The Arizona State Sun Devil men's hoops team (2-1) -- coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time since 1980-81 and the only Pac-12 team to make the NCAAs the past two seasons -- opens with five of its first seven away from Tempe, as after its trip to China for a non-conference game against Colorado on Nov. 9 it hits the road again after two home games. ASU beat Central Connecticut State (90-49 on Nov. 14) and Rider (92-55 on Nov. 17) in Tempe last week and now meets St. John's for the third time in 716 days in a repeat of a NCAA First Four game in Dayton last year.
THIS TIME OF YEAR HAS BEEN GOOD: November tournaments have been really good to ASU in the past two years (both in Las Vegas), as it has won the four neutral site games over eventual NCAA Tournament teams. 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 -- who would end up a No. 1 seed -- 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 eventual MWC champion Utah State on Nov. 21 to win the 2018 MGM Resorts Main Event at T-Mobile Arena.
VS. THE FIELD: ASU is 2-1 vs. St. John's, including last year's 74-65 win in Dayton in the NCAA Tournament. ASU held the Red Storm to just .319 shooting, tied for the fifth-best defensive performance in the four years under Bobby Hurley. ASU has yet play UMASS and is 0-1 vs. Virginia, losing a 70-64 tilt on Nov. 27, 1999, in Puerto Rico. The only other ASU-SJU meeting was on Nov. 27, 2010, in the Great Alaska Shootout when Steve Lavin's squad came back from a 30-20 halftime deficit to win 67-58.
LAST MEETING: ASU 74, ST. JOHN'S (AT DAYTON/NCAA) 65/MAR. 20, 2019: Bobby Hurley recorded his first NCAA tournament victory as head coach of Arizona State as the Sun Devils knocked off St. John's in the final First Four game of the tournament. Coming in as a No. 11 seed in the West region, ASU notched its first tournament win since 2009 behind the strength of Luguentz Dort's 21 points and Zylan Cheatham's 14th double-double of the season (14 points, 10 rebounds). As a team, the Sun Devils knocked down 54 percent of their shots in the first half, including 67 percent (4-6) from downtown. This marked the Sun Devils 16th appearance in the NCAA tournament and the first time they have made it back-to-back years since 1980-1981.
#16 ASU 82, ST. JOHN'S 70 (DEC. 8, 2017/STAPLES CENTER): ASU led 44-26 with 3:07 left in the first half but St. John's cut it all the way to 71-70 before the Sun Devils outscored Saint John's 11-0 for the 82-70 win. Romello White posted 22 points and nine rebounds. ASU made 23-of-27 (.852) free throws and held St. John's to .391 from the floor (25-of-64) and led for more than 38 minutes.
SUN DEVIL RECAPS
GAME #3 -- ASU 92, RIDER 55 (NOV. 17/TEMPE): Rider jumped out to a 12-4 lead six minutes into the game but ASU went on a 37-10 run to put the game away before the half. ASU posted 43 bench points, led by Jaelen House notching 20 in just 21 minutes. Remy Martin also had 20 while Romello White and Alonzo Verge Jr. had 11 each. ASU forced 29 turnovers (most since 2003) and had 16 steals (most since 2009).
GAME #2 -- ASU 90, CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 49 (NOV. 14/TEMPE): The Sun Devils (1-1) trailed for 31 seconds in the first two minutes but that was it as 16 players saw action in holding CCSU to the fewest points by an opponent in the Bobby Hurley era. Rob Edwards had 23 points and Remy Martin and Jaelen House added 14 each as the Sun Devils posted 14 steals and forced 23 turnovers.
GAME #1 -- COLORADO 81, ASU 71 (NOV. 9/SHANGHAI): In the first Pac-12 China between two conference teams, Colorado raced to a 42-29 halftime lead, before ASU cut it to one in the second half but the Buffaloes held on for an 81-71 win. The non-conference loss was ASU's first in November since 2016. Remy Martin had 23 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and five steals, but CU outrebounded ASU 48-36. Rob Edwards had 20 points, including four three-pointers while Kimani Lawrence had 10 points and six rebounds. ASU shot just .321 (9-of-28) from the field in the first half and finished at .385 (25-of-65). It had 10 steals, but also had 16 turnovers. Freshman Jalen Graham had five blocks.
