Zone wrinkle propels Men's Basketball to road win over Utah

Regular starter redshirt sophomore forward Santiago Trouet was out due to injury and his replacement senior forward Allen Mukeba was questionable coming into the game. Despite the adversity, Arizona State led for 38:52 of a possible 40 minutes of action, making a statement with their backs against the wall.

Contributions from the entire seven-man rotation were key to the victory. Freshman center Massamba Diop led the way with 15 points and eight rebounds, logging a career-high 37 minutes. Senior guards Anthony "Pig" Johnson (14) and Moe Odum (13) both reached double figures scoring and accepted the challenge of defending a dynamic Utah backcourt.

A key wrinkle by the Sun Devil coaching staff, implementing a zone defense, proved to be a difference maker. The 63 points scored by Utah were the second-fewest the Utes had produced all season, as the offense came into the game averaging over 79 points per game. A big reason why the Sun Devils bottled up the Utes was due to their ability to limit the effectiveness of junior guard Terrence Brown. Brown only scored six points on 2-of-16 shooting (12.5%). He came into the game third in the Big 12, averaging 22.1 points per game and shooting 47.0%. As a team, Utah shot only 39.0% (23-of-59), their lowest rate of the season. It is only the third time they've been held under 40% from the field this season.

Arizona State's two-man bench proved it is not always about quantity, but all about quality. ASU won the bench battle 23-5, the the 16th time (11-5 record) they have done it this season. The Sun Devils stay on the road, as they head to Boulder to take on Colorado on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 PM MST. Watch on ESPN2 and listen on ESPN 620 AM (KTAR).

Series history
Arizona State is now 7-3 in their last 10 games against Utah. They have a 5-4 record over their last nine meeting against the Utes in Salt Lake City. This the first win for ASU over Utah with the two progams meeting as Big 12 Conference foes. Hurley now has five wins in the state of Utah (all over Utah). During his tenure in Tempe, Hurley moves to 8-7 against the Utes.

Season snapshot
Arizona State's 12-11 start comes against the nation’s 9th-strongest schedule (23rd in non-conference) according to ESPN, which has ASU slotted at 66 in their latest Strength of Record metric with two Quad 1 wins credited (Santa Clara, Texas). The average NET of a Sun Devil opponent this season is 98, the 9th-best figure in the nation. Arizona State's NET strength of schedule is 13th in the nation, making this arguably one of the toughest slates in program history. Six of their wins to start off 2025-26 have come away from home (4 neutral, 2 road).

Road dub 😈 pic.twitter.com/QoqqpVWU7e

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) February 5, 2026

Zoning out the Utes
Utah came into the game averaging over 79 points per game, having scored at least 80 points in ten contests. The Sun Devils held the Utes to only 63 points, their second-lowest scoring output of the season. It is their fewest points in a home game since scoring 61 points against Baylor on 1/25/25.

Utah's fewest points scored in a game this season
58, Grand Canyon (58-68 loss on 11/25)
63, vs. Arizona State (63-71 loss on 2/4)
65, Washington (65-74 loss on 12/29)
69, vs. Oklahoma State (69-81 loss on 1/31)
72, at California (72-79 loss on 12/2)

Getting to the line
As a team, Arizona State came into the game 62nd nationally and 3rd in the Big 12 averaging 23.7 free throw attempts per game. Their 17.5 free throws made per game were 60th nationally and 3rd in the conference. They only added to those two totals tonight. The Sun Devils finished 22-of-25 from the line, the ninth time with 25+ attempts from the stripe this year. It was their second-best performance at the line based on percentage this year. In fact, four of ASU's five most successful free-throw displays were away from home. Over the past 12 games, the Sun Devils are 204-of-266 (.767) from the free-throw line. In the prior 11 games, they were just 202-of-281 (.719).

Best FT% in a game this season by ASU
96.2% (25-of-26) at UCLA, 12/17/25
88.0% (22-of-25) at Utah, 2/4/26
87.5% (21-of-24) vs Oregon State, 12/21/25
85.2% (23-of-27) USC, 11/26/25
83.3% (20-of-24) at Houston, 1/17/26

When Pigs fly
Senior guard Anthony "Pig" Johnson has emerged as one of the nation’s best sixth men, coming off the bench to provide energy and scoring while living up to his nickname. “Pig” has 10 or more points in 17 of 23 games, with 13 of those performances coming off the bench. He delivered yet again in the victory, accounting for 14 points and six rebounds. 

