LEAGUE PLAY: The Arizona State Sun Devils (9-4; 0-1) -- who advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 last year and just the fourth time in 24 seasons -- hosts Colorado on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 4 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network with Daron Sutton and Eddie House on the call, while Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on the Sun Devil Radio Network (98.7 FM). ASU began Pac-12 play as one of eight teams nationally with at least three Quadrant 1 wins, but fell to hot-shooting Utah 96-86 Thursday evening.
VS. CU: CU leads the series 7-6 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 is 5-1 in Tempe vs. the Buffs.
2018-19 SUN DEVIL PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Dec. 24: Rob Edwards
Dec. 17: Remy Martin
Dec. 3: Zylan Cheatham
Nov. 26: Luguentz Dort
NOTES: ASU topped then No. 1 Kansas 80-76 on Dec. 22 in Bobby Hurley's 17th halftime-deficit win at ASU behind 15 off-the-bench points from getting healthier Rob Edwards (13 in the second half and now 963 career points). He became the fourth Sun Devil to earn Pac-12 Player of the Week this season...entering this week ASU nationally ranks 16th in offensive rebounds per game (14.0), fifth in rebounds per game (44.0), 13th in rebound margin (+9.3) and is second in the Pac-12 in scoring (79.7). Zylan Cheatham, the Dec. 3 Pac-12 Player of the Week, registered ASU's second triple double in the Dec. 1 win over Texas Southern, Nov. 23 Pac-12 POTW Luguentz Dort is the sixth-highest freshman scorer in the nation (18.1) and Remy Martin also took home a Pac-12 POTW (Dec. 17).
SCHEDULE FLIP: ASU had started Pac-12 play with five of its first seven on the road six times in the previous 10 seasons (the only Pac-12 team to have that decade of awkwardness) including last year, but things flipped this year as ASU has four of first six at home. This year marks only the fourth time in past 11 seasons ASU opened Pac-12 play at home.Also noteworthy maybe: ASU had one-single digit game last year at this point. This year ASU has had seven and is 5-2. ASU also is 4-2 in two-possession games this year after going 4-7 last year.
PLAYING FOLKS: Bobby Hurley has made the attempt to play some folks. In his first year after looking at a schedule he inherited that included tilts vs. NC State/Marquette in Brooklyn, at Creighton, at UNLV and No. 18 Texas A&M, he put the wheels in motion to make it even better by playing at Kentucky and filled a holiday break hole that could have been a yawner with Stephen F. Austin. In 2016-17, ASU played No. 1 Kentucky in the Bahamas, Purdue in NYC, at San Diego State and vs. No. 9 Creighton. Last year besides Kansas ASU played Xavier and hosted 2017 NCAA Tournament product Vanderbilt. Kansas was the sixth top-10 non-conference opponent Coach Hurley played in his four years, ASU faced one in the previous 17 seasons.
ASU REGULAR SEASON OOC GAMES VS. TOP-10 TEAMS UNDER BOBBY HURLEY
#18 ASU 80, #1 Kansas 76 (Dec. 22, 2018)
#6 Nevada 72, ASU 66 at STAPLES Center (Dec. 7, 2018)
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)
FREE THROWS: ASU has made some crucial free throws late to seal wins...it made 6-of-8 in final five minutes against Kansas, including two by Rob Edwards with six seconds left to make it a two-possession game…made nine of final 11 in second half of Georgia win….10-14 in final 4:03 vs. Utah State, including six straight in two-minute stretch after Utah State buckets…Remy Martin made two with 10 seconds left to make it five-point lead over Mississippi State as ASU made all six free throws in second half...made 8-of-10 in second overtime against Cal State Fullerton.ASU is 4-2 in two-possession games this year, after going 12-16 previous three seasons.
REFRESH: ASU's top three scorers are gone and took with them many points and fun times, but the Sun Devil returned six lettermen, a pair of high-level transfers and notched 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 (12-0), beat No. 1 seeds Xavier and Kansas and went 5-2 against NCAA Tournament teams. ASU averaged 10,603 fans, topping the 9,514 school record set in 1995-96.
WINGSPAN: ASU has six players with wingspan of at least 6-11: redshirting freshman 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).
QUICK LU NOTES: Luguentz Dort earned Nov. 26 Pac-12 Player of the Week and Andy Katz's National Player of the Week after averaging 25 points and eight rebounds as ASU won the MGM Resorts Main Event in Las Vegas (Nov. 19-21). Dort is the first ASU freshman to garner the league's weekly award since James Harden in January of 2008.