ENJOY THESE: The two ASU tilts last week are the only home games prior to Dec. 7 game with Louisiana, the fewest in the Pac-12 to start the season. Four Pac-12 teams will have played six home games (Arizona, Stanford, UCLA and Washington) before ASU's plays its third. Only WSU (three) and ASU (two) play less than four in that time span.
PHYSICAL NOTES: The top wingspans on the team are Jalen Graham (7-2), Romello White (7-0) and Kimani Lawrence (6-11 1/2). The best standing vertical on the team is Graham (32.5"), while Remy Martin is next (31.5") while best approach verticals are Remy (40.5"), Jaelen House (39.5") and Graham (39").
BE COOL IF OTHER PAC-12 TEAMS DO THIS: Since Bobby Hurley took over four years ago, ASU leads the league in wins over ranked out-of-conference teams during the regular season with a 5-5 mark with wins over Kansas (twice), Xavier, Mississippi State and Texas A&M. Four of the wins have been away from Tempe. UCLA is 4-6 and Arizona 3-4. No other Pac-12 teams have more than two. Take out ASU's 5-5 mark and the rest of the league is 15-42 in those four seasons and seven of the teams have one or zero wins.
PRETTY COOL NOTE: ASU had been to four NCAA Tournaments (1995, 2003, 2009 and 2014) in 26 seasons (1992-2017) and not been to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years since 1980-81. Remy Martin, Kimani Lawrence and Romello White have now gone to the Dance in each of their first two seasons.
LET'S ADD A NATION: Bobby Hurley took the ASU job in April of 2015 and said ASU was going to play some folks and not be afraid to go on the road. When the dust settles after this December, ASU's tally of non-conference states in his five years will move to 11 with other trips to the Bahamas (vs. Kentucky) and China. ASU has played non-conference games in New York (MSG and Barclays), Nebraska (Creighon), at Kentucky, Nevada (at UNLV), Florida, California, at Kansas, at Georgia and Tennessee (Vanderbilt) and adds Connecticut and New Jersey to the list this November. The Sun Devils will be logging some serious air miles and hotel nights in November. The team will be on the road 15 of the first 26 nights and will notch 18,610 miles, as it plays just two of its first seven games at home.
QUICK HITTERS: ASU finished 23-11 and 12-6 in the Pac-12 in 2018-19, good enough for second in the league after being picked sixth in the preseason media poll...it defeated No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 22, the first win over No. 1 at home in program history and the second all-time (also won at Oregon State in March of 1981)...notched its first NCAA Tournament win since 2009 with a 74-65 victory over St. John's on March 20 in Dayton and posted 23 wins for just the eighth time in school history...prior to its past two NCAA appearances under Bobby Hurley, ASU had made the NCAA Tournament three times in previous 22 seasons (1996-2017).
WHO WE LOST: Three regular rotation players are gone from last year, including All-Pac-12 performers Zylan Cheatham and Lu Dort (Pac-12 Freshman of the Year), as well as De'Quon Lake.
BUTTS IN SEATS: A reminder that the past two seasons have resulted in the top two average attendance marks in Sun Devil history.
TOP AVERAGE SEASON ATTENDANCE MARKS
2017-18: 10,603
2018-19: 10,538
1995-96: 9,514
2008-09: 9,354
1994-95: 9,333
SOLID: ASU finished second in the Pac-12 for just the fourth time in its 41-year Pac-10/12 history last year (2009-10, 1980-81 and 1979-80). ASU won 12 loop games for just the sixth time.
BEST PAC-12 RECORDS
16-2 (1): 1980-81
15-3 (2): 1979-80
12-6 (4): 2018-19, 2009-10, 1994-95, 1982-83
THAT NOVEMBER NOTE: Not many have been better early than the Sun Devils in the past two seasons, as they are 21-6 in November under Coach Hurley in his four years including 14-1 the past three seasons. Also worth a darn: the win list includes five teams that would eventually make NCAA Tournament that same season.
