Arizona State (16-7, 7-5) hosts Oregon on Saturday at 8 PM MST. It will be a night full of celebration, as we honor the 1963 & 2003 teams, our Canadian connections, and debut our new Black History Month uniforms.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The Sun Devil Men's Basketball game against Oregon will be broadcast nationally on ESPN 2 at 8 PM MST. Dave Pasch (play-by-play) and Corey Williams (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 (KTAR-AM). The action can also be tracked via live stats available here.
LAST MEETING
The Arizona State men's basketball team moved to 5-1 in conference play for the first time since 1980-81, just the second year of Pac-12 membership, when they earned a 90-73 road victory against Oregon earlier in the season. Desmond Cambridge Jr. paced all scorers with 21 points, his third time with at least 20 points this season. He combined with brother Devan (14) for 35 points, their third highest tally of the season.
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? 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. 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.
HONORING THE 1963 & 2003 TEAM
Sun Devil Men's Basketball Alumni Night will include recognitions of both the 1962-63 and 2002-03 Sun Devil teams as part of a 20 & 60 year anniversary celebrations. Coached by Ned Wulk, the 1962-63 Sun Devils were led by Joe Caldwell and Art Becker and finished with a 26-3 record along with a Western Athletic Conference Championship. The 2002-03 Sun Devils were coached by Rob Evans and led by Ike Diogu, Curtis Millage and current radio analyst Kyle Dodd. The team earned an NCAA Tournament berth and finished the season 22-12.
CANADA NIGHT
Arizona State will be honoring it's Canadian connections as part of Sun Devil Men's Basketball's Canada Night. Sun Devil legends Luguentz Dort, Jordan Bachynski, Antwi Atuahene, and current sophomore big man Enoch Boakye and assistant coach George Aramide represent just a few of the connections that the program has with our "Neighbors from the North".
BLACK HISTORY MONTH UNIFORMS
The Sun Devils will be wearing special edition Black History Month uniforms custom made for tonight's game by Adidas.
SECOND HALF SHUTDOWN
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. Oregon State's leading scorer Jordan Pope, who started the first 9:51 of the game with nine points on 3/5 shooting from three, finished the last 30:09 of the game with just six points on 2/12 shooting, (1/7 from three). Two of ASU's league play wins have been by double digits (at Oregon, vs. Oregon State). ASU held Oregon to 33.3% from three point range, the lowest percentage in the last four games (Oregon, 34.8%)
Desmond Cambridge Jr. has been on a tear as of late, leading the Sun Devil offense. He has scored at least 15 points in his last seven games. It is only the second time in his five-year career that he has dropped at least 15 in seven straight games. 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 12 conference games this season and eight of 22 games overall. He has led ASU in scoring in five of the last seven games. In the win over Oregon State, 16 of his 18 points came in the second half.
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 2,134 points rank 8th among active NCAA players and his 350 threes rank sixth among active players. He is one of five active players with over 2,130 points and 570 rebounds in his career. Cambridge Jr. also ranks 38th in career steals (170) and 41st in career blocks (139) among active players.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Arizona State has won 12 of its past 15 games inside the friendly confines of Desert Financial Arena. It is the best 15-game stretch since ASU won 14 of 15 meshed between the last eight home games of the 2013-14 season and the first seven of the 2014-15 season.
DON'T COUNT US OUT
After trailing 35-31 at the half, 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 improved to 13-3 on the season (3-4 with other lineups).
COMFORTABLE WHEN IT'S CLOSE
Coach Hurley's team has played in a two-possession game in nine of its first 23 contests, boasting a 7-2 record. The Sun Devils are 31-15 in two possession games over the last four seasons, trailining 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
5. Western Kentucky 28
Miami (FL) 28
BROTHERLY LOVE
The Cambridge brothers have had a massive impact on the floor in their first year in the desert. Desmond Cambridge Jr was the leading scorer in both matchups against OSU with 21 points in the first game and 18 on Thursday. On top of Desmond's scoring, a Cambridge brother has led ASU in points in more than half of games played (13 of 23). Both have led ASU in blocks in three contests, third most on the team. Overall, Desmond sports a team-high +35 in league play and Devan is right behind him at +34. In fact, in 12 against Power 6 opponents, Desmond is +63 and Devan is +49. The Sun Devils are 11-0 when Devan scores in double figures.