TOP SCORING GAMES FOR LUGUENTZ DORT
33 vs. Utah State @Las Vegas, Nov. 21, 2018
28 vs. Cal State Fullerton, Nov. 6, 2018
25 vs. McNeese State, Nov. 9, 2018
24 vs. #6 Nevada, Dec. 7, 2018
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.
VS. RANKED TEAMS: ASU has defeated six ranked teams in Bobby Hurley's tenure, including five out of conference and three of them away from home. The Nov. 24, 2017, 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 followed that up with a Nov. 19 win over No. 15 Mississippi State this year and its second win over No. 1 in school history on Dec. 22.
ASU WINS VS. RANKED TEAMS UNDER BOBBY HURLEY
#18 ASU 80, Kansas 76 (Dec. 22, 2018)
ASU 72, #15 Mississippi State 67 (Nov. 19, 2018/Las Vegas)
#16 ASU 95, at #2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)
ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86 (Nov. 24, 2017/Las Vegas)
ASU 74, #23 USC 67 (Feb. 12, 2016)
ASU 67, #18 Texas A&M 54 (Dec. 5, 2015)
KIMANI: Kimani Lawrence's freshman season gets an asterisk. Last year he started in all three exhibition games and had 15 points and nine boards vs. Northern State and 18 points and five boards vs. Arizona Christian. The night before the season opener he suffered a stress fracture in left foot that kept him out until Pac-12 play. In the opener vs. Cal State Fullerton he posted 16 points (previous best was nine) and minutes (36). He had 22 points including the game-winning three pointer in the Nov. 19 win over No. 15 Mississippi State.
KIMANI LAWRENCE QUICK NOTES
v Double-figures in first seven games
v 18 threes this year/3-15 last year
v 40-50 (.800) from FT line in career
v 6-11 1/2 wingspan
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 (15 of final 21) and 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 as ASU outscored WSU 19-9 in final seven minutes. He injured his ankle on Oct. 10 and reinjured it on Nov. 21 vs. Utah State, as he missed the Omaha and Texas Southern games. Four of his top six career scoring games have been away from home.
REMY MARTIN TOP SCORING TILTS
22 vs. Utah (1/3/19)
21 at Georgia (12/15/18)
21 at #2 Kansas (12/10/17)
20 vs. Colorado at Las Vegas (3/7/18)
19 vs. Princeton (12/29/18)
16 vs. #15 Mississippi State at Las Vegas (11/19/18)
REMY PAC-12 POTW (DEC. 17):Remy Martin matched a career-high with 21 points, grabbed a career-best eight rebounds, and added five assists and three steals to spark the Sun Devils back from an 18-point deficit to a 76-74 victory at Georgia on Dec. 15, leading to his Dec. 17 Pac-12 Player of the Week Award. The 6-0 guard from Chatsworth, Calif., totaled 12 points, five boards, two assists and two steals in the second half, including back-to-back baskets inside the final 3:11 which gave ASU its first lead of the game at 71-70.
TALENT UPGRADE: From 2002-16, ASU signed six top-85 players according to 247Sports/Scout.com. At times ASU has had a five-man lineup on the floor this year alone with top-85 recruits in Remy Martin (77) Lugentz Dort (33) and Kimani Lawrence (58) in the backcourt 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
SAME CITY/TIME/RESULT AS LAST YEAR: Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas has been really good to ASU. ASU won the 2017 Continental Tire Invitational at Orleans Arena on Nov. 23-24 with wins over 2018 Elite Eight member Kansas State (92-90) and then dropped 102 on No. 15 Xavier for a 16-point win. Those wins vaulted ASU into the rankings for the first time since James Harden was in uniform (2008-09), gave it a 6-0 start for just the second time in 32 seasons and was its first exempt tournament title since Bill Frieder's gang won the 1994 Maui Invitational. ASU then beat No. 15 Mississippi State on Nov. 19 and Utah State on Nov. 21 to win the 2018 MGM Resorts Main Event at T-Mobile Arena.
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 last year was better
8-22 in road OOC games prior to CBH / 5-2 under Bobby Hurley
12 wins trail at half previous 5 seasons / 16 under BH in 4 seasons
Averaged 80+ points twice in Pac-12 history / 82.7 last year led Pac-12
VS. CU: CU leads the series 7-6 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 is 5-1 in Tempe vs. the Buffs.