ASU 14-1 NOVEMBER RECORD PAST THREE SEASONS
ASU 92, Rider 55 (Nov. 17, 2019)
ASU 90, Central Connecticut State 49 (Nov. 14, 2019)
Colorado 81, ASU 71 at Shanghai (Nov. 9, 2019)
ASU 89, Omaha 71 (Nov. 28, 2018)
ASU 87, Utah State 82 at Las Vegas (Nov. 21, 2018)/2019 MWC Champ and NCAA Team
ASU 72, #16 Mississippi State 67 at Las Vegas (Nov. 19, 2018)/2019 NCAA Team
ASU 90, Long Beach State 58 (Nov. 12, 2018)
ASU 80, McNeese State 52 (Nov. 9, 2018)
ASU 102, Cal State Fullerton 94, 2 OT (Nov. 6, 2018)
ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86 at Las Vegas (Nov. 24, 2017)/eventual No. 1 seed in 2018
ASU 92, Kansas State 90 at Las Vegas (Nov. 23, 2017)/Elite Eight in 2018
ASU 99, UC Irvine 78 (Nov. 19, 2017)
ASU 97, NAU 62 (Nov. 17, 2017)
ASU 90, San Diego State 68 (Nov. 14, 2017)/2018 NCAA team and MWC Tourney champ
ASU 94, Idaho State 74 (Nov. 10, 2017)
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 in Brooklyn, at Creighton, at UNLV and against eventual No. 18 Texas A&M, he put the wheels in motion 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, and finished a series with No. 9 Creighton. Kansas returned a trip to Tempe last 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 five top-10 non-conference opponents in his four years, after ASU faced one in the previous 17 seasons.
ASU REGULAR SEASON OOC GAMES VS. TOP-10 TEAMS (SINCE JOINING PAC-10)
#18 ASU 80, #1 Kansas 76 (Dec. 22, 2018)
#16 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)
DOWN GOES RANKED TEAM: ASU has now defeated six ranked teams in Bobby Hurley's Sun Devil tenure, incuding five out of conference. The Nov. 24, 2017, Xavier win was the highest ranked non-conference team ASU had topped since it beat No. 7 Maryland in the 1994 Maui Invitational...until it won at #2 Kansas on Dec. 10.
@SUNDEVILHOOPS OOC WINS VS. RANKED TEAMS PAC-10/12 ERA
#18 ASU 80, #1 Kansas 76 (Dec. 22, 2018)/Bobby Hurley
ASU 72, #15 Mississippi State 67 (Nov. 19, 2018)/Bobby Hurley
#16 ASU 95, @#2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)/Bobby Hurley
ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86 (Nov. 24, 2017 at Las Vegas)/Bobby Hurley
ASU 67, #18 Texas A&M 54 (Dec. 5, 2015)/Bobby Hurley
ASU 79, #25 Marquette 77 (Nov. 25, 2013)/Herb Sendek
ASU 77, #17 Xavier 55 (Dec. 15, 2007)/Herb Sendek
ASU 97, #7 Maryland 90 (Nov. 23, 1994 at Maui Invitational)/Bill Frieder
ASU 79, #13 Michigan 62 (Nov. 22, 1994 at Maui Invitational)/Bill Frieder
#14 ASU 71, #7 Ohio State 58 (Dec. 20, 1980)/Ned Wulk
ASU 96, #12 Iowa 88 (Dec. 6, 1980)/Ned Wulk
THAT HALFTIME STAT: ASU has 21 wins (10 on the road) when trailing at the half under Bobby Hurley in four seasons, after going 12-64 (.157) the previous five ve seasons. It did it seven times in 2017-18 and did it in 2018-19 at Georgia, vs. No. 1 Kansas, at California, at UCLA, vs. Cal and at Oregon State.
