SHOT AT THE CURRENT TOP DAWG: The Arizona State Sun Devils (15-7; 6-4) -- who advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 last year and just the fourth time in 24 seasons -- have Dave Pasch and Bill Walton on the call for an 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9 tilt vs. first-place Washington on ESPN. Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd are on the Sun Devil Radio Network (98.7 FM). ASU, the Pac-12 leader in rebounding margin (+6.6), has outrebounded 18 of 22 opponents this year after doing so just 14 times in 32 games last year. Zylan Cheatham is averaging 18 boards in his past four contests as he grabbed 16 in the 91-70 loss to WSU on Thursday. His 13 double-figure rebounding games leads the Pac-12.
22: Zylan Cheatham had 22 rebounds (seven in overtime) vs. Arizona on Jan. 31, the most in Pac-12 game in the past 19 seasons and the most since Dave Bluthenthal grabbed 28 vs. Arizona State on Jan. 20, 2000.
13 QUICK SPARKY NOTES (13 FOR 2018 NBA MVP JAMES HARDEN)
v Zylan Cheatham is averaging 11.6 ppg, 11.1 rpg (Pac-12 leader) and 3.5 apg
v ASU ranks second in Pac-12 in FG% defense (.405)
v ASU is 99-of-135 from the FT line in its past five games (.733)
v In its six Pac-12 wins ASU had held opponents to .376 FGs after halftime (67-of-178)
v 5-3 in two-possession games this year after going 4-7 last year (12-16 previous 3 seasons)
v 19 halftime-deficit comebacks under Bobby Hurley (12 previous 5 seasons)
v Kansas was sixth top-10 OOC opponent Coach Hurley played, ASU faced one in previous 17 seasons
v Best approach vertical on team is Zylan Cheatham at 41.5 inches, Remy Martin not far behind at 40
v Seven Sun Devils have led the team in scoring this year
v De'Quon Lake has made 134-of-185 (.724) from the field in his two-year career
v Kimani Lawrence is 66-of-85 (.776) from the free throw line in his career
v Ranks fourth in the nation at 42.2 rebounds per game
v Has held nine opponents under 40 percent shooting (4 Pac-12 teams)
ZYLAN CHEATHAM 10+ REBOUND GAMES
22 vs. Arizona (1/31/19)
20 at UCLA (1/24/19)
16 vs. Washington State (2/7/19)
14 at USC (1/26/19)
14 at Vanderbilt (12/17/18)
13 vs. Oregon State (1/17/19)
13 vs. Texas Southern (12/1/18)
12 at Stanford (1/12/19)
12 vs. McNeese State (11/9/18)
12 vs. Nebraska-Omaa (11/28/18)
11 vs. Kansas (12/22/18)
10 vs. Nevada (12/7/18)
10 at Georgia (12/15/18)
REMY: Remy had his November and early December ruined by a bum ankle but check out his numbers from the past 14 games compared to first eight and digest some quick notes…only player with an 11-assist game in a Pac-12 road game this year (11 at UCLA)…one of seven Pac-12 players with 30 points in a league game this year (31 vs. Arizona)…ranks ninth in the league in three-point percentage in Pac-12 games at .418 (23-of-55)…10 made free throws vs. Arizona matches the most in a league tilt this year…leads league in A/TO ratio in conference games (68/20) at 3.4 and in assists per Pac-12 game (68 in 10 games/6.8 per game).
REMY MARTIN FIRST 8/PAST 13
FG: 18-55 (.327)/72-172 (.419)
3PT: 4-22 (.182)/25-70 (.357)
APG: 4.0/5.6
A-TO: 2:1/2.8:1
PPG: 10.5/14.2
20+ PT GAMES: 0/4
DUNKS: 0/2
ZYLAN NOTE: Heading into play this week there were only 18 players in who are averaging a double-double. Only two of those players were averaging three assists: Ethan Happ of Wisconsin and Zylan Cheatham.
REBOUNDING: ASU is outrebounding its opponents by a Pac-12 leading +6.6 boards per game (42.2/35.6), which is a 9.6 rebounds per game turnaround from two seasons ago. ASU only grabbed 32.6 boards per game in 2016-17, Coach Hurley's second season at ASU, and was outrebounded by 7.1 per game, dead last in the league by nearly three boards per tilt. ASU has never led the Pac-12 in rebounding margin.
