Arizona State (18-8, 9-6) finds themselves firmly in contention for a spot in the Top-4 of the Pac-12 standings, which would result in a bye in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament. ASU faces Colorado for the second time this season in the first of the final two home games at Desert Financial Arena.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The Sun Devil Men's Basketball game against Colorado will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network at 6 PM MST. Ted Robinson (play-by-play) and Don MacLean (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 Jeff Munn and Kyle Dodd on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM). The action can also be tracked via live stats available here.
LAST MEETING
Desmond Cambridge Jr. drilled a three-pointer with 2.6 seconds to go as the Arizona State men's basketball team completed their largest comeback victory since the 2008 season on the road against the Colorado Buffaloes, 60-59. The Sun Devils stopped the Buffaloes down the stretch, holding CU without a field goal over the final 6:40 in regulation. All 11 of Desmond Cambridge Jr.'s points - including the go-ahead basket - came in the second half. Playing without guard Frankie Collins due to a non-COVID related illness, the Sun Devils were led by 18 points from Devan Cambridge, who was followed by the 11 points from his brother. Freshman Austin Nunez earned his first career start for Collins and played a career-high 25 minutes. Desmond Cambridge Jr. had five assists, four of them to Devan. The 15-point blown lead at home more than doubled the largest such for Colorado since they joined the Pac-12 Conference prior to the 2011-12 season. Prior to that, their largest home blown halftime lead was seven on two occasions.
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 in the midst of a postseason push? There is two more chances to catch a Sun Devil Men's Basketball home game. You can have an impact on our home-court advantage. 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.
LOCKING IT DOWN
Arizona State has been one of the best defensive teams in the country through 26 games, making it difficult on opponents to score. The Sun Devils rank 5th in the nation holding opponents to just 38.8% shooting from the field. ASU is 7-0 this season when giving up less than 60 points and have held opponents to 40% or less from the field 15 games this season. In the victory over Cal, Arizona State held the Golden Bears to just 34% from the field.
DUUUUUKE
Duke Brennan, getting the start in place of Washington, scored ASU's first five points and had seven points and three rebounds in the first eight minutes. Brennan has an offensive rebound percentage of 14.3% per KenPom. If he qualified in minutes played, he would have the highest OR% of any player in the Pac-12 by far (N'Faly Dante, Mouhammed Gueye, 12.7%). 34 of Brennan's 63 boards this season have come on the offensive glass. He also ranks third on the team in blocks at 16. He has tied or led ASU in blocks in five games this season.
TURNOVER MARGIN
The Sun Devils are one of only five teams in the Power 5, Big East and Mountain West to have forced double digit turnovers in each conference game this season. In fact, the Sun Devils have forced double-digit turnovers in 18 consecutive conference games dating back to last season, the most in the Pac-12 in that span. This is the 24th time in the last 26 games ASU has forced double-digit turnovers, and 51 of 57 dating back to the start of last season. ASU has not lost a turnover battle in Pac-12 road games this season, winning six and drawing even in one. They beat Cal by +1 in turnover margin and forced 10 turnovers against the Golden Bears.
CAREER HIGHS
The contest against Cal marked the first time since at least 1987-88 that three Sun Devils have earned career highs in rebounding in the same league-play game. Frankie Collins recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, the 10 boards marking a career high It is the 17th time in 24 games played for Collins that he has scored in double-figures. Additionally, Alonzo Gaffney (13) and Duke Brennan (7) each earned career-high rebounding tallies of their own. In total, three Sun Devils snatched career high boards. Gaffney's 13 rebounds were the second most by a Sun Devil this season (Washington 14, at Texas Southern)
RELENTLESS REBOUNDING
Arizona State had 56 rebounds in the win over Cal, the first time over 50 in league play since Feb. 23rd, 1996 against Washington. Additionally, it is the third time since the 1995-96 season that ASU has had two games of at least 50 boards in the same season. It is also the third time since 2005-06 ASU has had at least 20 offensive rebounds and 50 total rebounds in the same game. Two of them have come this season (Tarleton State). In fact, it is just the seventh time since 2003 that the Sun Devils have had at least 20offensive rebounds in the same game. It is the most rebounds in a game since Nov. 6, 2018 vs. Cal State Fullerton.
LINEUP FLEXIBILITY
Arizona State was forced to use two different starting lineups with Warren Washington sidelined due to COVID over the weekend. Overall, ASU has used eight different starting combinations this season. The mainstay lineup of Frankie Collins, DJ Horne, Desmond Cambridge Jr., Devan Cambridge and Warren Washington is 13-4. Additionally, Collins, Horne, Cambridge Jr., Cambridge and Washington are a combined +121 this season in league play.
COLLINS IS BALLIN'
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 led the Sun Devils in assists in 16 of 24 games he's played, boasting the the fifth highest assist rate in the Pac-12 per KenPom. Collins' 4.6 assists per game is fifth in the Pac-12. He is one the only player in the Pac-12 to average at least 10 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game, doing it in 29.1 minutes per game.
BROTHERLY LOVE
The Cambridge brothers have the two highest +/-'s in league play for ASU, with Desmond Jr. sporting a +47 mark and Devan at +43. Desmond Jr. 's 24 points against Cll are his second most in a game this season (at Washington, 26) and the fifth time he has been over 20 points with the Sun Devils. In fact, Cambridge Jr. has now led ASU in scoring in 10 games this season, the most of any Sun Devil. A Cambridge brother has led ASU in 13 of 26 possible games this season. Cambridge Jr.'s 13 first half points are a season-high in the first half in league games. It is also his third time scoring double-figures in the first half in conference play, all three of which came on the road. The Sun Devils are 13-0 when Devan Cambridge scores in double figures.