REMY MARTIN NOTES: Everyone loves Remy. Those in maroon and gold really love Remy because his two best scoring games are 31 (95-88 double overtime win on Jan. 31) and 27 (final game of regular season on road on March 9) as he led ASU to first sweep over Arizona since 2008-09 and first win in Tucson since 2010...has a 40-inch vertical jump... earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors by the league's coaches in 2018-19...notched 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. He had 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....led the Pac-12 with a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio and second in league at five assists per game..had his November and early December of 2018 ruined by a bum ankle but was the only player with 11-assist in a Pac-12 road game last year (11 at UCLA) and his 10 made free throws vs. Arizona matched the most in a league tilt.
ROB EDWARDS NOTES: Dropped buckets in some big wins in 2018-19, with 15 off the bench vs. #1 Kansas, 19 vs. Arizona, 28 at Utah and 13 at Oregon State...when he scored 15, ASU was 6-1 in 2018-19...entered ASU with 909 points in 63 games (14.4 ppg.)...now has 1,219 career points (13.4 average)...71-of-85 (.835) from the free throw line in 2018-19 and .776 (274-of-353) in his career along with 163 three pointers...missed six games early and only scored 14 points in the first nine games (14 in opener, six DNPs due to a back injury and zero points vs. Nevada and Georgia)...stats last year look a lot better when you remember he went from Nov. 7-Dec. 16 without scoring a point. In those three games he did play, he was 4-of-26 (.154) from field and 2-of-9 (.222) from three and had 14 points (all against CSF in the opener).
ROMELLO WHITE NOTES: When he shoots it, he usually makes it. Romello made .625 of his shots in his first two seasons including 120-of-184 in his freshman year...coached by Jerry Stackhouse in the Atlanta AAU circuit...started 63 of 65 games his first two years and led team in offensive boards in each of the past two seasons with 77 last year and 79 in 2017-18...has two of the best field goal percentage mark's in Sun Devil history as he shot .652 in freshman year (fourth in Sun Devil record book) and .598 last year (ninth-best).
ROMELLO WHITE TOP REBOUNDING GAMES
15 vs. San Diego State (Nov. 14, 2017)
14 vs. Texas Southern (Dec. 1, 2018)
14 at Washington (Feb. 1, 2018)
13 vs. San Francisco (Dec. 2, 2018)
11 vs. Central Connecticut State (Nov. 14, 2019)
11 vs. Princeton (Dec. 29, 2018)
11 vs. California (Mar. 1, 2018)
11 at Colorado (Jan. 4, 2018)
11 vs. UC Irvine (Nov. 19, 2018)
BEST FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE IN ASU HISTORY
71.1 – De'Quon Lake, 2018 (71-of-111)
66.5 – Eric Boateng, 2010 (117-of-176)
66.0 – Jeff Pendergraph, 2009 (198-of-300)
65.2 – Romello White, 2018 (120-of-184)
63.0 – Trent Edwards, 1989 (208-of-330)
62.6 – Eric Jacobsen, 2015 (102-of-163)
60.9 – Kurt Nimphius, 1980 (185-of-304)
60.8 – Ike Diogu, 2003 (209-of-344)
59.8 – Romello White, 2019 (113-of-189)
59.3 – Jeff Pendergraph, 2008 (153-of-258)
59.3 – Mario Bennett, 1994 (134-of-226)
KIMANI NOTES: Long-armed and mobile swingman could guard any and all positions...seems to find himself in the right place at the right time..good mid-range jumper and helps in any and all rebounding and defensive categories...solid free throw shooter (73- of-96/.760)...posted double digits in 14 games in 2018-19 and team was 5-0 when he scored 15...best game was 22-point effort vs. Mississippi State in Las Vegas on Nov. 19, which included the game-clinching three-pointer with the scored tied and 29 seconds left...made all six free throws in Jan. 24 win at Pauley Pavilion.