ASU VS. CU IN TEMPE PAC-12 ERA (5-1)
ASU 80, CU 66/Jan. 27, 2018
ASU 78, CU 77/Jan. 5, 2017
ASU 78, CU 72/Jan. 17, 2015
ASU 72, CU 51/Jan. 25, 2014
ASU 65, CU 56/Jan. 6, 2013
CU 63, ASU 49/Feb. 11, 2012
2018-19 SUN DEVIL PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Dec. 24: Rob Edwards
Dec. 17: Remy Martin
Dec. 3: Zylan Cheatham
Nov. 26: Luguentz Dort
NOTES: ASU topped then No. 1 Kansas 80-76 on Dec. 22 in Bobby Hurley's 17th halftime-deficit win at ASU behind 15 off-the-bench points from getting healthier Rob Edwards (13 in the second half and now 963 career points). He became the fourth Sun Devil to earn Pac-12 Player of the Week this season...entering this week ASU nationally ranks 16th in offensive rebounds per game (14.0), fifth in rebounds per game (44.0), 13th in rebound margin (+9.3) and is second in the Pac-12 in scoring (79.7). Zylan Cheatham, the Dec. 3 Pac-12 Player of the Week, registered ASU's second triple double in the Dec. 1 win over Texas Southern, Nov. 23 Pac-12 POTW Luguentz Dort is the sixth-highest freshman scorer in the nation (18.1) and Remy Martin also took home a Pac-12 POTW (Dec. 17).
SCHEDULE FLIP: ASU had started Pac-12 play with five of its first seven on the road six times in the previous 10 seasons (the only Pac-12 team to have that decade of awkwardness) including last year, but things flipped this year as ASU has four of first six at home. This year marks only the fourth time in past 11 seasons ASU opened Pac-12 play at home.Also noteworthy maybe: ASU had one-single digit game last year at this point. This year ASU has had seven and is 5-2. ASU also is 4-2 in two-possession games this year after going 4-7 last year.
PLAYING FOLKS: Bobby Hurley has made the attempt to play some folks. In his first year after looking at a schedule he inherited that included tilts vs. NC State/Marquette in Brooklyn, at Creighton, at UNLV and No. 18 Texas A&M, he put the wheels in motion to make it even better by playing at Kentucky and filled a holiday break hole that could have been a yawner with Stephen F. Austin. In 2016-17, ASU played No. 1 Kentucky in the Bahamas, Purdue in NYC, at San Diego State and vs. No. 9 Creighton. Last year besides Kansas ASU played Xavier and hosted 2017 NCAA Tournament product Vanderbilt. Kansas was the sixth top-10 non-conference opponent Coach Hurley played in his four years, ASU faced one in the previous 17 seasons.
ASU REGULAR SEASON OOC GAMES VS. TOP-10 TEAMS UNDER BOBBY HURLEY
#18 ASU 80, #1 Kansas 76 (Dec. 22, 2018)
#6 Nevada 72, ASU 66 at STAPLES Center (Dec. 7, 2018)
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)
FREE THROWS: ASU has made some crucial free throws late to seal wins...it made 6-of-8 in final five minutes against Kansas, including two by Rob Edwards with six seconds left to make it a two-possession game…made nine of final 11 in second half of Georgia win….10-14 in final 4:03 vs. Utah State, including six straight in two-minute stretch after Utah State buckets…Remy Martin made two with 10 seconds left to make it five-point lead over Mississippi State as ASU made all six free throws in second half...made 8-of-10 in second overtime against Cal State Fullerton.ASU is 4-2 in two-possession games this year, after going 12-16 previous three seasons.
REFRESH: ASU's top three scorers are gone and took with them many points and fun times, but the Sun Devil returned six lettermen, a pair of high-level transfers and notched 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 (12-0), beat No. 1 seeds Xavier and Kansas and went 5-2 against NCAA Tournament teams. ASU averaged 10,603 fans, topping the 9,514 school record set in 1995-96.
WINGSPAN: ASU has six players with wingspan of at least 6-11: redshirting freshman 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).
QUICK LU NOTES: Luguentz Dort earned Nov. 26 Pac-12 Player of the Week and Andy Katz's National Player of the Week after averaging 25 points and eight rebounds as ASU won the MGM Resorts Main Event in Las Vegas (Nov. 19-21). Dort is the first ASU freshman to garner the league's weekly award since James Harden in January of 2008.
