No. 25 Arizona State (11-1, 2-0) will make their first appearance at The War Memorial at the Sobrato Center since defeating the Dons 71-67 on the road back in 2019. The Maroon & Gold take on one last non-conference foe before playing 18-straight games against Pac-12 competition.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Tune-in to CBS Sports Network at 8 PM MST to watch Sun Devil Men's Basketball take on San Francisco. Rich Waltz (play-by-play) and Chris Walker (analyst) will be on the call. All 31 of Arizona State's games this season will be televised, with Coach Hurley's squad making appearances on ESPN, FOX, CBS, and Pac-12 Network in addition to several major network affiliates. Listen to Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. The action can also be tracked via live stats available here.
11-1 START
Five players scored in double-figures, paced by Desmond Cambridge Jr.'s 23 (18 in the first half), as the Arizona State men's basketball team extended their winning streak to nine in a 91-67 victory over the San Diego Toreros on Sunday. The Sun Devils used a 16-4 scoring stretch that circumvented halftime to pull away from San Diego after the Toreros had fought off a seven point disadvantage in the first half. ASU then went on a 18-2 stretch that finished with less than five minutes to play in regulation, moving ahead by 20 in the process and snapping any hopes of a San Diego comeback. Coach Hurley's squad moved to 11-1, the best start since 2017-18.
SUN DEVIL BEST STARTS (12 GAMES)
2022-23: 11-1 (2-0)
2017-18: 12-1 (12-0)
2008-09: 12-1 (4-0)
2004-05: 11-1 (2-0)
1974-75: 15-1 (9-0)
1962-63: 15-1 (5-0)
SEASON SNAPSHOT
On December 5, Arizona State opened the NET ranked 35th, its highest debut since at least the 2019-20 season in the NCAA's ranking metric. They have since risen to 23rd, including a road win since the NET's debut. The Sun Devils are ranked higher than...
- Preseason No. 1 North Carolina (24)
- Ohio State (25)
- Iowa (27)
- Kentucky (30)
- Iowa State (31)
- Maryland (32)
AT THE POLLS
The Sun Devils earned their first AP Rank on 12/19, earning the 25th spot. ASU has now been ranked in four of the eight seasons since Coach Hurley took over. The Sun Devils were ranked at some point in 2020-21, 2018-19 and 2017-18 (reaching No. 3) prior to reaching No. 25 in the Dec. 19 poll. Prior to Coach Hurley arriving in spring of 2015, ASU had reached the top 25 in two of the previous 20 seasons (1995-96 to 2014-15). This is the 17th individual season ASU has been ranked by the AP and second time in the last three years.
DOUBLE DOUBLES
Frankie Collins (12 points, 11 assists) and Devan Cambridge (13 points, 11 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles, the second and third of ASU's season. It is the first time Arizona State had two double-doubles in the same game since Dec. 19, 2021 vs. San Francisco.
LOCKING IT DOWN
Arizona State has been one of the best defensive teams in the country through 12 games, making it difficult on opponents to score. The Sun Devils rank 6th in the nation holding opponents to just 35.1% shooting from the field. Arizona State has held opponents under 60 points six times in their first 12 games. That is the most in the Pac-12. Ten of the first 12 Sun Devil opponents shot 40% or less from the field including five under 35%.
CLOSE CALLS
Coach Hurley's team has played in a two-possession game in six of its first 12 contests, boasting a 5-1 record. The Sun Devils are 29-14 in two possession games over the last four seasons, the most wins in the Division I during that span.
THREE POINT DEFENSE
The Sun Devils three-point defense has been exceptional this season. Opponents are now shooting 77-271 (28.4%) overall from three point range against ASU, the 30th-best mark in the country.
WILL-GUARD U
Through 12 games this season, opposing guards are shooting 135-430 (31.4%) from the field against the ASU defense. Opposing guards are also averaging 7.8 turnovers per game.
