THIS IS MARCH: The Arizona State Sun Devils (21-9; 12-6) -- who advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 last year and just the fourth time in 24 seasons -- hits the road to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament as the No. 2 seed. ASU will face either Stanford or UCLA on Thursday, March 14, at 6 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network with Ted Robinson, Bill Walton and Lewis Johnson on the call. ASU enters the Pac-12 Tournament with an 11-5 mark in Quad 1 & 2 games, including Quad 1 wins over Kansas in Tempe and Mountain West co-champ Utah State and Mississippi State in Las Vegas, as Rob Edwards missed both Las Vegas wins with a back injury.
NOT TAKING THIS FOR GRANTED: ASU finished second in the Pac-12 standings for just the fourth time in its 41-year Pac-10/12 history, as it also finished second in 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
MARCH CHATTER: This time of the year brings people chirping about Quads and bubbles, so here is one on ASU: its 11 wins and 11-5 (.667) mark vs. Quads 1&2 is the best by any team projected as a 10-12 seed. Also, it is hard to find many in the same boat with an OOC SOS of 42.
13 QUICK SPARKY NOTES (IN HONOR OF 2018 NBA MVP JAMES HARDEN)
v 11-5 mark in Quad 1&2 games
v Quad 1 wins over Kansas State, Utah State and Mississippi State
v Second in the Pac-12 in scoring (77.7)
v Second in Pac-12 in FG% defense (.411)
v Leads league in offensive rebounds per game (12.2)
v Has held 13 opponents under 40 percent shooting (8 Pac-12 games)/12-1 in those games
v Zylan Cheatham is averaging 11.6 ppg, 10.4 rpg (Pac-12 leader) and 3.3 apg
v 6-4 in two-possession games this year after going 4-7 last year (12-16 previous 3 seasons)
v 21 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 Remy Martin leads P12 with 2.7 A/TO; second at 5.2 assists per game
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
ALL-PAC-12: Luguentz Dort earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, second-team All-Pac-12 and All-Defense team, Zylan Cheatham earned first-team and All-Defense and Remy Martin earned second-team All-Pac-12 in a vote of the league's coaches. Dort joins Jahii Carson (Co-Freshman of the Year in 2012-13), Ike Diogu (2002-03), Jamal Faulkner (1990-91) and Byron Scott (1979-80) as Sun Devils to win FOY. Cheatham and Dort become just the third and fourth Sun Devils to earn a spot on the All-Defense team since it was created in 2007-08, as Jordan Bachynski (2013-14 Defensive Player of the Year along with 2012-13 selection) did it twice along with Carrick Felix in 2012-13.
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.
ATTENDANCE: Last year ASU averaged a school-record 10,603 fans, as the 4,103 extra bodies from 2016-17 to 2017-18 was the second-best increase in all of college hoops. This year 168,602 entered "The Bank" -- the nickname student broadcaster Braiden Bell tagged Wells Fargo Arena last year -- an average of 10,538, second-best in school history.
SWEEPS: ASU had two-game sweeps of Arizona (first since 2008-09), Oregon State (first since 2009-10) and Cal (second straight). It marked first time ASU had swept three teams since sweeping four in 2009-10.
REMY:Remy had his November and early December ruined by a bum ankle but check out his numbers after first eight games and digest some quick notes. He was the only player with an 11-assist game in a Pac-12 road game this year (11 at UCLA) and his 10 made free throws vs. Arizona matched the most in a league tilt.
REMY FIRST 8/PAST 22
FG: 18-55 (.327)/110-258 (.426)
3PT: 4-22 (.182)/37-107 (.345)
APG: 4.0/5.2
A-TO: 2:1/2.8:1
PPG: 10.5/13.3
20+ PT GAMES: 0/5
DUNKS: 0/2
Z NOTE: Zylan Cheatham has 12 double-doubles – but is five points and five rebounds shy of EIGHTmore. He needed one more point and one more rebound vs. Washington, one more point at UCLA and at Vanderbilt, two more points vs. Cal and one more rebound fourtimes (vs. Oregon, MSU, Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton).
