Trailing by as many as 14 points, Arizona State mounted another second half comeback on the road, but ultimately fell to Washington in overtime 69-66 on Thursday night. Desmond Cambridge Jr. led the way with 26 points while Frankie Collins had 15 points, six rebounds, and six assists. The Maroon & Gold forced 22 turnovers, but their conference road winning streak ended at five games. ASU has another rematch with a Pac-12 foe on the road in Washington State.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The Sun Devil Men's Basketball game against Washington State will be broadcasted on ESPNU on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 6 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
Warren Washington made his first eight shots and scored 18 points as Arizona State earned a 77-71 victory over Washington State in the initial meeting earlier in the month. Washington was joined by Desmond Cambridge Jr. (13) and DJ Horne (12) in double figures. ASU shot 55.4%, its seventh best shooting percentage in a league game under Head Coach Bobby Hurley.
SEASON SNAPSHOT
RECORD: 15-6 (best start since 2018-19)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 6-4 (T5th - third time since 2014-15 ASU is 6-4 through 10)
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 (1/12), at Oregon State (1/14)
DOUBLE-DIGIT WINS (6): vs. NAU, #20 Michigan (neutral site), vs. Grambling State, vs. Alcorn State, at SMU, vs. San Diego, at Oregon
NET: 57
REAL-TIME RPI: 55
ESPN Strength of Record: 43
KEN-POM: 59
COMFORTABLE WHEN IT'S CLOSE
Coach Hurley's team has played in a two-possession game in nine of its first 21 contests, boasting a 7-2 record. The Sun Devils are 31-15 in two possession games over the last four seasons, tied with 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
15-6 START
The best 21-game start since 2018-19 and just the fifth time since 2005-06 ASU has 15 wins in its first 21 games. It is tied for the second best 21-game start under head coach Bobby Hurley.
PAC-12 PLAY
The Sun Devils are 6-4 in Pac-12 play for the third time in the last five years of the Bobby Hurley era. Additionally, ASU is 3-1 on the road in league play and won their first three away from home in the Pac-12 for the first time since the 1980-81 season.
LOCKING IT DOWN
Arizona State has been one of the best defensive teams in the country through 21 games, making it difficult on opponents to score. The Sun Devils rank 11th 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.
IN ENEMY TERRITORY
Seven of the Sun Devils' 15 wins have come away from home as they boast a 4-3 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.
SECOND CHANCE DEFENSE
Despite playing an extra five minutes, the Huskies only earned two second chance points. It was the lowest tally ASU has held an opponent to all season.
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 2,101 points rank 8th among active NCAA players and his 345 threes rank sixth among active players. He is one of five active players with over 2,100 points and 570 rebounds in his career.
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 17 of the 20 games he's played in this season. Collins' 4.9 assists per game fourth in the Pac-12. He is the lone player in the Pac-12 to average at least 10 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game, putting up those numbers in 28.4 minutes 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 72.2 points per game (third in the Pac-12) and four different Sun Devils are averaging at least 10.3 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 43. Washington 2.05 blocks per game put him at 27th in the country and 3rd in the Pac-12. ASU ranks 17th nationally in blocks per game as a team.
TURNING THEM OVER
Arizona State is the only team in the Pac-12 to force double digit turnovers in every conference game this season. In fact, the Sun Devils have forced double-digit turnovers in 13 consecutive con-ference games dating back to last season, the most in the Pac-12 in that span. This is the 19th time in the last 21 games ASU has forced double-digit turnovers, and 46 of 52 dating back to the start of last season. The Sun Devil defense forced 22 turnovers against Washington, the second time in a conference game this season forcing 20-or-more turnovers, (20, vs. Colorado, Dec. 1, 2022.) and the 7th time since 2020-21 forcing conference opponents to 20-or-more turnovers in a game. In fact, they had five in the first 3:36. The 11 first half turnovers were the most forced by the ASU defense in league play this season. Washington's 22 turnovers are their second-most in a game this season and tied for the most in a conference game.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Freshman Austin Nunez played the second most minutes of his career with 24 at Washington. Nunez has been a key for the Sun Devils this season off the bench. In seven of ASU's biggest games, Nunez totals a +16 tally, including +11 against USC (VCU, Michigan, Creighton, vs. Arizona, vs. UCLA, vs. USC and at Oregon State). He showed maturity beyond his years when hitting three clutch free throws with less than five seconds left to send Thursday's game to overtime.
DON'T COUNT US OUT
The Sun Devils 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.
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