DROPPING BUCKETS: ASU has been in the Pac-10/12 for more than four decades, but two of its top eight scoring teams have come in two of Bobby Hurley's first three seasons. ASU led the league in scoring last year at 82.7 points per game, third-best in school history. This year ASU is averaging 79.5, best in the Pac-12.
TOP SCORING SUN DEVIL TEAMS IN PAC-10/12 HISTORY
84.5/1997-1998 (Don Newman)
84.5/1992-1993 (Bill Frieder/Pac-10 leader)
82.7/2017-2018 (Bobby Hurley/Pac-12 leader)
79.6/1988-1989 (Steve Patterson)
79.3/1999-2000 (Rob Evans/Pac-10 leader)
79.3/1990-1991 (Bill Frieder)
79.2/1980-1981 (Ned Wulk/Pac-10 leader)
79.1/2018-19 (Bobby Hurley/current Pac-12 leader)
78.6/2016-2017 (Bobby Hurley)
HALFWAY: ASU started 6-3 in the Pac-12 for seventh time in its 41 years. It was 8-1 in 1979-80 and 1980-81 and was 6-3 in 2012-13, 1994-95, 1993-94 and 1992-93. ASU had a winning record at the halfway mark for just the sixth time in past 24 seasons.
YES, 20 BOARDS ON ROAD: Zylan Cheatham grabbed 20 rebounds at UCLA on Jan. 24, at the time the most by a Sun Devil since current Orlando Magic assistant coach Mike Batiste grabbed 20 on Nov. 19, 1997 vs. Wagner. Cheatham also put his name along some Pac-12 studs in terms of road game rebounding in the past 23 seasons.
20 REBOUNDS IN PAC-12 ROAD GAME(SINCE 1996-97/PAST 23 SEASONS)
21, Kevin Love, UCLA at Oregon State/Jan. 26, 2008
21, Tim Young, Stanford at Oregon (OT)/Jan. 16, 1997
20, Zylan Cheatham, Arizona State at UCLA/Jan. 24, 2019
20, Mike Moser, Oregon at UCLA (2 OT)/Feb. 27, 2014
20, Mark Madsen, Stanford at Washington/Feb. 26, 2000
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.
ROB OVER 1,000: Junior Rob Edwards played at Cleveland State from 2015-17, as he entered ASU with 909 points in 63 games (14.4 per game). He now has 1,074 career points (13.6 career average). Included in that is 37-of-43 (.860) from the free throw line this year and .772 (240-of-311) in his career along with 144 three pointers. He missed six games early and only scored 18 points in the first nine games (14 in opener and then the six DNPs) due to a back injury).
WINGSPAN:ASU has five players with wingspan of at least 6-11: 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).
PAC-12 POTW NOTE: 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). He became the fourth Sun Devil to earn Pac-12 Player of the Week this season. 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. 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. 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.
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
FTS: ASU has made some solid free throws late to seal wins...15-of-19 (.789) in the second half and overtime vs. Arizona...Rob Edwards hit two with 12 seconds left in 70-67 win over Oregon State to give ASU the three-point lead on Jan. 17...in come-from behind win at Cal, it was 13-of-16 in the second half...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…nine of final 11 in second half at Georgia…10-14 in final 4:03 vs. Utah State, including six straight in two-minute stretch after USU buckets…Remy Martin made two with 10 seconds left to make it five-point lead over Mississippi State as ASU made all six in second half...made 8-of-10 in second OT against CSF...ASU is 99-of-135 (.733) in past five games from the free throw line.
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.
20-POINT 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
22 vs. Washington State, Feb. 7, 2019
PLAYING FOLKS: Bobby Hurley has made the attempt to play some folks. In his first year after looking at an inherited schedule 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 this year 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)
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)
REFRESH: ASU's top three scorers are gone, but ASU returned six lettermen, a pair of high-level transfers and notched a top-20 recruiting class. Last year third-year coach Bobby Hurley 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.
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. 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. Seven of his top 11 career scoring games have been away from home.
REMY MARTIN 20+ SCORING GAMES
31 vs. Arizona (1/31/19)
24 at California (1/9/19)
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)
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
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 in the fall 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 / now 5-2 under Bobby Hurley
Averaged 80+ points twice in Pac-12 history / 82.7 last year led Pac-12
HALF: ASU has 19 wins (nine on the road) when trailing at the half under Bobby Hurley, after going 12-64 (.157) the previous five seasons. It did it seven times in 2017-18 and did it this year at Georgia, vs. No. 1 Kansas, at California and at UCLA.