FTS: ASU has made timley free throws to seal wins...20-of-24 (.833) at Utah, including 17-of-19 (.895) in second half...15-of-19 (.789) in second half and overtime vs. UA...Rob Edwards hit two with 12 seconds left in 70-67 win over OSU to give ASU the three-point lead on Jan. 17...come-from behind win at Cal, 13-of-16 in 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 MSU as ASU made all six in second half...8-of-10 in second OT against CSF.
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).
REBOUNDING: ASU is outrebounding its opponents by +4.8 boards per game (40.1/35.3), which is a 7.5 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, but has outrebounded 21 of 30 opponents this year after doing so just 14 times in 32 games last year. Zylan Cheatham's is averaging 11.8 boards in his past 19 contests. His 17 double-figure rebounding games is tied for the Pac-12 lead and he leads the league with 10.5 caroms per contest.He averaged 10.6 rebounds in Pac-12 play, best in the league.
DORT: Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Luguentz Dort's 53 points in first two games (28 vs. CSF and 25 vs. McNeese State) were the third-most by a Pac-12 freshman in his first two career games since 1996-97. Only Markelle Fulz (65 in 2016-17) and Tajuan Porter (55 in 2006-07) had more in the past 23 seasons.
FWIW LUGUENTZ DORT PHYSICAL STUFF
HT: 6-4
WT: 215
WINGSPAN: 6-8.75
BORN: April of 1999
STANDING VERTICAL: 34" (tied for best on team with De'Quon Lake)
APPROACH VERTICAL: 39" (third on team behind Zylan at 41.5 and Remy at 40)
MOST POINTS BY A SUN DEVIL FRESHMAN
35, Mario Bennett vs. #5 Arizona, Feb. 20, 1992
34, Jahii Carson vs. Stanford @Pac-12 Tournament (Las Vegas), Mar. 13, 2013
33, Luguentz Dort vs. Utah State @Las Vegas, Nov. 21, 2018
ROB EDWARDS: In the first nine games, Rob Edwards played in just three due to back injury and went scoreless in two. 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). Many didn't notice because ASU was 6-0, and two of the wins were very impressive (current Quad 1 victories Mississippi State and Utah State). In the 22 games since he is shooting 42-of-109 (.385) from three, made 53-of-67 (.791) free throws and is averaging 11.3 points. He dropped buckets in some big wins, with 15 off the bench vs. #1 Kansas, 19 vs. Arizona, 28 at Utah and 13 at Oregon State. He played at Cleveland State from 2015-17, as he entered ASU with 909 points in 63 games (14.4 ppg.). He has 1,174 career points (1357 average). Included in that is 57-of-71 (.803) from the free throw line this year and .767 (260-of-339) in his career along with 156 three pointers.
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 He is just the second Pac-10/12 player to notch two 20-rebound league games since UA/ASU joined the Pac-10 back in the summer of 1978.
20-REBOUND PAC-12 GAMES INONE SEASON (1978-79 TO PRESENT)
Zylan Cheatham, ASU (22 vs. UA, 1/31/19; 20 at UCLA, 1/24/19)
Mark McNamara, Cal (22 at UA on 1/30/82; 20 at UW, 1/16/82)
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 since it joined 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)
78.6/2016-2017 (Bobby Hurley)
77.7/2018-19 (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.
20 ROAD CAROMS: 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
HALF: ASU has 21 wins (10 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, at UCLA, vs. Cal and at Oregon State.
21 HALFTIME DEFICIT WINS UNDER COACH HURLEY
(-7) @Oregon State 37, ASU 30/Mar. 3, 2019/ASU 74, @Oregon State 71
(-6) California 34, ASU 28/Feb. 24, 2019/ASU 69, California 59
(-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 67
REMY!!!: The Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year returned for first time since 1987 in 2017-18 and freshman Remy Martin shared the award with CU's Devon Collier. 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. 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.