KIMANI LAWRENCE TOP SCORING GAMES
22 vs. #22 Mississippi State (Nov. 19, 2018)
18 vs. Omaha (Nov. 28, 2018)
16 vs. Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 6, 2018)
16 vs. McNeese State (Nov. 9, 2018)
15 at UCLA (Jan. 24, 2019)
13 vs. Washington State (Feb. 7, 2019)
13 vs. Texas Southern (Dec. 1, 2018)
13 vs. Long Beach State (Nov. 12, 2018)
THIS TIME OF YEAR HAS BEEN GOOD: November tournaments have been really good to ASU in the past two years (both in Las Vegas), as it has won the four neutral site games over eventual NCAA Tournament teams. 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 -- who would end up a No. 1 seed -- 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 eventual MWC champion Utah State on Nov. 21 to win the 2018 MGM Resorts Main Event at T-Mobile Arena.
VS. THE FIELD: ASU is 2-1 vs. St. John's, including last year's 74-65 win in Dayton in the NCAA Tournament. ASU held the Red Storm to just .319 shooting, tied for the fifth-best defensive performance in the four years under Bobby Hurley. ASU has yet play UMASS and is 0-1 vs. Virginia, losing a 70-64 tilt on Nov. 27, 1999, in Puerto Rico. The only other ASU-SJU meeting was on Nov. 27, 2010, in the Great Alaska Shootout when Steve Lavin's squad came back from a 30-20 halftime deficit to win 67-58.
LAST MEETING: ASU 74, ST. JOHN'S (AT DAYTON/NCAA) 65/MAR. 20, 2019: Bobby Hurley recorded his first NCAA tournament victory as head coach of Arizona State as the Sun Devils knocked off St. John's in the final First Four game of the tournament. Coming in as a No. 11 seed in the West region, ASU notched its first tournament win since 2009 behind the strength of Luguentz Dort's 21 points and Zylan Cheatham's 14th double-double of the season (14 points, 10 rebounds). As a team, the Sun Devils knocked down 54 percent of their shots in the first half, including 67 percent (4-6) from downtown. This marked the Sun Devils 16th appearance in the NCAA tournament and the first time they have made it back-to-back years since 1980-1981.
#16 ASU 82, ST. JOHN'S 70 (DEC. 8, 2017/STAPLES CENTER): ASU led 44-26 with 3:07 left in the first half but St. John's cut it all the way to 71-70 before the Sun Devils outscored Saint John's 11-0 for the 82-70 win. Romello White posted 22 points and nine rebounds. ASU made 23-of-27 (.852) free throws and held St. John's to .391 from the floor (25-of-64) and led for more than 38 minutes.
SUN DEVIL RECAPS
GAME #3 -- ASU 92, RIDER 55 (NOV. 17/TEMPE): Rider jumped out to a 12-4 lead six minutes into the game but ASU went on a 37-10 run to put the game away before the half. ASU posted 43 bench points, led by Jaelen House notching 20 in just 21 minutes. Remy Martin also had 20 while Romello White and Alonzo Verge Jr. had 11 each. ASU forced 29 turnovers (most since 2003) and had 16 steals (most since 2009).
GAME #2 -- ASU 90, CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE 49 (NOV. 14/TEMPE): The Sun Devils (1-1) trailed for 31 seconds in the first two minutes but that was it as 16 players saw action in holding CCSU to the fewest points by an opponent in the Bobby Hurley era. Rob Edwards had 23 points and Remy Martin and Jaelen House added 14 each as the Sun Devils posted 14 steals and forced 23 turnovers.
GAME #1 -- COLORADO 81, ASU 71 (NOV. 9/SHANGHAI): In the first Pac-12 China between two conference teams, Colorado raced to a 42-29 halftime lead, before ASU cut it to one in the second half but the Buffaloes held on for an 81-71 win. The non-conference loss was ASU's first in November since 2016. Remy Martin had 23 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and five steals, but CU outrebounded ASU 48-36. Rob Edwards had 20 points, including four three-pointers while Kimani Lawrence had 10 points and six rebounds. ASU shot just .321 (9-of-28) from the field in the first half and finished at .385 (25-of-65). It had 10 steals, but also had 16 turnovers. Freshman Jalen Graham had five blocks.
