The @SunDevilHoops squad clinched a first-round bye at the Pac-12 Tournament and notched its third straight 20-win season for just the third time in school history with an action-filled 83-74 win over Washington State on Saturday at Desert Financial Arena.
Alonzo Verge Jr. did what he has done all year -- come off the bench to get buckets -- as his 20 points and seven rebounds led the way for ASU who also got 18 points and six assists from Remy Martin and 10 points from Romello White.
"I'm really proud of our grit, toughness and resiliency -- all the things that we've been talking about probably since after we lost to Washington State at Washington State. It kind of come full circle back to Washington State, it is funny how things work," said Sun Devil head coach Bobby Hurley. "Having the adversity knowing we've lost a couple of games against some really good teams we bounced back. It has been an amazing journey to coach Mickey Mitchell and Rob Edwards, they have really been great kids for the program and have elevated the program significantly by not only their play but their attitude, and their work ethic and their habits and I hope the younger guys are watching those guys as they go about their business and how they conduct themselves. You saw it on the floor today, Mickey in the first half with a big offensive rebound to Remy who needed to hit a shot to get himself going and I thought that was a really good play for Mickey. Also, we just couldn't score and Mickey went in there and was tough and got the ball and scored on the putback and I thought that got us back in the flow of offense just seeing the ball go through the basket one time. Rob, he was saddled with some fouls, but he guarded Elleby quite a bit and did a great job guarding him and hit the big three in the corner to put us up five late in the game so it's fitting that these two players had their imprints all over a huge game that was needed."
ASU led by 17 with 10:37 left but WSU came back to tie the game at 65 with 3:26 remaining. Verge hit a three, and then WSU tied it up at 68 again. Martin hit a jumper with 2:37 left, WSU missed the front end of a one-on-one and Rob Edwards hit a three with 1:35 to give the Sun Devil some breathing room.
ASU made all 10 free throws in the second half and was 20-of-25 (.800) for the game.
With records of 23-11 in 2018-19 and 20-12 in 2017-18, ASU clinched its third straight 20-win season, something it has done just twice prior.
In James Harden's first two seasons ASU went 21-13 (2007-08) and 25-10 (2008-09) and then went 22-11 in 2009-10. You have to go back to 1960-63 for the only other time in ASU history for it to happen, as ASU went 23-6 in 1960-61, 23-4 in 1961-62 and 26-3 in 1962-63 behind another Olympic Gold Medalist, Jumpin' Joe Caldwell.
SUN DEVIL THREE STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS
2019-20: 20-11
2018-19: 23-11
2017-18: 20-12
2009-10: 22-11
2008-09: 25-10
2007-08: 21-13/9-9
1962-63: 26-3
1961-62: 23-4
1960-61: 23-6
ALONZO VERGE TOP SCORING GAMES
43 vs. St. Mary's (12/18/19)
26 vs. #14 Oregon (2/20/20)
26 vs. UCLA (2/6/20)
23 vs. Texas Southern (12/28/19)
22 at California (2/16/20)
20 vs. Washington State (3/7/20)
20 vs. Prairie View A&M (12/11/19)
19 vs. Washington (3/5/20)
19 at Stanford (2/13/20)
19 vs. Creighton (12/21/19)
18 at Washington (2/1/20)
17 vs. Oregon State (2/22/20)
16 vs. USC (2/8/20)
15 vs. Georgia (12/14/19)
13 vs. Arizona (1/25/20)
ASU HEAD COACH BOBBY HURLEY
"I'm really proud of our grit, toughness, resiliency, all the things that we've been talking about probably since after we lost to Washington State at Washington State it kind of come full circle back to Washington State it is funny how things work. Having the adversity knowing we've lost a couple of games against some really good teams we bounced back. It has been an amazing journey to coach Mickey Mitchell and Rob Edwards, they have really been great kids for the program and have elevated the program significantly by not only their play but their attitude, and their work ethic and their habits and I hope the younger guys are watching those guys as they go about their business and how they conduct themselves. You saw it on the floor today, Mickey in the first half with a big offensive rebound to Remy who needed to hit a shot to get himself going and I thought that was a really good play for Mickey. Also, we just couldn't score and Mickey went in there and was tough and got the ball and scored on the putback and I thought that got us back in the flow of offense just seeing the ball go through the basket one time. Rob, he was saddled with some fouls, but he guarded Elleby quite a bit and did a great job guarding him and hit the big three in the corner to put us up five late in the game so it's fitting that these two players had their imprints all over a huge game that was needed. I thought we showed a lot of guts and if you looked at the games today there is a lot of competitive games down to the wire and that's what you hope for because you are going to have to win those games in the postseason so great way to finish...get 20 wins again and 11 wins in the conference. I am really happy for our team, what we've been through and where we are now."