REMY MARTIN 20+ SCORING GAMES
31 vs. Arizona (1/31/19)
27 at Arizona (3/9/19)
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)
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: ASU topped then No. 1 Kansas 80-76 on Dec. 22 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. Zylan Cheatham (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. 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 (8)
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. California, Feb. 24, 2019
22 vs. Washington State, Feb. 7, 2019
21 at Colorado, Feb. 13, 2019
20 at Oregon State, Mar. 3, 2019
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
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)
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.
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, #1 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)
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
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
20: ASU won 20 straight regular season OOC games, the sixth-best Pac-12 streak in past 23 seasons, prior to its 72-66 Dec. 7 loss to Nevada.
REGULAR SEASON PAC-12 OOCWIN STREAKS (1996-PRESENT)
39, Arizona, 12/20/11-12/19/14 (5 over ranked teams)
26, Stanford, 11/11/99-11/24/01 (3 over ranked teams)
24, Washington, 12/5/04-12/4/06 (2 over ranked teams)
23, USC, 12/3/15-11/22/17 (0 over ranked teams)
21, Washington State, 12/5/06-11/29/08 (2 over ranked teams)
20, Arizona State, 12/17/16-12/7/18 (3 over ranked teams)
7-0: ASU started 7-0 for the second time in the past 38 seasons -- but for the second year in a row. ASU had not been 7-0 since 1980-81 (Byron Scott and Fat Lever) but has done it in the past two seasons.
BEST STARTS IN ASU HISTORY
12-0/2017-18 (Bobby Hurley)
9-0/1974-75 (Ned Wulk)
7-0/2018-19 (Bobby Hurley)
7-0/1980-81 (Ned Wulk)
SAME: 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.
ASU TOP ASSIST ROAD GAMES (1996-97/PAST 23 SEASONS)
12, Jason Braxton at USC (Jan. 17, 2004)
12, Ahlon Lewis at UCLA (Mar. 5, 1998)
11, Remy Martin at UCLA (Jan. 24, 2019)
10, James Harden at Stanford (Jan. 2, 2009)
NOT TAKING THIS FOR GRANTED: ASU finished second in the Pac-12 standings for just the fourth time in its 41-year Pac-10/12 history, as it also finished second in 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
MARCH CHATTER: This time of the year brings people chirping about Quads and bubbles, so here is one on ASU: its 11 wins and 11-5 (.667) mark vs. Quads 1&2 is the best by any team projected as a 10-12 seed. Also, it is hard to find many in the same boat with an OOC SOS of 42.
13 QUICK SPARKY NOTES (IN HONOR OF 2018 NBA MVP JAMES HARDEN)
v 11-5 mark in Quad 1&2 games
v Quad 1 wins over Kansas State, Utah State and Mississippi State
v Second in the Pac-12 in scoring (77.7)
v Second in Pac-12 in FG% defense (.411)
v Leads league in offensive rebounds per game (12.2)
v Has held 13 opponents under 40 percent shooting (8 Pac-12 games)/12-1 in those games
v Zylan Cheatham is averaging 11.6 ppg, 10.4 rpg (Pac-12 leader) and 3.3 apg
v 6-4 in two-possession games this year after going 4-7 last year (12-16 previous 3 seasons)
v 21 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 Remy Martin leads P12 with 2.7 A/TO; second at 5.2 assists per game
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
ALL-PAC-12: Luguentz Dort earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, second-team All-Pac-12 and All-Defense team, Zylan Cheatham earned first-team and All-Defense and Remy Martin earned second-team All-Pac-12 in a vote of the league's coaches. Dort joins Jahii Carson (Co-Freshman of the Year in 2012-13), Ike Diogu (2002-03), Jamal Faulkner (1990-91) and Byron Scott (1979-80) as Sun Devils to win FOY. Cheatham and Dort become just the third and fourth Sun Devils to earn a spot on the All-Defense team since it was created in 2007-08, as Jordan Bachynski (2013-14 Defensive Player of the Year along with 2012-13 selection) did it twice along with Carrick Felix in 2012-13.