ENJOY THESE: The two ASU tilts last week are the only home games prior to Dec. 7 game with Louisiana, the fewest in the Pac-12 to start the season. Four Pac-12 teams will have played six home games (Arizona, Stanford, UCLA and Washington) before ASU's plays its third. Only WSU (three) and ASU (two) play less than four in that time span.
PHYSICAL NOTES: The top wingspans on the team are Jalen Graham (7-2), Romello White (7-0) and Kimani Lawrence (6-11 1/2). The best standing vertical on the team is Graham (32.5"), while Remy Martin is next (31.5") while best approach verticals are Remy (40.5"), Jaelen House (39.5") and Graham (39").
BE COOL IF OTHER PAC-12 TEAMS DO THIS: Since Bobby Hurley took over four years ago, ASU leads the league in wins over ranked out-of-conference teams during the regular season with a 5-5 mark with wins over Kansas (twice), Xavier, Mississippi State and Texas A&M. Four of the wins have been away from Tempe. UCLA is 4-6 and Arizona 3-4. No other Pac-12 teams have more than two. Take out ASU's 5-5 mark and the rest of the league is 15-42 in those four seasons and seven of the teams have one or zero wins.
PRETTY COOL NOTE: ASU had been to four NCAA Tournaments (1995, 2003, 2009 and 2014) in 26 seasons (1992-2017) and not been to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years since 1980-81. Remy Martin, Kimani Lawrence and Romello White have now gone to the Dance in each of their first two seasons.
LET'S ADD A NATION: Bobby Hurley took the ASU job in April of 2015 and said ASU was going to play some folks and not be afraid to go on the road. When the dust settles after this December, ASU's tally of non-conference states in his five years will move to 11 with other trips to the Bahamas (vs. Kentucky) and China. ASU has played non-conference games in New York (MSG and Barclays), Nebraska (Creighon), at Kentucky, Nevada (at UNLV), Florida, California, at Kansas, at Georgia and Tennessee (Vanderbilt) and adds Connecticut and New Jersey to the list this November. The Sun Devils will be logging some serious air miles and hotel nights in November. The team will be on the road 15 of the first 26 nights and will notch 18,610 miles, as it plays just two of its first seven games at home.
QUICK HITTERS: ASU finished 23-11 and 12-6 in the Pac-12 in 2018-19, good enough for second in the league after being picked sixth in the preseason media poll...it defeated No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 22, the first win over No. 1 at home in program history and the second all-time (also won at Oregon State in March of 1981)...notched its first NCAA Tournament win since 2009 with a 74-65 victory over St. John's on March 20 in Dayton and posted 23 wins for just the eighth time in school history...prior to its past two NCAA appearances under Bobby Hurley, ASU had made the NCAA Tournament three times in previous 22 seasons (1996-2017).
WHO WE LOST: Three regular rotation players are gone from last year, including All-Pac-12 performers Zylan Cheatham and Lu Dort (Pac-12 Freshman of the Year), as well as De'Quon Lake.
BUTTS IN SEATS: A reminder that the past two seasons have resulted in the top two average attendance marks in Sun Devil history.
TOP AVERAGE SEASON ATTENDANCE MARKS
2017-18: 10,603
2018-19: 10,538
1995-96: 9,514
2008-09: 9,354
1994-95: 9,333
SOLID: ASU finished second in the Pac-12 for just the fourth time in its 41-year Pac-10/12 history last year (2009-10, 1980-81 and 1979-80). ASU won 12 loop games for just the sixth time.
BEST PAC-12 RECORDS
16-2 (1): 1980-81
15-3 (2): 1979-80
12-6 (4): 2018-19, 2009-10, 1994-95, 1982-83
THAT NOVEMBER NOTE: Not many have been better early than the Sun Devils in the past two seasons, as they are 21-6 in November under Coach Hurley in his four years including 14-1 the past three seasons. Also worth a darn: the win list includes five teams that would eventually make NCAA Tournament that same season.