19 HALFTIME DEFICIT WINS UNDER COACH HURLEY
(-1) @UCLA 44, ASU 43/Jan. 24, 2019/ASU 84, @UCLA 73
(-2) @California 35, ASU 33/Jan. 9, 2019/ASU 80, @California 66
(-8) #1 Kansas 39, #18 ASU 31/Dec. 22, 2018/#18 ASU 80, #1 Kansas 76
(-14) @Georgia 47, #20 ASU 33/Dec. 15, 2018/# 20 ASU 76, @Georgia 74
(-4) USC 37, ASU 33/Feb. 8, 2018/ASU 80, USC 77
(-1) Oregon State 34, ASU 33/Jan. 13, 2018/ASU 77, OSU 75
(-1) @Utah 36, ASU 35/Jan. 7, 2018/ASU 80, @Utah 77
(-3) @#2 Kansas 40, #16 ASU 37/Dec. 10, 2017/#16 ASU 95, @KU 85
(-2) #15 Xavier 46, ASU 44/Nov. 24, 2017/ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86
(-2) Kansas State 44, ASU 42/Nov. 23, 2017/ASU 92, KSU 90
(-6) SDSU 40, ASU 34/Nov. 14, 2017/ASU 90, SDSU 68
(-1) USC 48, ASU 47/Feb. 26, 2017/ASU 83, USC 82
(-2) @UW 41, ASU 39/Feb. 16, 2017/ASU 83, @UW 81
(-1) Stanford 33, ASU 32/Feb. 11, 2017/ASU 75, Stanford 69
(-7) @SDSU 32, ASU 25/Dec. 10, 2016/ASU 74, @SDSU 63
(-3) #23 USC 30, ASU 27/Feb. 12, 2016/ASU 74, USC 67
(-12) @UNLV 37, ASU 25/Dec. 16, 2015/ASU 66, @UNLV 56
(-8) @Creighton 41, ASU 33/Dec. 2, 2015/ASU 79, @Creighton 77
(-2) UCSB 29, ASU 27/Nov. 29, 2015/ASU 70, UCSB 6
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: 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 and now six of past eight
v 23 threes this year/3-15 last year
v 66-85 (.776) from FT line in career
v 6-11 1/2 wingspan
22: Zylan Cheatham had 22 rebounds (seven in overtime) vs. Arizona on Jan. 31, the most in Pac-12 game in the past 19 seasons and the most since Dave Bluthenthal grabbed 28 vs. Arizona State on Jan. 20, 2000.
13 QUICK SPARKY NOTES (13 FOR 2018 NBA MVP JAMES HARDEN)
v Zylan Cheatham is averaging 11.6 ppg, 11.1 rpg (Pac-12 leader) and 3.5 apg
v ASU ranks second in Pac-12 in FG% defense (.405)
v ASU is 99-of-135 from the FT line in its past five games (.733)
v In its six Pac-12 wins ASU had held opponents to .376 FGs after halftime (67-of-178)
v 5-3 in two-possession games this year after going 4-7 last year (12-16 previous 3 seasons)
v 19 halftime-deficit comebacks under Bobby Hurley (12 previous 5 seasons)
v Kansas was sixth top-10 OOC opponent Coach Hurley played, ASU faced one in previous 17 seasons
v Best approach vertical on team is Zylan Cheatham at 41.5 inches, Remy Martin not far behind at 40
v Seven Sun Devils have led the team in scoring this year
v De'Quon Lake has made 134-of-185 (.724) from the field in his two-year career
v Kimani Lawrence is 66-of-85 (.776) from the free throw line in his career
v Ranks fourth in the nation at 42.2 rebounds per game
v Has held nine opponents under 40 percent shooting (4 Pac-12 teams)
ZYLAN CHEATHAM 10+ REBOUND GAMES
22 vs. Arizona (1/31/19)
20 at UCLA (1/24/19)
16 vs. Washington State (2/7/19)
14 at USC (1/26/19)
14 at Vanderbilt (12/17/18)
13 vs. Oregon State (1/17/19)
13 vs. Texas Southern (12/1/18)
12 at Stanford (1/12/19)
12 vs. McNeese State (11/9/18)
12 vs. Nebraska-Omaa (11/28/18)
11 vs. Kansas (12/22/18)
10 vs. Nevada (12/7/18)
10 at Georgia (12/15/18)
REMY: Remy had his November and early December ruined by a bum ankle but check out his numbers from the past 14 games compared to first eight and digest some quick notes…only player with an 11-assist game in a Pac-12 road game this year (11 at UCLA)…one of seven Pac-12 players with 30 points in a league game this year (31 vs. Arizona)…ranks ninth in the league in three-point percentage in Pac-12 games at .418 (23-of-55)…10 made free throws vs. Arizona matches the most in a league tilt this year…leads league in A/TO ratio in conference games (68/20) at 3.4 and in assists per Pac-12 game (68 in 10 games/6.8 per game).
