Head Coach Bobby Hurley's team (16-8, 7-6) has seven games remaining in the regular season, five coming in enemy territory. ASU looks to add to their conference road win total which already includes victories at Oregon, Colorado, and Oregon State.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The Sun Devil Men's Basketball game against Stanford will be broadcasted on FS1 on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 8 PM MST. Tim Neverett (pxp) and former ASU & Lakers assistant coach Dave Miller (analyst) are on the call. When the Maroon & Gold take on California on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 6 PM MST, Ted Robinson (pxp) and Don MacLean will be on the call for Pac-12 Network. 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 Gareth Kwok and Kyle Dodd call both games on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (KMVP). The action can also be tracked via live stats accessed here.
LAST MEETING
In the first meeting between the two teams this season, Desmond Cambridge Jr. scored 19 points to lead three Sun Devils in double figures en-route to a 68-64 victory at Desert Financial Arena in December. Warren Washington snatched 10 rebounds and contributed seven points for ASU. Devan Cambridge (12) and Frankie Collins (11) were the other two Sun Devils to put double digit scoring totals. Arizona State held a double-digit lead in the first half before Stanford mounted a run, at one point taking the lead late in the second half. ASU regained control in time to improve to defeat Stanford for the ninth time in the last 13 meetings.
TURNOVER TAKEOVER
The Sun Devils are one of only six of 76 Power 6 Teams (P5 + Big East) to have forced double digit turnovers in each conference game this season. Of those six teams, four are ranked, two inside the top 10 and the other five at least received votes in this week's AP Poll. The other teams are #9 Kansas, #10 Marquette, #11 Iowa State, #17 TCU, and RV Mizzou. In fact, the Sun Devils have forced double-digit turnovers in 16 consecutive conference games dating back to last season, the most in the Pac-12 in that span. The Oregon game is the 22nd time in the last 23 games ASU has forced double-digit turnovers, and they've done it ini 49 of 55 dating back to the start of last season.
ASU has held its last two road opponents to less than 40% from the floor (at Washington, 39.3%, at Washington State, 36.9%). The Sun Devils grabbed more offensive rebounds than its opponents in three out of five road conference games this season. ASU has not lost a turnover battle in Pac-12 road games this season, winning four and drawing even in one.
BROTHERLY LOVE
A Cambridge brother has led ASU in 14 of 24 games overall including seven of 13 conference games. Desmond Cambridge Jr. scored 19 in the last contest against Stanford. Both have also led ASU in blocks in three contests, tied for third most on the team.The brothers have the two highest +/-'s in league play for ASU, with Desmond Jr. sporting a +41 mark and Devan at +32. The Sun Devils are 11-0 when Devan scores in double figures.
Desmond Cambridge Jr. has scored at least 15 points in seven of his last eight games. It is only the second time in his five-year career that he has dropped at least 15 in seven of eight. He did it in eight straight contests from 12/1/18 – 1/8/19 at Brown. Cambridge Jr. has paced the Sun Devil offense in six of the 13 conference games this season and eight of 22 games overall. He has led ASU in scoring in five of the last eight games.
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 2,140 points rank 9th among active NCAA players and his 352 threes rank sixth among active players. He is one of four active players with over 2,140 points and 580 rebounds in his career. Cambridge Jr. also ranks 38th in career steals (171) and 43rd in career blocks (139) among active players.
LOCKING IT DOWN
Arizona State has been one of the best defensive teams in the country through 24 games, making it difficult on opponents to score. The Sun Devils rank 10th in the nation holding opponents to just 39.1% shooting from the field. ASU is 7-0 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.
Against Stanford at home earlier in the year, ASU scored 38 of its 68 points in the paint, good for 52.94% of total points scored inside. It is the second highest percentage this season for ASU and the only time on the road over 50%. This season, the Sun Devils have won the battle in the paint in 16 of their 24 games.mIn fact, ASU has outscored their opponents down in four of five road conference games and six of eight total road games. Arizona State has scored 40.7% of its points this season in the paint.