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 22 games he's played in this season. Collins' 4.7 assists per game is tied for fourth in the Pac-12. He is the lone player in the Pac-12 to average at least 10 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game, putting up those numbers in 28.7 minutes per game.
TURNOVERS GALORE
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 15 consecutive conference games dating back to last season, the most in the Pac-12 in that span. This is the 21st time in the last 22 games ASU has forced double-digit turnovers, and 48 of 54 dating back to the start of last season. ASU forced 16 against Oregon State in both matchups this season.The contest marked the ninth time this season ASU has held the opponent to four or less turnovers in the first half this season
LOCKING IT DOWN
Arizona State has been one of the best defensive teams in the country through 23 games, making it difficult on opponents to score. The Sun Devils rank 9th 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.
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 71.4 points per game (fourth in the Pac-12) 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 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.
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. The Sun Devils had 18 assists on 22 made shots in the win over Oregon State, good for an 81.8% A/FGM ratio. It is the second highest A/FGM ratio this season. In fact, it is the first time since 2010-11 that ASU has had three games over 80% in a season. Arizona State had seven assists on its first eight field goals and nine of 11 in the first half. In 10 of 12 conference games, ASU has had an A/FGM ratio of at least 50%. The Sun Devils have out-assisted the opponent in four straight home games.
PAINT PRESENCE
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 2.0 blocks per game put him at 24th in the country and 3rd in the Pac-12. ASU ranks 19th nationally in blocks per game as a team. The Sun Devils have scored 40.9% of their points inside the paint this season. ASU has won the PIP battle in 16 of 23 games this season including their first seven conference games and eight of 11 conference games. In fact, the Sun Devils have a +83 margin in the paint this season.
RUN AND GUN
ASU has also scored more fast-break points than opponents in 18 out of 23 games this year and outscored the Beavers 17-3. It is tied for the second largest fast break margin this season. In fact, the Sun Devils have outscored their opponents on the run in 12 of the last 14 and are outscoring their opponents by a +91 margin on the run this season. The Sun Devils have outscored their opponent in fast break points in nine of 12 league games this season. Additionally, the Sun Devils had the same number of fast break points in both matchups with the Beavers (17).
IF ASU WINS...
- It would make them only the second Pac-12 school since 2013-14 to go 4-0 against Oregon and Oregon State in the regular season. (USC, 2017-18)
- Move them to 9-1 against Oregon and Oregon State since 2018-19.
- They would be the first Pac-12team to beat Oregon 4 straight times since Cal & Colorado both had 4 straight wins against the Ducks from 2012 to 2014.
- Give them a 17-7 or better record through 24 games for only the fifth time since 2002-03.
- Boost their conference record to 8-5, only the seventh time they have had eight wins through 13 conference games.
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): First Four Out
Bracket Matrix: 11 seed
Michael DeCoury (Fox Sports): 12 seed
Joe Lunardi (ESPN): Next Four Out
SB Nation: First Four Out
Bleacher Report: First Four Out
NAVIGATING THE NON-CONFERENCE
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 travelled 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
Devils vs Ducks Part II ??????
— 942 Crew (@942Crew) February 4, 2023
At 8pm PACK DFA in GOLD for @SunDevilHoops ??
It's the 942 Crew 10th Anniversary Celebration so come get an Anniversary T by @StateFortyEight & cheer on your Devils in this BIG Pac-12 matchup ??
Get your student tickets NOW! We need YOU there! ?? pic.twitter.com/j9wR2mQDPZ
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