Earlier in the month, the Sun Devils earned a sweep of the Huskies and Cougars at Desert Financial Arena. Head Coach Bobby Hurley's team now returns that trip in the same month at the midway point of the Pac-12 Conference season.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The Sun Devil Men's Basketball game against Washington will be broadcasted on ESPNU on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 9 PM MST. Roxy Bernstein (pxp) and Corey Williams (analyst) are 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 KTAR-AM. The action can also be tracked via live stats accessed here.
LAST MEETING
Backed by a career night from Jamiya Neal and Devan Cambridge, the Arizona State men's basketball team defeated the Washington Huskies at Desert Financial Arena on Jan. 8. Neal notched 14 points and 12 rebounds - just the second double-double of the Sun Devil season - while Cambridge scored a game-high 18 points. ASU also saw a significant contribution from Warren Washington (seven points, 12 rebounds) and Desmond Cambridge Jr., who surpassed 2,000 career points.
SEASON SNAPSHOT
The Arizona State men's basketball team is off to a 15-5 (6-3) start and has put themselves in prime contention for a postseason berth. It's the first time ASU is 15-5 since the 2017-18 season. In fact, it is just the eighth time with 15-or-more wins through the team's first 20 games in the last 50 years.
Coach Hurley has already taken Arizona State to the NCAA Tournament twice -- and a third one was on the way in 2019-20 before COVID happened and constructed a schedule that has already and will continue to test his team. Here is a snapshot of the Sun Devils' season through 20 games, including a nine-game win streak, four road wins and three Quad 1 victories...
RECORD: 15-5 (best start since 2017-18)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 6-3 (4th - Second time since 2000 that ASU is 6-3 through nine games)
BEST WINS: #20 Michigan (neutral site), VCU (neutral site), at Colorado, Creighton (neutral site), at Oregon
ROAD WINS (4): at Colorado (12/1), at SMU (12/7), at Oregon, at Oregon State
DOUBLE-DIGIT WINS (7): vs. NAU, #20 Michigan (neutral site), vs. Grambling State, vs. Alcorn State, at SMU, vs. San Diego, at Oregon
AP/COACHES POLL RANKING (As of 1/16): #25 (Dec. 19/AP), Receiving Votes (Dec. 19/Coaches; 9 votes) Receiving Votes (Jan. 16)
NET: 55
REAL-TIME RPI: 51
KEN-POM: 59
STRENGTH OF RECORD: 35
UPCOMING GAMES TO WATCH: at Washington (Jan. 26), at Washington State (Jan. 28)
BRACKETOLOGY
Several bracket experts nationwide have Arizona State projected in the NCAA tournament. Take a look at where the most prominent national names have the Sun Devils seeded in their latest projections.
Andy Katz (NCAA): 10 seed
Jerry Palm (CBS): 11 seed (First Four)
Bracket Matrix: 10 seed
Michael DeCoury (Fox Sports): 9 seed
Joe Lunardi (ESPN): Last Four In
SB Nation: 9 seed
Bleacher Report: 9 seed
COMFORTABLE WHEN IT'S CLOSE
Coach Hurley's team has played in a two-possession game in eight of its first 18 contests, boasting a 7-1 record. The Sun Devils are 31-14 in two possession games over the last four seasons, tied wtih Wisconsin for the most wins in the Division I during that span.
1. Arizona State 31
Wisconsin 31
3. Providence 29
Kansas 29
5. Western Kentucky 28
Miami (FL) 28
LOCKING IT DOWN
Arizona State has been one of the best defensive teams in the country through 20 games, making it difficult on opponents to score. The Sun Devils rank 13th in the nation holding opponents to just 38.8% shooting from the field. ASU is 6-0 this season when giving up less than 60 points.
SHARING THE ROCK
Arizona State has had at least 20 assists five times this season. It is the most such instances through 20 games since the Sun Devils, led by James Harden, had six in the 2008-09 season.
ROAD WARRIORS
Seven of the Sun Devils' 15 wins have come away from home as they boast a 4-2 road record. Three of those road wins have come in hostile environments and difficult places to play (Colorado, SMU, Oregon). Those three teams combined to go 241-50 (82.8%) at home over six seasons from 2016-17 - 2021-22.
POSITIVE IMPACT
All five Sun Devil starters have a positive +/- in Pac-12 road games. Warren Washington has averaged more than +10 in +/- in the three Pac-12 road games. DJ Horne and Desmond Cambridge Jr. each have more than +9 average. Across all nine Pac-12 games, Devan Cambridge leads the Sun Devils with a +/- of +41.