ON FIRST HALF BENCH PLAY
"We were juggling some different guys and I actually pointed that out to the team, most people look at the end of the game or the second half but in the first half I know just the minutes Jalen House, Graham didn't play a lot in the second half, Khalid not in the second half but those guys in the first half collectively did some really nice things for us when Rob was on the bench and Romello and Jalen Graham."
ON GETTING A FIRST-ROUND BYE AT PAC-12 TOURNAMENT
"I know Oregon did it last year but it's very difficult to win four straight days in an event with the physical and mental toll so I think it's a big advantage. Where we were going into that UCLA game I think we deserved to be in there so everything played out that we are in that position. I was just saying in the locker room I have more national championships than ACC tournament championships so it's not an easy thing."
ON REMY MARTIN
"I thought some of those threes that he hit were needed in the first half. There was one where he had a lot of passion and fire after he made it so it was just tremendous to see him hit a couple of shots. He's too good of a player not to for any extended period of time. We're kind of isolating one game so if people are attacking him they're just out of their mind. We forget how many games that guy has helped Arizona State basketball win and he had thirty points at UCLA in a game we lost at the buzzer, so it's not like he's been playing bad for a few games this was just kind of one situation. He handled it well and he made his free throws for us late too and did a great job."
ON ASU'S TOURNAMENT HOPES
"We haven't had one Quad 3 or Quad 4 loss. We have a number of Quad 1 and Quad 2 wins so I can't say 100 percent but I imagine we are. We've had a great year, been a great story, we have one of the most dynamic players in college basketball that the country should get a chance to see and Remy wants that stage. If they voted for Pac-12 player of the Year before we went to UCLA, people would have a hard time not giving him the award, that's how good he's been. So yeah, I think that we're in, but now we have to go and perform and try to win a championship."
Alonzo Verge Jr. did what he has done all year -- come off the bench to get buckets -- as his 20 points and seven rebounds led the way for ASU who also got 18 points and six assists from Remy Martin and 10 points from Romello White.
"I'm really proud of our grit, toughness and resiliency -- all the things that we've been talking about probably since after we lost to Washington State at Washington State. It kind of come full circle back to Washington State, it is funny how things work," said Sun Devil head coach Bobby Hurley. "Having the adversity knowing we've lost a couple of games against some really good teams we bounced back. It has been an amazing journey to coach Mickey Mitchell and Rob Edwards, they have really been great kids for the program and have elevated the program significantly by not only their play but their attitude, and their work ethic and their habits and I hope the younger guys are watching those guys as they go about their business and how they conduct themselves. You saw it on the floor today, Mickey in the first half with a big offensive rebound to Remy who needed to hit a shot to get himself going and I thought that was a really good play for Mickey. Also, we just couldn't score and Mickey went in there and was tough and got the ball and scored on the putback and I thought that got us back in the flow of offense just seeing the ball go through the basket one time. Rob, he was saddled with some fouls, but he guarded Elleby quite a bit and did a great job guarding him and hit the big three in the corner to put us up five late in the game so it's fitting that these two players had their imprints all over a huge game that was needed."
ASU led by 17 with 10:37 left but WSU came back to tie the game at 65 with 3:26 remaining. Verge hit a three, and then WSU tied it up at 68 again. Martin hit a jumper with 2:37 left, WSU missed the front end of a one-on-one and Rob Edwards hit a three with 1:35 to give the Sun Devil some breathing room.
ASU made all 10 free throws in the second half and was 20-of-25 (.800) for the game.
With records of 23-11 in 2018-19 and 20-12 in 2017-18, ASU clinched its third straight 20-win season, something it has done just twice prior.