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.
ATTENDANCE: Last year ASU averaged a school-record 10,603 fans, as the 4,103 extra bodies from 2016-17 to 2017-18 was the second-best increase in all of college hoops. This year 168,602 entered "The Bank" -- the nickname student broadcaster Braiden Bell tagged Wells Fargo Arena last year -- an average of 10,538, second-best in school history.
SWEEPS: ASU had two-game sweeps of Arizona (first since 2008-09), Oregon State (first since 2009-10) and Cal (second straight). It marked first time ASU had swept three teams since sweeping four in 2009-10.
REMY:Remy had his November and early December ruined by a bum ankle but check out his numbers after first eight games and digest some quick notes. He was the only player with an 11-assist game in a Pac-12 road game this year (11 at UCLA) and his 10 made free throws vs. Arizona matched the most in a league tilt.
REMY FIRST 8/PAST 22
FG: 18-55 (.327)/110-258 (.426)
3PT: 4-22 (.182)/37-107 (.345)
APG: 4.0/5.2
A-TO: 2:1/2.8:1
PPG: 10.5/13.3
20+ PT GAMES: 0/5
DUNKS: 0/2
Z NOTE: Zylan Cheatham has 12 double-doubles – but is five points and five rebounds shy of EIGHTmore. He needed one more point and one more rebound vs. Washington, one more point at UCLA and at Vanderbilt, two more points vs. Cal and one more rebound fourtimes (vs. Oregon, MSU, Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton).
FTS: ASU has made timley free throws to seal wins...20-of-24 (.833) at Utah, including 17-of-19 (.895) in second half...15-of-19 (.789) in second half and overtime vs. UA...Rob Edwards hit two with 12 seconds left in 70-67 win over OSU to give ASU the three-point lead on Jan. 17...come-from behind win at Cal, 13-of-16 in 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 MSU as ASU made all six in second half...8-of-10 in second OT against CSF.
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).
REBOUNDING: ASU is outrebounding its opponents by +4.8 boards per game (40.1/35.3), which is a 7.5 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, but has outrebounded 21 of 30 opponents this year after doing so just 14 times in 32 games last year. Zylan Cheatham's is averaging 11.8 boards in his past 19 contests. His 17 double-figure rebounding games is tied for the Pac-12 lead and he leads the league with 10.5 caroms per contest.He averaged 10.6 rebounds in Pac-12 play, best in the league.
DORT: Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Luguentz Dort's 53 points in first two games (28 vs. CSF and 25 vs. McNeese State) were the third-most by a Pac-12 freshman in his first two career games since 1996-97. Only Markelle Fulz (65 in 2016-17) and Tajuan Porter (55 in 2006-07) had more in the past 23 seasons.
FWIW LUGUENTZ DORT PHYSICAL STUFF
HT: 6-4
WT: 215
WINGSPAN: 6-8.75
BORN: April of 1999
STANDING VERTICAL: 34" (tied for best on team with De'Quon Lake)
APPROACH VERTICAL: 39" (third on team behind Zylan at 41.5 and Remy at 40)
MOST POINTS BY A SUN DEVIL FRESHMAN
35, Mario Bennett vs. #5 Arizona, Feb. 20, 1992
34, Jahii Carson vs. Stanford @Pac-12 Tournament (Las Vegas), Mar. 13, 2013
33, Luguentz Dort vs. Utah State @Las Vegas, Nov. 21, 2018
ROB EDWARDS: In the first nine games, Rob Edwards played in just three due to back injury and went scoreless in two. 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). Many didn't notice because ASU was 6-0, and two of the wins were very impressive (current Quad 1 victories Mississippi State and Utah State). In the 22 games since he is shooting 42-of-109 (.385) from three, made 53-of-67 (.791) free throws and is averaging 11.3 points. He dropped buckets in some big wins, with 15 off the bench vs. #1 Kansas, 19 vs. Arizona, 28 at Utah and 13 at Oregon State. He played at Cleveland State from 2015-17, as he entered ASU with 909 points in 63 games (14.4 ppg.). He has 1,174 career points (1357 average). Included in that is 57-of-71 (.803) from the free throw line this year and .767 (260-of-339) in his career along with 156 three pointers.