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 2,177 points rank 9th among active NCAA players and his 359 threes rank sixth among active players. He is one of four active players with over 2,175 points and 590 rebounds in his career. Cambridge Jr. also ranks 38th in career steals (173) and 45th in career blocks (141) among active players.
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 71.2 points per game (third in the Pac-12) and four different Sun Devils are averaging at least 10.2 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 9.8 minutes per game. Arizona State has had three players - Desmond Cambridge Jr., Frankie Collins and DJ Horne - score at least 20 points at least twice. 11 different Sun Devils have scored 10 or more points in at least one game this season.
PAINT PRESENCE
This season, the Sun Devils have won the battle in the paint in 18 of their 26 games. Arizona State outscored Cal 26-18 in the paint despite being without Warren Washington. In fact, ASU has outscored their opponents down low in six of seven road conference games and eight of 10 total road games. Arizona State has scored 40.4% of its points this season in the paint. Additionally, the Sun Devils are +105 in the paint 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 31st in the country and 3rd in the Pac-12. In the win over Stanford, ASU had eight blocks, lead by Devan Cambridge's season-high four blocks.
DON'T COUNT US OUT
The Sun Devils 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. 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.
While they didn't qualify as comebacks, in wins over Creighton and Stanford away from home, ASU withstood 16-0 and 14-0 runs respectively in the second half and still came away with a victory.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Sun have swept two road Pac-12 series this season (Oregon, Bays). It is the first time ASU has swept the Bay schools since 2019-20. ASU's six road wins are second in the Pac-12, more than Arizona, Utah and Oregon. In fact, ASU is tied for the most road wins in conference play this season (5). It is just the third time since joining the conference and the first since the 1980-81 season that Arizona State has swept two road series in the same season. Additionally, Arizona State is tied with Arizona for second most league play road wins at five. While ASU was able to earn a true-road win in the non-conference schedule, the Wildcats did not contest a single true-road game outside of conference play.
DEVAN DOES IT ALL
The Sun Devils are 12-0 when Devan Cambridge scores in double figures. He secured his 10th rebound with .6 seconds to play against the Cardinal, earning him his third career double-double. It is the fifth double-double for ASU this season and third in conference play (Neal, Washington/vs. Washington). His four blocks off the bench are his fourth time leading the ASU blocking effort, tied for second most on the squad with Duke Brennan. It is Cambridge's fifth game this season with multiple blocks, fourth in league play and second in a row. Additionally, Devan Cambridge's 10 rebounds were one shy of his career high (11). It was his second double-double of the season (San Diego).
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
ASU entered the contest with the third best two-point defense in the nation, according to KenPom at 42.7%. Cal shot 11-35 (31.4%) from two against Arizona State. ASU has the second best two-point defense in the nation at 42.2% per KenPom. In fact, ASU held its opponents to a combined 32.3% on two-pointer's this weekend. The Sun Devils have held its last four road opponents to less than 40% from the floor (at Washington, 39.3%, at Washington State, 36.9%, at Stanford, 37%, at Cal 34.4%). In fact, the 34.4% mark is the lowest Arizona State has held an opponent to in league play and fifth lowest overall this season.
Arizona State, who allows the eighth-lowest field goal percentage among all Division I programs, are just one of two Pac-12 schools to force conference foes to shoot 50% or less from the field this season. Additionally, the Sun Devils have only allowed an opponent to shoot greater than 50% from the floor just once in 26 total games played this season. ASU has forced teams to shoot 38.5% from inside-the-arc in the last five games. The Sun Devils opponents in those games are averaging 42.5% from the floor this season.
GIVE US ANOTHER CHANCE
Arizona State has capitalized on its second chance opportunities as of late, winning the battle in three of its last four games. This comes after a string of six straight games earlier in league play where ASU trailed the opponent in second chance 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.
- Arizona State is one of six power 7 teams with at least 6 road wins and a winning road record (6-4): Alabama, Pitt, UCLA, Purdue, Northwestern, Marquette; Houston (Non Power 5) has also done it.
- The Sun Devils are one of only 8 power 5 teams that is undefeated against Quad 3 opponents (min. 5 games): Alabama, Tennessee, Purdue, UCLA, Texas A&M, Auburn, North Carolina
- Coach Hurley's squad is one of only two power 5 teams to play three true non-conference road games by the end of December (Nebraska): at Texas Southern, at SMU, at San Francisco
- In the last four games, 133:58 (83.7%) of the 165 total minutes have been separated by six points or less.
- If ASU wins, it would be the third time in last five years the program started started 10-6 in Pac-12 play under Coach Hurley. That record through 16 games was only accomplished three times in previous 25 years. It would also give them 13 wins in their last 16 games at Desert Financial Arena.
- The Sun Devils are 10-5 in fast break points against their league opponents this season after splitting the weekend. ASU bested Colorado by +5 on the run in the first game against the Buffaloes this season.
Arizona State was extremely successful in the non-conference portion of their schedule, finishing with an 8-2 record. That included several marquee victories away from home. The Sun Devils won the Legends Classic in Brooklyn with wins over VCU and No. 20 Michigan. The Maroon & Gold also traveled to SMU and defeated the Mustangs at Moody Coliseum. Arguably the biggest win came in Las Vegas, when Coach Hurley's team withstood a big second half run to edge Creighton at the Jack Jones Hoopfest.
942 CREW GIVEAWAY
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— 942 Crew (@942Crew) February 15, 2023
?? @SunDevilHoops vs Colorado
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