SEASON SNAPSHOT
RECORD: 16-8
CONFERENCE RECORD: 7-6 (T5th)
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 (7): vs. NAU, #20 Michigan (neutral site), vs. Grambling State, vs. Alcorn State, at SMU, vs. San Diego, at Oregon, vs. Oregon State
NET: 67
REAL-TIME RPI: 79
ESPN Strength of Record: 57
KEN-POM: 65
UPCOMING GAME TO WATCH: at Stanford (Feb. 9), vs. Colorado (Feb. 16)
Arizona State is currently 67th in the NET and is currently ranked higher than fellow NCAA Tournament bid contenders...
Michigan (68), Wake Forest (70), Texas Tech (71), Cincinnati (74), Wisconsin (77), Dayton (81), BYU (86)
Several bracket experts nationwide have Arizona State firmly in contention for a berth 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
Bracket Matrix: 11 seed
Michael DeCoury (Fox Sports): 12 seed
SB Nation: First Four Out
Bleacher Report: First Four Out
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 18 of the 23 games he's played in this season. Collins' 4.7 assists per game is tied for fifth in the Pac-12. He is one of two players in the Pac-12 to average at least 10 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game, joined only by USC's Drew Peterson. Peterson averages 35.7 mintues while Collins does it in 28.7 minutes per game. He is one of only six Pac-12 players to score 200+ points and dish out 100+ assists this season and the only one to do it in under 700 minutes.
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 71.3 points per game (fourth 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 9.0 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.
RIM PROTECTION
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 46. Washington 1.92 blocks per game put him at 30th in the country and 3rd in the Pac-12. Washington leads the Pac-12 with 22 games with at least one block. Washington and Alonzo Gaffney have combined for 15 blocks in the last five conference games. It's the second-most blocks in that span by a Pac-12 tandem (Oregon, 17).
WILL GUARD U
Arizona State is one of three Pac-12 teams to hold its opponents to under 40% from the field this season and are one of just two teams to be top-five in blocks, steals and turnover margin.The Sun Devil defense clamped down, holding Oregon State to 20 field goals. It is tied for the fewest Arizona State has allowed this season in conference play this season. They have held opponents to 20 or less FGM in 11 conference games over the last two seasons. The Sun Devils 43% two point field goal defense percentage ranks sixth in the nation per KenPom. Overall, ASU's FG% defense is 10th in the country. Additionally, ASU has a 45% effective field goal percentage defense, good for 19th in America.
COMFORTABLE WHEN IT'S CLOSE
Coach Hurley's team has played in a two-possession game in ten of its first 24 contests, boasting a 7-3 record. The Sun Devils are 31-16 in two possession games over the last four seasons, trailing only Wisconsin for the most wins in the Division I during that span.
1.Wisconsin 32
2. Arizona State 31
3. Providence 30
4. Kansas 29
Western Kentucky 29
5. Miami (FL) 28
DON'T COUNT US OUT
After trailing 35-31 at the half against Oregon State, Arizona State engineered its 38th halftime come-back in the Bobby Hurley era. In fact, the Sun Devils now have five halftime comebacks this year and three on the road (OSU, Colorado and SMU). Four of the five 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.
STARTING 5
The current starting lineup of Frankie Collins, DJ Horne, Desmond Cambridge Jr., Devan Cambridge and Warren Washington is 13-4 on the season (3-4 with other lineups).
EMPTY THE NOTEBOOK
- DJ Horne led the offense with 18 points against Oregon. He has had fifteen points in all four career games against the Ducks.
- Only two other Sun Devils have had at least four 15 point games against Oregon in the last 20 years; James Harden (5) and Ike Diogu (4).
- Frankie Collins, DJ Horne and Desmond Cambridge Jr. are three of just six Pac-12 players with 30+ steals and a 30% or better 3 PT% this season.
- Frankie Collins is just one of four Pac-12 players with a 2.0 AST/TO ratio and shoots 40% or better from the field.
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