons/15 under BH in 3 seasons
Averaged 80+ points twice in Pac-12 history/82.7 last year led Pac-12
VS. USF:One of the best wins in ASU history took place in the series as ASU beat No. 5 San Francisco 89-70 in Tempe on Dec. 3, 1977. USF had RPI of 94 in 2016-17 and finished 20-13 which included a win over Utah. Last year it was 22-17.
ASU VS. SAN FRANCISCO (5-4)
#20 ASU 75, USF 57 (Dec. 2, 2017)
ASU 104, San Francisco 65 (Nov. 20, 2009)
ASU 70, at San Francisco 67, 2 OT (Dec. 5, 1989)
ASU 82, San Francisco 76 (Dec. 28, 1988)
#19 San Francisco 102, ASU 90 (Dec. 30, 1977 at Oklahoma City)
ASU 89, #5 San Francisco 70 (Dec. 3, 1977)
#3 San Francisco 114, ASU 96 (Dec. 28, 1976 at Honolulu)
at San Francisco 93, ASU 74 (Jan. 27, 1968)
at #8 San Francisco 91, ASU 75 (Jan. 30, 1965)
#20 ASU (7-0) 75, USF 57 (DEC. 2, 2017): ASU jumped out to leads of 25-6 (8:38) and 33-12 (4:31) and never let it get closer than 12 as five players scored in double figures in the home win. Romello White had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Tra Holder added 15 and Shannon Evans II 14. Kodi Justice and Remy Martin added 12, with Martin scoring eight in the first half. USF shot just 18-of-63 (.286), ASU's second-best defensive field goal percentage since it held LMU to .281 on Nov. 20, 2014, and second-best effort in the past eight seasons. USF led 3-0 but ASU took a 4-3 lead at the 18:40 mark and never gave that back.
GAME #2: ASU 80, McNEESE STATE 52/NOV. 9, 2018: McNeese State jumped out to an 8-3 lead at the first 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
DORTING: Luguentz Dort's 53 points in first two games (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)
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
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)
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.
NO. 3: ASU reached No. 3 in the Associated Press poll last year in late December, matching its best ranking in history. It entered the polls after beating Kansas State and #15 Xavier in the Continental Tire Invitational on Thanksgiving weekend. It moved to No. 5 after winning at No. 2 Kansas 95-85 on Dec. 10 and reached No. 3 and was the last undefeated team when it took the floor on 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.
Friday's men's basketball game against Arizona State slated for a 6:00 p.m. tip has been postponed due to the air quality levels which have risen to unhealthy levels in the greater Bay Area.
As of Thursday evening, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in San Francisco surpassed 200. Earlier today the Dons cancelled all outdoor practices. With rising concerns for the health of everyone involved in Friday's contest, as well as concerns for those affected by the tragic fires in Butte County and Southern California it was agreed that playing the game was not in the best interest of anyone.
Director of Athletics, Scott Sidwell in conjunction with Arizona State's athletic director Ray Anderson are working together to find alternate plans for the Dons and Sun Devils to play.
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BELOW ARE GAMES NOTES THAT WERE TO BE USED FOR THE GAME
The Arizona State Sun Devils (20-12 in 2017-18 and 3-0 in 2018-19) -- who advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 last year -- hit the non-conference road where they have been solid under Coach Hurley. The Sun Devils play at San Francisco on Friday, Nov. 16, as USF was 22-17 last year and has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1981-82. USF advanced to the finals of the College Basketball Invitational, its first postseason tournament finals appearance since 1956. ASU will then play No. 17 Mississippi State and Utah State/St. Mary's at T-Mobile Arena Nov. 19 and 21 as part MGM Resorts Main Event. The Sun Devils have won 16 straight regular season out of conference games.
REFRESH: ASU's top three scorers are gone and took with them many games, points and fun times, but the Sun Devil have six lettermen back, 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 record holder) as the Sun Devils were the final undefeated team (12-0), beat No. 1 seeds Xavier and Kansas and went 5-2 against NCAA Tournament teams (Kansas State, UCLA and San Diego State). ASU averaged 10,603 fans per game, topping the 9,514 school record set in 1995-96.Sun Devil Athletics has set a new all-time high 88 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for its student-athletes.