Devan Cambridge has been extremely effective shooting the rock as of late. In his last eight games, he is 37-53 (70%) from the floor while averaging 13.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
BALANCED SCORING
A signature of the Arizona State offense has been the different individuals stepping up at the offensive end. The Maroon & Gold are averaging 73,8 points per game and four different Sun Devils are averaging at least 10.8 points per game or more (D.J. Horne, Frankie Collins, Desmond Cambridge Jr., Devan Cambridge). No one on the team averages over 30 minutes. Arizona State has had three players - Desmond Cambridge Jr., Frankie Collins and DJ Horne - score at least 20 points twice. Arizona State is one of only two schools in the Pac-12 to have three guys score at least 20 points in a game this season (Arizona).
The Sun Devils had five players in double-figure scoring in the win over San Diego - Desmond Cambridge Jr. (23), Warren Washington (18), Devan Cambridge (13), Frankie Collins (12) and DJ Horne (10) - for the first time since Nov. 14, 2019 in a win over Central Connecticut State.
PROTECTING THE PAINT
Arizona State continues to find themselves near the top of the national rankings in blocks per game, averaging 5.5. 11 players have recorded at least one block this season, led by Warren Washington's 25. ASU ranks 17th nationally in blocks per game. Capitalizing on their presence inside, Arizona State has won the rebounding battle in four consecutive contests and eight of their 12 games. The Sun Devils have scored 352 of their 885 points inside the painted area. That's 40% of ASU's points coming from inside.
SHARING THE ROCK
ASU had 21 assists on 31 made shots, good for a 68% A/FGM ratio. It is the sixth time in the last seven games that the Sun Devils have had at least a 60% A/FGM ratio. That mark has not been achieved in six of seven games since the 2010-11 season. Frankie Collins continued his dominance dishing the basketball this season. He has led or tied the ASU lead in assists in all 11 games he's played and had a season-high 11 against the Toreros. He has at least five assists in each of his past seven games, combining for 44 during that stretch (6.3/game). His 11 assists are the most by a Sun Devil since Jan. 24, 2019.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
One of the NET's key components is defensive efficiency and Arizona State has been exceptional on the defensive end of the floor. ASU is sixth in the nation in defensive field goal percentage and 32nd in three point defensive field goal percentage. Their scoring defense is also 32nd in the country in that stretch and their defensive rebounds per game rank 16th.
MILESTONE WATCH
Desmond Cambridge Jr. currently ranks 8th in the NCAA with 1,975 career points in 124 games and is only 25 shy of the 2,000-point milestone. His 15.9 points/game rank 15th among active NCAA players. DJ Horne also has over 1,000 career points (1,160).
9-GAME WINNING STREAK
During their nine-game winning streak, Arizona State has outscored opponents by an average of 10.8 points per game and 673-543 overall. ASU is looking for their first 10-game win streak since 2018-19, which would be the seventh in program history.
CURRENT NCAA-BEST WIN STREAKS…
12, UConn
11, Mississippi State
11, New Mexico
11, Purdue
10, College of Charleston
10, Fordham
9, Arizona State
9, Florida Atlantic
9, Utah State
9, Boise State
LONGEST WINNING STREAKS
18 – 1962 (Dec 29 - Mar. 3)
12 – 2018 (Nov. 10 - Dec. 22)
11 – 1981 (Jan. 5 - Feb. 12)
11 – 1963 (Feb. 2 - Mar. 15
10 – 2008 (Dec. 5 - Jan. 17)
10 – 1963 (Dec. 21 - Jan. 17)
10 – 1961 (Dec. 30 - Feb. 13
36 TOTAL HALFTIME DEFICIT WINS UNDER COACH HURLEY
(8 over the past two seasons)
- A characteristic of Head Coach Bobby Hurley's teams have been the ability to come from behind and make adjustments following the halftime break.
- Arizona State has a total of 36 wins when trailing at the half, 17 of which have come on the road.
- They have added to that total twice in the past two weeks, making up a 38-23 halftime deficit to beat Colorado 60-59 in Boulder followed by a 75-57 win at SMU after trailing 33-28 at the break.
2022-23 (3)
(-5) SMU 33, ASU 28/Dec. 7, 2022/ ASU 75, SMU 57
(-15) Colorado 38, ASU 23/Dec. 1, 2022/ASU 60, Colorado 59
(-7) VCU 35, ASU 28/Nov. 16, 2022/ASU 63, VCU 59
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