REMY MARTIN FIRST 8/PAST 13
FG: 18-55 (.327)/72-172 (.419)
3PT: 4-22 (.182)/25-70 (.357)
APG: 4.0/5.6
A-TO: 2:1/2.8:1
PPG: 10.5/14.2
20+ PT GAMES: 0/4
DUNKS: 0/2
ZYLAN NOTE: Heading into play this week there were only 18 players in who are averaging a double-double. Only two of those players were averaging three assists: Ethan Happ of Wisconsin and Zylan Cheatham.
REBOUNDING: ASU is outrebounding its opponents by a Pac-12 leading +6.6 boards per game (42.2/35.6), which is a 9.6 rebounds per game turnaround from two seasons ago. ASU only grabbed 32.6 boards per game in 2016-17, Coach Hurley's second season at ASU, and was outrebounded by 7.1 per game, dead last in the league by nearly three boards per tilt. ASU has never led the Pac-12 in rebounding margin.
DROPPING BUCKETS: ASU has been in the Pac-10/12 for more than four decades, but two of its top eight scoring teams have come in two of Bobby Hurley's first three seasons. ASU led the league in scoring last year at 82.7 points per game, third-best in school history. This year ASU is averaging 79.5, best in the Pac-12.
TOP SCORING SUN DEVIL TEAMS IN PAC-10/12 HISTORY
84.5/1997-1998 (Don Newman)
84.5/1992-1993 (Bill Frieder/Pac-10 leader)
82.7/2017-2018 (Bobby Hurley/Pac-12 leader)
79.6/1988-1989 (Steve Patterson)
79.3/1999-2000 (Rob Evans/Pac-10 leader)
79.3/1990-1991 (Bill Frieder)
79.2/1980-1981 (Ned Wulk/Pac-10 leader)
79.1/2018-19 (Bobby Hurley/current Pac-12 leader)
78.6/2016-2017 (Bobby Hurley)
HALFWAY: ASU started 6-3 in the Pac-12 for seventh time in its 41 years. It was 8-1 in 1979-80 and 1980-81 and was 6-3 in 2012-13, 1994-95, 1993-94 and 1992-93. ASU had a winning record at the halfway mark for just the sixth time in past 24 seasons.
YES, 20 BOARDS ON ROAD: Zylan Cheatham grabbed 20 rebounds at UCLA on Jan. 24, at the time the most by a Sun Devil since current Orlando Magic assistant coach Mike Batiste grabbed 20 on Nov. 19, 1997 vs. Wagner. Cheatham also put his name along some Pac-12 studs in terms of road game rebounding in the past 23 seasons.
20 REBOUNDS IN PAC-12 ROAD GAME(SINCE 1996-97/PAST 23 SEASONS)
21, Kevin Love, UCLA at Oregon State/Jan. 26, 2008
21, Tim Young, Stanford at Oregon (OT)/Jan. 16, 1997
20, Zylan Cheatham, Arizona State at UCLA/Jan. 24, 2019
20, Mike Moser, Oregon at UCLA (2 OT)/Feb. 27, 2014
20, Mark Madsen, Stanford at Washington/Feb. 26, 2000
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.
ROB OVER 1,000: Junior Rob Edwards played at Cleveland State from 2015-17, as he entered ASU with 909 points in 63 games (14.4 per game). He now has 1,074 career points (13.6 career average). Included in that is 37-of-43 (.860) from the free throw line this year and .772 (240-of-311) in his career along with 144 three pointers. He missed six games early and only scored 18 points in the first nine games (14 in opener and then the six DNPs) due to a back injury).