— Arizona State Sun Devils (@TheSunDevils) November 14, 2018
More: https://t.co/VlfVuacyu1
ROAD SHOW: ASU has done well under Coach Hurley in places that were large and loud outside of the Pac-12. In addition to the Dec. 10, 2017 win over No. 2 Kansas 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 a four-point game at the 13-minute mark. 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
3 ROADIES? When you toss out neutral site tournaments and talk true road games, 2018-19 is just the third time since 1989-90 (2010-11 and 2015-16 in CBH's first year) that ASU will play three OOC true road games.
SPARKY SEASONS OF THREE NON-CONFERENCE ROAD GAMES (1978-79 TO PRESENT)
2018-19 (at San Francisco, at Georgia, at Vanderbilt)
2015-16 (at Creighton, Kentucky and UNLV)
2010-11 (at New Mexico, Baylor and Nevada)
1989-90 (at San Francisco, Northern Arizona and Kansas)
1982-83 (at DePaul, Ohio State and Kansas State)
1981-82 (at Kansas, Utah and Marquette)
1978-79 (at Purdue, Hawaii and San Diego State)
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).
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
GAME #3: ASU 90, LONG BEACH STATE 58/NOV. 12, 2018: ASU took control early and never looked back in a game that had one tie and one lead change as six Sun Devils scored in double digits. ASU led 38-16 at the half and collected 63 rebounds, most in a game since it had 63 vs. Utah on Nov. 27, 2002. It held LBSU to just .274 from the field, ASU's best defensive effort since Feb. 11, 2010 when it help Oregon State to 14-of-47 (.246). Remy Martin had 15 points while Luguentz Dort had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
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.
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 and 13 points vs. LBSU on Nov. 12.
REMY!!!: 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. 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/12-0 start
8-22 in road OOC games prior to CBH/4-1 under Bobby Hurley
12 wins trail at half previous 5 seasons/15 under BH in 3 seasons
Averaged 80+ points twice in Pac-12 history/82.7 last year led Pac-12
VS. USF:One of the best wins in ASU history took place in the series as ASU beat No. 5 San Francisco 89-70 in Tempe on Dec. 3, 1977. USF had RPI of 94 in 2016-17 and finished 20-13 which included a win over Utah. Last year it was 22-17.
ASU VS. SAN FRANCISCO (5-4)
#20 ASU 75, USF 57 (Dec. 2, 2017)
ASU 104, San Francisco 65 (Nov. 20, 2009)
ASU 70, at San Francisco 67, 2 OT (Dec. 5, 1989)
ASU 82, San Francisco 76 (Dec. 28, 1988)
#19 San Francisco 102, ASU 90 (Dec. 30, 1977 at Oklahoma City)
ASU 89, #5 San Francisco 70 (Dec. 3, 1977)
#3 San Francisco 114, ASU 96 (Dec. 28, 1976 at Honolulu)
at San Francisco 93, ASU 74 (Jan. 27, 1968)
at #8 San Francisco 91, ASU 75 (Jan. 30, 1965)
#20 ASU (7-0) 75, USF 57 (DEC. 2, 2017): ASU jumped out to leads of 25-6 (8:38) and 33-12 (4:31) and never let it get closer than 12 as five players scored in double figures in the home win. Romello White had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Tra Holder added 15 and Shannon Evans II 14. Kodi Justice and Remy Martin added 12, with Martin scoring eight in the first half. USF shot just 18-of-63 (.286), ASU's second-best defensive field goal percentage since it held LMU to .281 on Nov. 20, 2014, and second-best effort in the past eight seasons. USF led 3-0 but ASU took a 4-3 lead at the 18:40 mark and never gave that back.
GAME #2: ASU 80, McNEESE STATE 52/NOV. 9, 2018: McNeese State jumped out to an 8-3 lead at the first 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
DORTING: Luguentz Dort's 53 points in first two games (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)
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
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)
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.
NO. 3: ASU reached No. 3 in the Associated Press poll last year in late December, matching its best ranking in history. It entered the polls after beating Kansas State and #15 Xavier in the Continental Tire Invitational on Thanksgiving weekend. It moved to No. 5 after winning at No. 2 Kansas 95-85 on Dec. 10 and reached No. 3 and was the last undefeated team when it took the floor on 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.