A Wednesday (Dec. 18) 7 p.m. tilt at Phoenix's Talking Stick Arena will match 2019 NCAA Tournament teams as the Arizona State Sun Devil men's hoops team (8-2) -- 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 -- meets St. Mary's on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. on Pac-12 Network in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase. ASU has won five straight and is 29-5 in regular season non-conference games in the past three seasons (including an 18-1 mark at home) as it closes its pre-holiday slate with a home game vs. Creighton on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 6:30 p.m. A national stat nugget to start the game notes: ASU is holding opponents to just .265 from the three-point stripe, best in the Pac-12 and 12th in the nation heading into the week. Also Romello White leads the Pac-12 in rebounding (10.78 per game).
ROMELLO PLAYING WELL: Junior Romello White -- who had 18 points and 17 rebounds vs. Georgia on Dec. 14 -- in the past four games is averaging 16.3 points and 14.5 rebounds and is 22-of-26 (.846) from the field. He is shooting .638 (273-of-428) from the field in his 74-game career.
GAME #10 -- ASU 79, GEORGIA 59: ASU got great games from it proven stars as Romello White had 18 points and 17 rebounds and Remy Martin had 23 points and six assists in just 19 minutes to lead ASU to a convincing home win. ASU shot 18-of-29 (.621) in the second half and held Georgia to just 2-of-24 (.083) from the three-point stripe as ASU led by as many as 24 in the final minutes. Georgia had a lead for just 1:38 of clock time. Alonzo Verge Jr. (15 points), Kimani Lawrence (11 points) and Jaelen House (six steals) all provided a lift off the bench.
SOME SOLID DUBS: Bobby Hurley has led ASU to a 46-14 regular season non-conference record in his five years, with notable wins over NC State, at Creighton, Texas A&M, UNLV (twice), Stephen F. Austin, Kansas State , Xavier, St. John's (twice), Kansas (twice), Vanderbilt and Georgia (twice).
SUN DEVIL DATA: ASU has held six opponents under 40 percent shooting and is holding opponents to just .265 (54-of-204) from the three-point stripe...has 93 steals, while opponents have just 58...quietly, Elias Valtonen is 10-of-19 (.526) from the three-point stripe in his career...ASU is 7-0 in the past two years when Taeshon Cherry scores double-digits...freshman Jalen Graham is 17-of-25 (.680) from the field...freshman Jaelen House is 23-of-25 (.920) from the free throw line and has 22 steals...ASU is giving up just 63.5 points per game and holding opponents to just .393 from the field.
CLOSE OUT AND HAND UP: ASU is defending the three at a school-record pace. Sun Devil opponents are shooting just 54-of-204 (.265) from the three-point stripe, easily the best mark in Sun Devil history 10 games into the season.
SUN DEVIL BEST THREE-POINT DEFENSE TEAMS
.317, 2009-10 (181-571)
.319, 2008-09 (212-665)
.326, 2012-13 (175-536)
.333, 1994-95 (137-411)
.334, 2018-19 (292-874)
REMY'S GREAT START: Junior Remy Martin is off to a solid start for the Sun Devils as he posted a career-high 33 points at Princeton on Nov. 26 and already has six 20-point games (13 in career). He is averaging 20.3 points per game this year after averaging 11.3 in his first two years.
REMY MARTIN: FIRST TWO YEARS/2019-20
FG (PCT): 246-582 (.422)/70-152 (.461)
3PT (PCT): 66-200 (.330)/18-50 (.360)
PPG: 11.3/20.3
LOTS OF HOTEL PENS: ASU played five of its first seven in Shanghai, Connecticut, New Jersey and San Francisco as it spent 17 of its first 32 nights of the season in a hotel and flew 20,134 miles on nine flights. When Coach Hurley took the ASU job in April of 2015 he said ASU was going to play some folks and not be afraid to go on the road. ASU's tally of non-conference states in his five years is at 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 (Old Spice Classic), California (San Francisco and San Diego State), at Kansas, at Georgia, Tennessee (Vanderbilt) and New Jersey (at Princeton).
BACK HURTS FROM CARRYING LEAGUE HERE: In Bobby Hurley's first four seasons, ASU led 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 were away from Tempe. UCLA was 4-6 and Arizona 3-4. Take out ASU's 5-5 mark and the rest of the league was 15-42 in those four seasons and seven of the teams had one or zero wins.
PRETTY COOL: 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.
PHYSICAL: Top wingspans on the team are Jalen Graham (7-2), Romello White (7-0) and Kimani Lawrence (6-11 1/2). Best standing vertical 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").