TOP SCORING GAMES FOR LUGUENTZ DORT
33 vs. Utah State @Las Vegas, Nov. 21, 2018
28 vs. Cal State Fullerton, Nov. 6, 2018
25 vs. McNeese State, Nov. 9, 2018
24 vs. #6 Nevada, Dec. 7, 2018
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.
VS. RANKED TEAMS: ASU has defeated six ranked teams in Bobby Hurley's tenure, including five out of conference and three of them away from home. The Nov. 24, 2017, 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 followed that up with a Nov. 19 win over No. 15 Mississippi State this year and its second win over No. 1 in school history on Dec. 22.
ASU WINS VS. RANKED TEAMS UNDER BOBBY HURLEY
#18 ASU 80, Kansas 76 (Dec. 22, 2018)
ASU 72, #15 Mississippi State 67 (Nov. 19, 2018/Las Vegas)
#16 ASU 95, at #2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)
ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86 (Nov. 24, 2017/Las Vegas)
ASU 74, #23 USC 67 (Feb. 12, 2016)
ASU 67, #18 Texas A&M 54 (Dec. 5, 2015)
KIMANI: Kimani Lawrence's freshman season gets an asterisk. Last year he started in all three exhibition games and had 15 points and nine boards vs. Northern State and 18 points and five boards vs. Arizona Christian. The night before the season opener he suffered a stress fracture in left foot that kept him out until Pac-12 play. In the opener vs. Cal State Fullerton he posted 16 points (previous best was nine) and minutes (36). He had 22 points including the game-winning three pointer in the Nov. 19 win over No. 15 Mississippi State.
KIMANI LAWRENCE QUICK NOTES
v Double-figures in first seven games
v 18 threes this year/3-15 last year
v 40-50 (.800) from FT line in career
v 6-11 1/2 wingspan
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 (15 of final 21) and 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 as ASU outscored WSU 19-9 in final seven minutes. He injured his ankle on Oct. 10 and reinjured it on Nov. 21 vs. Utah State, as he missed the Omaha and Texas Southern games. Four of his top six career scoring games have been away from home.
REMY MARTIN TOP SCORING TILTS
22 vs. Utah (1/3/19)
21 at Georgia (12/15/18)
21 at #2 Kansas (12/10/17)
20 vs. Colorado at Las Vegas (3/7/18)
19 vs. Princeton (12/29/18)
16 vs. #15 Mississippi State at Las Vegas (11/19/18)
REMY PAC-12 POTW (DEC. 17):Remy Martin matched a career-high with 21 points, grabbed a career-best eight rebounds, and added five assists and three steals to spark the Sun Devils back from an 18-point deficit to a 76-74 victory at Georgia on Dec. 15, leading to his Dec. 17 Pac-12 Player of the Week Award. The 6-0 guard from Chatsworth, Calif., totaled 12 points, five boards, two assists and two steals in the second half, including back-to-back baskets inside the final 3:11 which gave ASU its first lead of the game at 71-70.
TALENT UPGRADE: From 2002-16, ASU signed six top-85 players according to 247Sports/Scout.com. At times ASU has had a five-man lineup on the floor this year alone with top-85 recruits in Remy Martin (77) Lugentz Dort (33) and Kimani Lawrence (58) in the backcourt 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
SAME CITY/TIME/RESULT AS LAST YEAR: Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas has been really good to ASU. ASU won the 2017 Continental Tire Invitational at Orleans Arena on Nov. 23-24 with wins over 2018 Elite Eight member Kansas State (92-90) and then dropped 102 on No. 15 Xavier for a 16-point win. Those wins vaulted ASU into the rankings for the first time since James Harden was in uniform (2008-09), gave it a 6-0 start for just the second time in 32 seasons and was its first exempt tournament title since Bill Frieder's gang won the 1994 Maui Invitational. ASU then beat No. 15 Mississippi State on Nov. 19 and Utah State on Nov. 21 to win the 2018 MGM Resorts Main Event at T-Mobile Arena.
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 last year was better
8-22 in road OOC games prior to CBH / 5-2 under Bobby Hurley
12 wins trail at half previous 5 seasons / 16 under BH in 4 seasons
Averaged 80+ points twice in Pac-12 history / 82.7 last year led Pac-12