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 He is just the second Pac-10/12 player to notch two 20-rebound league games since UA/ASU joined the Pac-10 back in the summer of 1978.
20-REBOUND PAC-12 GAMES INONE SEASON (1978-79 TO PRESENT)
Zylan Cheatham, ASU (22 vs. UA, 1/31/19; 20 at UCLA, 1/24/19)
Mark McNamara, Cal (22 at UA on 1/30/82; 20 at UW, 1/16/82)
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 since it joined 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)
78.6/2016-2017 (Bobby Hurley)
77.7/2018-19 (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.
20 ROAD CAROMS: 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
HALF: ASU has 21 wins (10 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, at UCLA, vs. Cal and at Oregon State.
21 HALFTIME DEFICIT WINS UNDER COACH HURLEY
(-7) @Oregon State 37, ASU 30/Mar. 3, 2019/ASU 74, @Oregon State 71
(-6) California 34, ASU 28/Feb. 24, 2019/ASU 69, California 59
(-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 67
REMY!!!: The Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year returned for first time since 1987 in 2017-18 and freshman Remy Martin shared the award with CU's Devon Collier. 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. 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.
REMY MARTIN 20+ SCORING GAMES
31 vs. Arizona (1/31/19)
27 at Arizona (3/9/19)
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)
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: ASU topped then No. 1 Kansas 80-76 on Dec. 22 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. Zylan Cheatham (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. 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 (8)
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. California, Feb. 24, 2019
22 vs. Washington State, Feb. 7, 2019
21 at Colorado, Feb. 13, 2019
20 at Oregon State, Mar. 3, 2019
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
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)
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.
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, #1 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)
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
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
20: ASU won 20 straight regular season OOC games, the sixth-best Pac-12 streak in past 23 seasons, prior to its 72-66 Dec. 7 loss to Nevada.
REGULAR SEASON PAC-12 OOCWIN STREAKS (1996-PRESENT)
39, Arizona, 12/20/11-12/19/14 (5 over ranked teams)
26, Stanford, 11/11/99-11/24/01 (3 over ranked teams)
24, Washington, 12/5/04-12/4/06 (2 over ranked teams)
23, USC, 12/3/15-11/22/17 (0 over ranked teams)
21, Washington State, 12/5/06-11/29/08 (2 over ranked teams)
20, Arizona State, 12/17/16-12/7/18 (3 over ranked teams)
7-0: ASU started 7-0 for the second time in the past 38 seasons -- but for the second year in a row. ASU had not been 7-0 since 1980-81 (Byron Scott and Fat Lever) but has done it in the past two seasons.
BEST STARTS IN ASU HISTORY
12-0/2017-18 (Bobby Hurley)
9-0/1974-75 (Ned Wulk)
7-0/2018-19 (Bobby Hurley)
7-0/1980-81 (Ned Wulk)
SAME: 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.
ASU TOP ASSIST ROAD GAMES (1996-97/PAST 23 SEASONS)
12, Jason Braxton at USC (Jan. 17, 2004)
12, Ahlon Lewis at UCLA (Mar. 5, 1998)
11, Remy Martin at UCLA (Jan. 24, 2019)
10, James Harden at Stanford (Jan. 2, 2009)