ROAD: ASU won at Princeton (67-65/Nov. 26) and San Francisco (71-67/Dec. 3), as it is 7-2 (.778) in out-of-conference road games under Bobby Hurley, after going 8-22 (.267) in its previous 30 efforts.
ASU OUT OF CONFERENCE ROADIES UNDER BOBBY HURLEY (7-2)
ASU 71, San Francisco 67 (Dec. 3, 2019)
ASU 67, Princeton 65 (Nov. 26, 2019)
Vanderbilt 81, ASU 65 (Dec. 17, 2018)
#20 ASU 76, Georgia 74 (Dec. 15, 2018)
#16 ASU 95, #2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)
ASU 74, San Diego State 63 (Dec. 10, 2016)
ASU 66, UNLV 56 (Dec. 16, 2015)
#5 Kentucky 72, ASU 58 (Dec. 5, 2015)
ASU 79, Creighton 77 (Dec. 2, 2015)
2018-19 REVIEW: ASU was 23-11 and 12-6 (second) in the Pac-12 after being picked sixth in the preseason media poll...beat No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 22, ASU's first win over No. 1 at home and second all-time (won at Oregon State in March of 1981)...notched first NCAA Tournament win since 2009 with a 74-65 victory over St. John's on March 20...prior to its past two NCAA appearances under Bobby Hurley, ASU had made the NCAA Tournament three times in previous 22 seasons (1996-2017).
NOVEMBER TOUGH: Not many have been better early than the Sun Devils in the past three seasons, as they are 16-2 the past three seasons in November. Also worth a darn: the win list includes five teams that would eventually make NCAA Tournament that same season.
ASU 16-2 NOVEMBER RECORD PAST THREE SEASONS
ASU 67, @Princeton 65 (Nov. 26, 2019)
#7 Virginia 48, ASU 45 (Nov. 24, 2019)
ASU 80, St. John's 67 (Nov. 23, 2019)
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)
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.
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
ROMELLO WHITE TOP REBOUNDING GAMES
17 vs. Georgia (Dec. 14, 2019)
16 vs. Prairie View A&M (Dec. 11, 2019)
15 vs. San Diego State (Nov. 14, 2017)
14 vs. Louisiana (Dec. 7, 2019)
14 vs. Texas Southern (Dec. 1, 2018)
14 at Washington (Feb. 1, 2018)
13 vs. San Francisco (Dec. 2, 2018)
GONNA' PLAY FOLKS: Bobby Hurley is going 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, 2017. Coach Hurley has played six top-10 non-conference opponents in his five years, after ASU faced one in the previous 17 seasons.
ASU REGULAR SEASON OOC GAMES VS. TOP-10 TEAMS (SINCE JOINING PAC-10)
#7 Virginia 48, ASU 45 (Nov. 24, 2019 at Mohegan Sun Resort)
#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 defeated six ranked teams in Bobby Hurley's Sun Devil tenure, including 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...until it beat #2 Kansas on Dec. 22, 2018.
@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
REMY: Everyone loves Remy. Those in maroon and gold really love Remy because his two best scoring games last year were wins over Arizona -- 31 in 95-88 double OT win on Jan. 31 and 27 in final game of regular season on road on March 9).led ASU to first sweep over Arizona since 2008-09 and first win in Tucson since 2010...40-inch vertical jump... second-team All-Pac-12 by the league's coaches in 2018-19...notched 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals to spark Sun Devils back from an 18-point deficit to a 76-74 victory at Georgia on Dec. 15, 2018, leading to his Dec. 17 Pac-12 Player of the Week Award. 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 game at 71-70....led Pac-12 with a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio and second in league at five apg..had his November and early December of 2018 ruined by a bum ankle.
ROB EDWARDS: Dropped buckets in 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.)...71-of-85 (.835) from the free throw line in 2018-19...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. 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 PAST 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).)
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...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...had 10 points in 2019-20 opener vs. Colorado in China...had 11 off the bench vs. Georgia on Dec. 14.
PAC-12 VS. OOC RANKED TEAMS (REGULAR SEASON) IN CBH ERA
Oregon: 5-2
Arizona State: 5-6
UCLA: 4-7
Arizona: 3-6
Colorado: 2-4
Washington: 2-7
USC/WSU: 1-3
Utah: 1-4
Oregon State: 0-1
California: 0-5
Stanford: 0-9
ROB EDWARDS TOP SUN DEVIL SCORING TILTS
28 at Utah (2/16/19)
23 vs. CCSU (11/14/19)
20 vs. Colorado/China (11/9/19)
19 vs. Arizona (1/31/19)
17 vs. Louisiana (12/7/19)
16 vs. California (2/24/19)
16 vs. Stanford (2/20/19)
15 vs. Oregon (3/15/19)
15 vs. UCLA 3/14/19)
15 vs. #1 Kansas (12/22/18)
THAT HALFTIME STAT: ASU has 23 wins (11 on the road) when trailing at the half under Bobby Hurley in five seasons, after going 12-64 (.157) the previous five 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. This year it has comeback wins over St. John's and at Princeton.