ASU 14-1 NOVEMBER RECORD PAST THREE SEASONS
ASU 92, Rider 55 (Nov. 17, 2019)
ASU 90, Central Connecticut State 49 (Nov. 14, 2019)
Colorado 81, ASU 71 at Shanghai (Nov. 9, 2019)
ASU 89, Omaha 71 (Nov. 28, 2018)
ASU 87, Utah State 82 at Las Vegas (Nov. 21, 2018)/2019 MWC Champ and NCAA Team
ASU 72, #16 Mississippi State 67 at Las Vegas (Nov. 19, 2018)/2019 NCAA Team
ASU 90, Long Beach State 58 (Nov. 12, 2018)
ASU 80, McNeese State 52 (Nov. 9, 2018)
ASU 102, Cal State Fullerton 94, 2 OT (Nov. 6, 2018)
ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86 at Las Vegas (Nov. 24, 2017)/eventual No. 1 seed in 2018
ASU 92, Kansas State 90 at Las Vegas (Nov. 23, 2017)/Elite Eight in 2018
ASU 99, UC Irvine 78 (Nov. 19, 2017)
ASU 97, NAU 62 (Nov. 17, 2017)
ASU 90, San Diego State 68 (Nov. 14, 2017)/2018 NCAA team and MWC Tourney champ
ASU 94, Idaho State 74 (Nov. 10, 2017)
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 in Brooklyn, at Creighton, at UNLV and against eventual No. 18 Texas A&M, he put the wheels in motion 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, and finished a series with No. 9 Creighton. Kansas returned a trip to Tempe last 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 five top-10 non-conference opponents in his four years, after ASU faced one in the previous 17 seasons.
ASU REGULAR SEASON OOC GAMES VS. TOP-10 TEAMS (SINCE JOINING PAC-10)
#18 ASU 80, #1 Kansas 76 (Dec. 22, 2018)
#16 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)
DOWN GOES RANKED TEAM: ASU has now defeated six ranked teams in Bobby Hurley's Sun Devil tenure, incuding five out of conference. The Nov. 24, 2017, Xavier win was the highest ranked non-conference team ASU had topped since it beat No. 7 Maryland in the 1994 Maui Invitational...until it won at #2 Kansas on Dec. 10.
@SUNDEVILHOOPS OOC WINS VS. RANKED TEAMS PAC-10/12 ERA
#18 ASU 80, #1 Kansas 76 (Dec. 22, 2018)/Bobby Hurley
ASU 72, #15 Mississippi State 67 (Nov. 19, 2018)/Bobby Hurley
#16 ASU 95, @#2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)/Bobby Hurley
ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86 (Nov. 24, 2017 at Las Vegas)/Bobby Hurley
ASU 67, #18 Texas A&M 54 (Dec. 5, 2015)/Bobby Hurley
ASU 79, #25 Marquette 77 (Nov. 25, 2013)/Herb Sendek
ASU 77, #17 Xavier 55 (Dec. 15, 2007)/Herb Sendek
ASU 97, #7 Maryland 90 (Nov. 23, 1994 at Maui Invitational)/Bill Frieder
ASU 79, #13 Michigan 62 (Nov. 22, 1994 at Maui Invitational)/Bill Frieder
#14 ASU 71, #7 Ohio State 58 (Dec. 20, 1980)/Ned Wulk
ASU 96, #12 Iowa 88 (Dec. 6, 1980)/Ned Wulk
THAT HALFTIME STAT: ASU has 21 wins (10 on the road) when trailing at the half under Bobby Hurley in four seasons, after going 12-64 (.157) the previous five ve seasons. It did it seven times in 2017-18 and did it in 2018-19 at Georgia, vs. No. 1 Kansas, at California, at UCLA, vs. Cal and at Oregon State.
REMY MARTIN NOTES: Everyone loves Remy. Those in maroon and gold really love Remy because his two best scoring games are 31 (95-88 double overtime win on Jan. 31) and 27 (final game of regular season on road on March 9) as he led ASU to first sweep over Arizona since 2008-09 and first win in Tucson since 2010...has a 40-inch vertical jump... earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors by the league's coaches in 2018-19...notched 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. He had 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....led the Pac-12 with a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio and second in league at five assists per game..had his November and early December of 2018 ruined by a bum ankle but was the only player with 11-assist in a Pac-12 road game last year (11 at UCLA) and his 10 made free throws vs. Arizona matched the most in a league tilt.
