Head Coach Bobby Hurley's team will play in one of the toughest environments in the country, as the Mustangs boast a 51-16 record over the past five years at home, including a 17-1 record last season. This is the first of two consecutive non-conference games away from home against strong competition, with the Sun Devils taking on Creighton next Monday.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Tune-in to ESPN U at 7 PM MST to watch Sun Devil Men's Basketball take on SMU, as ASU makes another appearance on the ESPN family of networks. Kevin Brown (play-by-play) and Jon Crispin (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 ESPN 620 AM. The action can also be tracked via live stats available here.
8-1 START
Desmond Cambridge Jr. remained the constant, scoring 19 points to lead three Sun Devils in double figures en-route to a 68-64 victory over the Stanford Cardinal at Desert Financial Arena Sunday night. Arizona State held a double-digit lead in the first half and withstood a Stanford run in the second half to improve to 2-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign. The win moves Arizona State to 8-1, the best eight game start since the 2018-19 season, when the Sun Devils were also 8-1. That Sun Devil squad went 23-11 (12-6) and automatically qualified for the NCAA tournament.
RESUME BUILDER
Arizona State was ranked 35th in the first NET ranking, its highest debut since at least the 2019-20 season in the NCAA's ranking metric. The Sun Devils are ranked higher than preseason No. 1 North Carolina (39), Kentucky (42), and Oklahoma (46). One of the NET's key components is defensive efficiency and Arizona State is 16th in defensive efficiency nationally according to KenPom. The Sun Devils have more Quad 1 wins than West Virginia (11), UCLA (12), Utah State (15), Saint Mary's (16), Iowa (20), Auburn (21), Ohio State (28), and Missouri (34). Arizona State notched 20 votes in the AP Poll, its most this season and are unofficially ranked 30th by the Associated Press.
LOCKING IT DOWN
Arizona State has been one of the best defensive teams in the country through nine games, making it difficult on opponents to score. The Sun Devils rank fifth in the nation holding opponents to just 36.4% shooting from the field, Only one opponent has shot over 40% in a game against ASU and a team has yet to score more than 70 points, including an overtime contest.
CLOSE GAMES
Coach Hurley's team has played in a two-possession game in five of its first nine contests, boasting a 4-1 record. Thanks to two-straight tight victories, the Sun Devils are now 27-12 in two possession games over the last three seasons, the second-most wins in the Pac-12 during that span.
THREE POINT DEFENSE
The Sun Devils three-point defense has been exceptional this season. Opponents are shooting 47-187 (25%) overall from three point range against ASU including 20-84 (23.8%) in the first half.
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 71.8 points per game and five different Sun Devils are averaging at least 10.0 points per game or more (D.J. Horne, Frankie Collins, Marcus Bagley, Desmond Cambridge Jr., Devan Cambridge). Ten different individuals average at least 3.0 points per game and nine have scored in double figures in at least one game. Five different players have led the Sun Devils in scoring in at least one game.
BLOCK PARTY
Arizona State continues to find themselves near the top of the national rankings in blocks per game, averaging 5.8. The Sun Devils had nine blocks in the November victory over Alcorn State, and have five games with six blocks or more. 11 players have recorded at least one block this season, led by Warren Washington's 17. ASU's ranks 14th nationally in blocks per game.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Freshman Austin Nunez and Duke Brennan have made an immediate impact in Tempe and continue to come through with crucial contributions . The duo was not phased by the significance of the Legends Classic, teaming up to produce 34 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal in 72 minutes of combined action. Through nine games, Nunez and Brennan are averaging 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists in 26.7 minutes while adding seven blocks and eight steals.
Arizona State has won all four previous meetings with SMU, with their last matchup coming in 1995.
ASU vs. SMU Series Breakdown
ASU 62, SMU 58 (Dec. 29, 1995)
ASU 68, SMU 58 (Dec. 22, 1993)
ASU 89, SMU 79 (Nov. 24, 1990)
#19 ASU 88, SMU 85 (Dec. 12, 1975)
GET TICKETS
Want to see one of the nation's best defensive teams in action? Have an itch to watch some high-flying dunks? How about a team building momentum? Well you are in luck! The remainder of tickets for Sun Devil Men's Basketball home games are now on sale. You can have an impact on our home-court advantage. Plenty of options are still available, but you must act soon. The last chance to purchase season tickets is Dec. 4. Six-Game mini plans are still available, starting at only $90. Group ticket packages are a great option for parties of 15 or more. Get more information on all of our different packages by calling the Ticket Sales and Service team at 480-965-5812 or sundeviltickets@asu.edu.
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