ROMELLO PLAYING WELL: Junior Romello White -- who had 18 points and 17 rebounds vs. Georgia on Dec. 14 -- in the past four games is averaging 16.3 points and 14.5 rebounds and is 22-of-26 (.846) from the field. He is shooting .638 (273-of-428) from the field in his 74-game career.
GAME #10 -- ASU 79, GEORGIA 59: ASU got great games from it proven stars as Romello White had 18 points and 17 rebounds and Remy Martin had 23 points and six assists in just 19 minutes to lead ASU to a convincing home win. ASU shot 18-of-29 (.621) in the second half and held Georgia to just 2-of-24 (.083) from the three-point stripe as ASU led by as many as 24 in the final minutes. Georgia had a lead for just 1:38 of clock time. Alonzo Verge Jr. (15 points), Kimani Lawrence (11 points) and Jaelen House (six steals) all provided a lift off the bench.
SOME SOLID DUBS: Bobby Hurley has led ASU to a 46-14 regular season non-conference record in his five years, with notable wins over NC State, at Creighton, Texas A&M, UNLV (twice), Stephen F. Austin, Kansas State , Xavier, St. John's (twice), Kansas (twice), Vanderbilt and Georgia (twice).
SUN DEVIL DATA: ASU has held six opponents under 40 percent shooting and is holding opponents to just .265 (54-of-204) from the three-point stripe...has 93 steals, while opponents have just 58...quietly, Elias Valtonen is 10-of-19 (.526) from the three-point stripe in his career...ASU is 7-0 in the past two years when Taeshon Cherry scores double-digits...freshman Jalen Graham is 17-of-25 (.680) from the field...freshman Jaelen House is 23-of-25 (.920) from the free throw line and has 22 steals...ASU is giving up just 63.5 points per game and holding opponents to just .393 from the field.
CLOSE OUT AND HAND UP: ASU is defending the three at a school-record pace. Sun Devil opponents are shooting just 54-of-204 (.265) from the three-point stripe, easily the best mark in Sun Devil history 10 games into the season.
SUN DEVIL BEST THREE-POINT DEFENSE TEAMS
.317, 2009-10 (181-571)
.319, 2008-09 (212-665)
.326, 2012-13 (175-536)
.333, 1994-95 (137-411)
.334, 2018-19 (292-874)
REMY'S GREAT START: Junior Remy Martin is off to a solid start for the Sun Devils as he posted a career-high 33 points at Princeton on Nov. 26 and already has six 20-point games (13 in career). He is averaging 20.3 points per game this year after averaging 11.3 in his first two years.
REMY MARTIN: FIRST TWO YEARS/2019-20
FG (PCT): 246-582 (.422)/70-152 (.461)
3PT (PCT): 66-200 (.330)/18-50 (.360)
PPG: 11.3/20.3
LOTS OF HOTEL PENS: ASU played five of its first seven in Shanghai, Connecticut, New Jersey and San Francisco as it spent 17 of its first 32 nights of the season in a hotel and flew 20,134 miles on nine flights. When Coach Hurley took the ASU job in April of 2015 he said ASU was going to play some folks and not be afraid to go on the road. ASU's tally of non-conference states in his five years is at 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 (Old Spice Classic), California (San Francisco and San Diego State), at Kansas, at Georgia, Tennessee (Vanderbilt) and New Jersey (at Princeton).
BACK HURTS FROM CARRYING LEAGUE HERE: In Bobby Hurley's first four seasons, ASU led 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 were away from Tempe. UCLA was 4-6 and Arizona 3-4. Take out ASU's 5-5 mark and the rest of the league was 15-42 in those four seasons and seven of the teams had one or zero wins.
PRETTY COOL: 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.
PHYSICAL: Top wingspans on the team are Jalen Graham (7-2), Romello White (7-0) and Kimani Lawrence (6-11 1/2). Best standing vertical 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").
ROAD: ASU won at Princeton (67-65/Nov. 26) and San Francisco (71-67/Dec. 3), as it is 7-2 (.778) in out-of-conference road games under Bobby Hurley, after going 8-22 (.267) in its previous 30 efforts.