COLLINS IS BALLIN'
Transfer point guard Frankie Collins has added a different dimension to the Sun Devils offense. Not only can he score at a high level, he has emerged one of the best passers in the conference. He has tied or outright paced ASU's assist category in 16 of the 19 games he's played in this season. Collins' 4.8 assists per game fourth in the Pac-12. He is one of only two players in the conference averaging at least 10 points, 4.8 assists, and 4.3 rebounds (USC's Drew Peterson). Collins boasts those averages in 28.2 minutes per game compared to Peterson's 35.3.
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 72.5 points per game and four different Sun Devils are averaging at least 10.4 points per game or more (D.J. Horne, Frankie Collins, Desmond Cambridge Jr., Devan Cambridge). No one on the team averages over 30 minutes, with 10 players averaging at least 10.0 minutes per game. Arizona State has had three players - Desmond Cambridge Jr., Frankie Collins and DJ Horne - score at least 20 points twice. 11 different Sun Devils have scored 10 or more points in at least one game this season.
PROTECTING THE PAINT
Arizona State continues to find themselves near the top of the national rankings in blocks and rebounds per game. 12 players have recorded at least one block this season, led by Warren Washington's 41. Washington 2.05 blocks per game put him at 26th in the country and 3rd in the Pac-12. ASU ranks 18th nationally in blocks per game as a team. The Sun Devils outscored their opponent in the paint 16 times in 20 games this season. ASU has scored 41.8% of their points this season from inside the paint (606/1,450) including 34 of their 69 points on the night. In fact, 20 of ASU's first 27 points came from inside.
OUR WASHINGTON > STATE OF WASHINGTON
Sun Devil big man Warren Washington was outstanding in helping Arizona State pick up a sweep of the Washington schools earlier in the month. Washington stuffed the stat sheet in the two wins, combining for 25 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks. In the 77-71 victory over Washington State on Thursday, Washington made each of his first eight shots, finishing the night 9-of-10 from the field. He had a Sun Devil best 18 points and added four assists. He also was excellent on the defensive end, holding his matchup Mouhamed Gueye, to just eight points on 3-of-8 (37.5%) shooting. Washington established his presence in a battle of seven-footers, as he gathered a season-high 12 rebounds to go along with seven points and three blocks in a 73-65 victory over Washington.
TURNOVER MARGIN
ASU has forced double-digit turnovers 18 times in the last 20 games and 43 of 49 dating back to the start of last season. The Sun Devils have also won the turnover battle in all three Pac-12 road games this season by an average of 4.6 per contest. Arizona State is one of two Pac-12 teams (UCLA) to force 10-or-more turnovers in each Pac-12 conference game this season. The Sun Devils have forced dou-ble-digit turnovers in 12 consecutive conference games dating back to last season, the most in the Pac-12.
DON'T COUNT US OUT
The Sun Devils now have 37 halftime comebacks under Bobby Hurley including 18 on the road. In fact, the Sun Devils now have four halftime comebacks this year and three on the road (OSU, Colorado and SMU). All four comebacks have come away from home, with the other one being a neutral site contest against VCU at the Legends Classic held in Brooklyn, NY. In both of ASU's road Pac-12 comeback wins (Colorado, Oregon State), the opposition has combined to shoot 14-48 (29.1%) from the field including 7-26 (26.9%) from three in the second half. 18 of the 37 halftime comebacks under Coach Hurley have been in Pac-12 play. The Sun Devils trailed by as many as 16 against Oregon State, making it the largest comeback since they overcame a 22-point deficit against Arizona on February 25, 2020. The win was also ASU's largest road comeback since trailing by 18 at Georgia on December 15, 2018.
MILESTONE MOMENT
Fifth-year guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. reached a significant milestone in a win over Washington earlier in the season. He surpassed 2,000 career points, becoming the 10th active player in the NCAA to reach the mark. His 2,075 points rank 10th among active NCAA players and his 341 threes rank sixth among active players. He is one of six active players with over 2,000 points and 550 rebounds in his career.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- ASU has the 9th ranked two-point field goal percentage defense in America per KenPom.
- They also have the 20th ranked defensive block percentage in the nation.
- The Sun Devils have a steal percentage of 12%, the best in league play games and 2.5% higher than the national average.
- Duke Brennan has an offensive rebound percentage of 15.3%. The qualified Pac-12 leader (40% of possible minutes played) is N'Faly Dante (ORE) at 13.3%.
- Warren Washington is fourth in the Pac-12 with a 63% shooting percentage.
- Arizona State is second in the Pac-12 with 11.7 offensive rebounds per game.
- ASU has three quad one wins, third in the Pac-12.
- The Sun Devils have the third most Q1/2 combined wins in the Pac-12.
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