WINGSPAN:ASU has five players with wingspan of at least 6-11: 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).
PAC-12 POTW NOTE: 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). He became the fourth Sun Devil to earn Pac-12 Player of the Week this season. 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. 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. 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.
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
FTS: ASU has made some solid free throws late to seal wins...15-of-19 (.789) in the second half and overtime vs. Arizona...Rob Edwards hit two with 12 seconds left in 70-67 win over Oregon State to give ASU the three-point lead on Jan. 17...in come-from behind win at Cal, it was 13-of-16 in the second half...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…nine of final 11 in second half at Georgia…10-14 in final 4:03 vs. Utah State, including six straight in two-minute stretch after USU buckets…Remy Martin made two with 10 seconds left to make it five-point lead over Mississippi State as ASU made all six in second half...made 8-of-10 in second OT against CSF...ASU is 99-of-135 (.733) in past five games from the free throw line.
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.
20-POINT 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
22 vs. Washington State, Feb. 7, 2019
PLAYING FOLKS: Bobby Hurley has made the attempt to play some folks. In his first year after looking at an inherited schedule 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 this year 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)
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)
REFRESH: ASU's top three scorers are gone, but ASU returned six lettermen, a pair of high-level transfers and notched a top-20 recruiting class. Last year third-year coach Bobby Hurley 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.
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. 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. Seven of his top 11 career scoring games have been away from home.
REMY MARTIN 20+ SCORING GAMES
31 vs. Arizona (1/31/19)
24 at California (1/9/19)
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)
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
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 in the fall 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 / now 5-2 under Bobby Hurley
Averaged 80+ points twice in Pac-12 history / 82.7 last year led Pac-12
HALF: ASU has 19 wins (nine on the road) when trailing at the half under Bobby Hurley, after going 12-64 (.157) the previous five seasons. It did it seven times in 2017-18 and did it this year at Georgia, vs. No. 1 Kansas, at California and at UCLA.
19 HALFTIME DEFICIT WINS UNDER COACH HURLEY
(-1) @UCLA 44, ASU 43/Jan. 24, 2019/ASU 84, @UCLA 73
(-2) @California 35, ASU 33/Jan. 9, 2019/ASU 80, @California 66
(-8) #1 Kansas 39, #18 ASU 31/Dec. 22, 2018/#18 ASU 80, #1 Kansas 76
(-14) @Georgia 47, #20 ASU 33/Dec. 15, 2018/# 20 ASU 76, @Georgia 74
(-4) USC 37, ASU 33/Feb. 8, 2018/ASU 80, USC 77
(-1) Oregon State 34, ASU 33/Jan. 13, 2018/ASU 77, OSU 75
(-1) @Utah 36, ASU 35/Jan. 7, 2018/ASU 80, @Utah 77
(-3) @#2 Kansas 40, #16 ASU 37/Dec. 10, 2017/#16 ASU 95, @KU 85
(-2) #15 Xavier 46, ASU 44/Nov. 24, 2017/ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86
(-2) Kansas State 44, ASU 42/Nov. 23, 2017/ASU 92, KSU 90
(-6) SDSU 40, ASU 34/Nov. 14, 2017/ASU 90, SDSU 68
(-1) USC 48, ASU 47/Feb. 26, 2017/ASU 83, USC 82
(-2) @UW 41, ASU 39/Feb. 16, 2017/ASU 83, @UW 81
(-1) Stanford 33, ASU 32/Feb. 11, 2017/ASU 75, Stanford 69
(-7) @SDSU 32, ASU 25/Dec. 10, 2016/ASU 74, @SDSU 63
(-3) #23 USC 30, ASU 27/Feb. 12, 2016/ASU 74, USC 67
(-12) @UNLV 37, ASU 25/Dec. 16, 2015/ASU 66, @UNLV 56
(-8) @Creighton 41, ASU 33/Dec. 2, 2015/ASU 79, @Creighton 77
(-2) UCSB 29, ASU 27/Nov. 29, 2015/ASU 70, UCSB 6
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: 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 and now six of past eight
v 23 threes this year/3-15 last year
v 66-85 (.776) from FT line in career
v 6-11 1/2 wingspan