ROB EDWARDS NOTES: Dropped buckets in some big wins in 2018-19, with 15 off the bench vs. #1 Kansas, 19 vs. Arizona, 28 at Utah and 13 at Oregon State...when he scored 15, ASU was 6-1 in 2018-19...entered ASU with 909 points in 63 games (14.4 ppg.)...now has 1,219 career points (13.4 average)...71-of-85 (.835) from the free throw line in 2018-19 and .776 (274-of-353) in his career along with 163 three pointers...missed six games early and only scored 14 points in the first nine games (14 in opener, six DNPs due to a back injury and zero points vs. Nevada and Georgia)...stats last year look a lot better when you remember he went from Nov. 7-Dec. 16 without scoring a point. In those three games he did play, he was 4-of-26 (.154) from field and 2-of-9 (.222) from three and had 14 points (all against CSF in the opener).
ROMELLO WHITE NOTES: When he shoots it, he usually makes it. Romello made .625 of his shots in his first two seasons including 120-of-184 in his freshman year...coached by Jerry Stackhouse in the Atlanta AAU circuit...started 63 of 65 games his first two years and led team in offensive boards in each of the past two seasons with 77 last year and 79 in 2017-18...has two of the best field goal percentage mark's in Sun Devil history as he shot .652 in freshman year (fourth in Sun Devil record book) and .598 last year (ninth-best).
ROMELLO WHITE TOP REBOUNDING GAMES
15 vs. San Diego State (Nov. 14, 2017)
14 vs. Texas Southern (Dec. 1, 2018)
14 at Washington (Feb. 1, 2018)
13 vs. San Francisco (Dec. 2, 2018)
11 vs. Central Connecticut State (Nov. 14, 2019)
11 vs. Princeton (Dec. 29, 2018)
11 vs. California (Mar. 1, 2018)
11 at Colorado (Jan. 4, 2018)
11 vs. UC Irvine (Nov. 19, 2018)
BEST FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE IN ASU HISTORY
71.1 – De'Quon Lake, 2018 (71-of-111)
66.5 – Eric Boateng, 2010 (117-of-176)
66.0 – Jeff Pendergraph, 2009 (198-of-300)
65.2 – Romello White, 2018 (120-of-184)
63.0 – Trent Edwards, 1989 (208-of-330)
62.6 – Eric Jacobsen, 2015 (102-of-163)
60.9 – Kurt Nimphius, 1980 (185-of-304)
60.8 – Ike Diogu, 2003 (209-of-344)
59.8 – Romello White, 2019 (113-of-189)
59.3 – Jeff Pendergraph, 2008 (153-of-258)
59.3 – Mario Bennett, 1994 (134-of-226)
KIMANI NOTES: Long-armed and mobile swingman could guard any and all positions...seems to find himself in the right place at the right time..good mid-range jumper and helps in any and all rebounding and defensive categories...solid free throw shooter (73- of-96/.760)...posted double digits in 14 games in 2018-19 and team was 5-0 when he scored 15...best game was 22-point effort vs. Mississippi State in Las Vegas on Nov. 19, which included the game-clinching three-pointer with the scored tied and 29 seconds left...made all six free throws in Jan. 24 win at Pauley Pavilion.
KIMANI LAWRENCE TOP SCORING GAMES
22 vs. #22 Mississippi State (Nov. 19, 2018)
18 vs. Omaha (Nov. 28, 2018)
16 vs. Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 6, 2018)
16 vs. McNeese State (Nov. 9, 2018)
15 at UCLA (Jan. 24, 2019)
13 vs. Washington State (Feb. 7, 2019)
13 vs. Texas Southern (Dec. 1, 2018)
13 vs. Long Beach State (Nov. 12, 2018)