ASU OUT OF CONFERENCE ROADIES UNDER BOBBY HURLEY (7-2)
ASU 71, San Francisco 67 (Dec. 3, 2019)
ASU 67, Princeton 65 (Nov. 26, 2019)
Vanderbilt 81, ASU 65 (Dec. 17, 2018)
#20 ASU 76, Georgia 74 (Dec. 15, 2018)
#16 ASU 95, #2 Kansas 85 (Dec. 10, 2017)
ASU 74, San Diego State 63 (Dec. 10, 2016)
ASU 66, UNLV 56 (Dec. 16, 2015)
#5 Kentucky 72, ASU 58 (Dec. 5, 2015)
ASU 79, Creighton 77 (Dec. 2, 2015)
2018-19 REVIEW: ASU was 23-11 and 12-6 (second) in the Pac-12 after being picked sixth in the preseason media poll...beat No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 22, ASU's first win over No. 1 at home and second all-time (won at Oregon State in March of 1981)...notched first NCAA Tournament win since 2009 with a 74-65 victory over St. John's on March 20...prior to its past two NCAA appearances under Bobby Hurley, ASU had made the NCAA Tournament three times in previous 22 seasons (1996-2017).
NOVEMBER TOUGH: Not many have been better early than the Sun Devils in the past three seasons, as they are 16-2 the past three seasons in November. Also worth a darn: the win list includes five teams that would eventually make NCAA Tournament that same season.
ASU 16-2 NOVEMBER RECORD PAST THREE SEASONS
ASU 67, @Princeton 65 (Nov. 26, 2019)
#7 Virginia 48, ASU 45 (Nov. 24, 2019)
ASU 80, St. John's 67 (Nov. 23, 2019)
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)
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.
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
ROMELLO WHITE TOP REBOUNDING GAMES
17 vs. Georgia (Dec. 14, 2019)
16 vs. Prairie View A&M (Dec. 11, 2019)
15 vs. San Diego State (Nov. 14, 2017)
14 vs. Louisiana (Dec. 7, 2019)
14 vs. Texas Southern (Dec. 1, 2018)
14 at Washington (Feb. 1, 2018)
13 vs. San Francisco (Dec. 2, 2018)
GONNA' PLAY FOLKS: Bobby Hurley is going 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, 2017. Coach Hurley has played six top-10 non-conference opponents in his five years, after ASU faced one in the previous 17 seasons.
ASU REGULAR SEASON OOC GAMES VS. TOP-10 TEAMS (SINCE JOINING PAC-10)
#7 Virginia 48, ASU 45 (Nov. 24, 2019 at Mohegan Sun Resort)
#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 defeated six ranked teams in Bobby Hurley's Sun Devil tenure, including 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...until it beat #2 Kansas on Dec. 22, 2018.
@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
REMY: Everyone loves Remy. Those in maroon and gold really love Remy because his two best scoring games last year were wins over Arizona -- 31 in 95-88 double OT win on Jan. 31 and 27 in final game of regular season on road on March 9).led ASU to first sweep over Arizona since 2008-09 and first win in Tucson since 2010...40-inch vertical jump... second-team All-Pac-12 by the league's coaches in 2018-19...notched 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals to spark Sun Devils back from an 18-point deficit to a 76-74 victory at Georgia on Dec. 15, 2018, leading to his Dec. 17 Pac-12 Player of the Week Award. 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 game at 71-70....led Pac-12 with a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio and second in league at five apg..had his November and early December of 2018 ruined by a bum ankle.
ROB EDWARDS: Dropped buckets in 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.)...71-of-85 (.835) from the free throw line in 2018-19...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. 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 PAST 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).)
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...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...had 10 points in 2019-20 opener vs. Colorado in China...had 11 off the bench vs. Georgia on Dec. 14.
PAC-12 VS. OOC RANKED TEAMS (REGULAR SEASON) IN CBH ERA
Oregon: 5-2
Arizona State: 5-6
UCLA: 4-7
Arizona: 3-6
Colorado: 2-4
Washington: 2-7
USC/WSU: 1-3
Utah: 1-4
Oregon State: 0-1
California: 0-5
Stanford: 0-9
ROB EDWARDS TOP SUN DEVIL SCORING TILTS
28 at Utah (2/16/19)
23 vs. CCSU (11/14/19)
20 vs. Colorado/China (11/9/19)
19 vs. Arizona (1/31/19)
17 vs. Louisiana (12/7/19)
16 vs. California (2/24/19)
16 vs. Stanford (2/20/19)
15 vs. Oregon (3/15/19)
15 vs. UCLA 3/14/19)
15 vs. #1 Kansas (12/22/18)
THAT HALFTIME STAT: ASU has 23 wins (11 on the road) when trailing at the half under Bobby Hurley in five seasons, after going 12-64 (.157) the previous five 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. This year it has comeback wins over St. John's and at Princeton.