In James Harden's first two seasons ASU went 21-13 (2007-08) and 25-10 (2008-09) and then went 22-11 in 2009-10. You have to go back to 1960-63 for the only other time in ASU history for it to happen, as ASU went 23-6 in 1960-61, 23-4 in 1961-62 and 26-3 in 1962-63 behind another Olympic Gold Medalist, Jumpin' Joe Caldwell.
SUN DEVIL THREE STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS
2019-20: 20-11
2018-19: 23-11
2017-18: 20-12
2009-10: 22-11
2008-09: 25-10
2007-08: 21-13/9-9
1962-63: 26-3
1961-62: 23-4
1960-61: 23-6
ALONZO VERGE TOP SCORING GAMES
43 vs. St. Mary's (12/18/19)
26 vs. #14 Oregon (2/20/20)
26 vs. UCLA (2/6/20)
23 vs. Texas Southern (12/28/19)
22 at California (2/16/20)
20 vs. Washington State (3/7/20)
20 vs. Prairie View A&M (12/11/19)
19 vs. Washington (3/5/20)
19 at Stanford (2/13/20)
19 vs. Creighton (12/21/19)
18 at Washington (2/1/20)
17 vs. Oregon State (2/22/20)
16 vs. USC (2/8/20)
15 vs. Georgia (12/14/19)
13 vs. Arizona (1/25/20)
ASU HEAD COACH BOBBY HURLEY
"I'm really proud of our grit, toughness, resiliency, all the things that we've been talking about probably since after we lost to Washington State at Washington State it kind of come full circle back to Washington State it is funny how things work. Having the adversity knowing we've lost a couple of games against some really good teams we bounced back. It has been an amazing journey to coach Mickey Mitchell and Rob Edwards, they have really been great kids for the program and have elevated the program significantly by not only their play but their attitude, and their work ethic and their habits and I hope the younger guys are watching those guys as they go about their business and how they conduct themselves. You saw it on the floor today, Mickey in the first half with a big offensive rebound to Remy who needed to hit a shot to get himself going and I thought that was a really good play for Mickey. Also, we just couldn't score and Mickey went in there and was tough and got the ball and scored on the putback and I thought that got us back in the flow of offense just seeing the ball go through the basket one time. Rob, he was saddled with some fouls, but he guarded Elleby quite a bit and did a great job guarding him and hit the big three in the corner to put us up five late in the game so it's fitting that these two players had their imprints all over a huge game that was needed. I thought we showed a lot of guts and if you looked at the games today there is a lot of competitive games down to the wire and that's what you hope for because you are going to have to win those games in the postseason so great way to finish...get 20 wins again and 11 wins in the conference. I am really happy for our team, what we've been through and where we are now."
ON FIRST HALF BENCH PLAY
"We were juggling some different guys and I actually pointed that out to the team, most people look at the end of the game or the second half but in the first half I know just the minutes Jalen House, Graham didn't play a lot in the second half, Khalid not in the second half but those guys in the first half collectively did some really nice things for us when Rob was on the bench and Romello and Jalen Graham."
ON GETTING A FIRST-ROUND BYE AT PAC-12 TOURNAMENT
"I know Oregon did it last year but it's very difficult to win four straight days in an event with the physical and mental toll so I think it's a big advantage. Where we were going into that UCLA game I think we deserved to be in there so everything played out that we are in that position. I was just saying in the locker room I have more national championships than ACC tournament championships so it's not an easy thing."
ON REMY MARTIN
"I thought some of those threes that he hit were needed in the first half. There was one where he had a lot of passion and fire after he made it so it was just tremendous to see him hit a couple of shots. He's too good of a player not to for any extended period of time. We're kind of isolating one game so if people are attacking him they're just out of their mind. We forget how many games that guy has helped Arizona State basketball win and he had thirty points at UCLA in a game we lost at the buzzer, so it's not like he's been playing bad for a few games this was just kind of one situation. He handled it well and he made his free throws for us late too and did a great job."
ON ASU'S TOURNAMENT HOPES
"We haven't had one Quad 3 or Quad 4 loss. We have a number of Quad 1 and Quad 2 wins so I can't say 100 percent but I imagine we are. We've had a great year, been a great story, we have one of the most dynamic players in college basketball that the country should get a chance to see and Remy wants that stage. If they voted for Pac-12 player of the Year before we went to UCLA, people would have a hard time not giving him the award, that's how good he's been. So yeah, I think that we're in, but now we have to go and perform and try to win a championship."