Johnson got back to what he had been most successful at earlier in the year. He finished 5-of-6 from the line and is now 71-of-86 (82.6%) from the free-throw line over the past 14 games. He has gone from 64.6% to 75.7% from the line on the season during that stretch. Johnson has at least nine free throw attempts in eight games this season.

Dub @PigGlizzy2 😈 pic.twitter.com/3sRk2uOBvQ

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) February 5, 2026

Mo(e)mentum
Known nationally for his passing, Moe Odum is proving he can be one of the best all-around players in the Big 12 as well. Odum came into the game as one of only three players in the nation averaging 17.1+ points, 6.4+ assists, 3.0+ rebounds, and 1.5+ steals per game (Boopie Miller, SMU; Christian Anderson, Texas Tech). He is Top-15 in the Big 12 in points (377), assists (140), three-pointers made (59), free throws made (84), FT% (82.4%), and minutes per game (33.3). He only improved upon most of those numbers tonight, finishing with 13 points and three steals. He has at least 10+ points in 20 of 23 games this season and has 3+ steals six times.

Stop, Diop, and roll
Massamba Diop is establishing himself as one of the premier defenders in the entire conference. For the fourth consecutive game, Diop had three or more blocks. Through ten conference games, he already has four 4+ block performances. His 29 blocks in Big 12 play are the second-most of any Big 12 player (Flory Bidunga, Kansas). Diop has 13 games with two or more blocks this season.

Diop now has 48 blocks on the season. Coming into the game, he ranked 24th nationally and 3rd in the Big 12 in the category and will only move up after the performance Wednesday. He ranked 3rd among freshmen nationally in blocks, meaning he was top-5 in both field goal shooting and blocks for freshmen. He is the only player who can make that claim.

Diop finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, a performance highlighted by his 9-of-10 effort from the line. After starting the season 18-of-29 (62.5%) from the charity stripe, Diop is 57-for-74 (77.0%) over the past 17 games. 

Shutting down Brown
Utah guard Terrence Brown came into the game averaging over 22.1 points per game, the third-highest total in the Big 12 and eighth in the country. He was limited to only six points on 2-of-16 (12.5%) shooting by the Sun Devils, who held him scoreless until the 7:52 mark in the second half. It is the second time over the past two seasons (54 games) that Brown has been held to less than ten points. The six points are the fewest Brown has scored since March 6, 2024 when he was at Fairleigh Dickinson.

Bench boost
A key to Arizona State’s season has been the success of its bench unit. That was no different tonight, as the two-man unit of guards Noah Meeusen and Pig Johnson dominated the Utes reserves. ASU has now outscored or tied their opponent off the bench in 16 of 23 games (11-5 record). Three of the five losses when winning the battle were to Top-10 teams (No. 1 Arizona & No. 7 Houston). ASU’s bench won the battle over Utah 23-5 and now holds a 551-440 (+111) advantage in points this season.

Noah's arc
Sophomore guard Noah Meeusen continues to play his basketball of the season. He finished with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting and is now averaging 9.6 points on 20-of-36 (55.6%) shooting over his last seven games (6.4/45.2% on the season). Meeusen also has two or more steals ten times through 20 games.

 

 

 

 

 

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Record chasing
Diop is in the Top-10 among freshmen in program history with three 20-point performances.

Sun Devil freshman 20-point games (1972-73 to present)
18, Jahii Carson, 2012-13
16, James Harden, 2007-08
12, Ike Diogu, 2002-03
9, Luguentz Dort, 2018-19
7, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
5, Steve Beck, 1983-84
4, Christian Polk, 2006-07
3, Massamba Diop, 2025-26
3, Joson Sanon, 2024-25
3, Josh Christopher, 2020-21
3, Eddie House, 1996-97
3, Ron Riley, 1992-93
3, Byron Scott, 1979-80
3, Gary Jackson, 1972-73

Diop is already third among freshmen in program history with 48 blocks this season.

Single-season blocks by a Sun Devil freshmen
63, Jayden Quaintance, 2024-25
55, Mario Bennett, 1991-92
48, Massamba Diop, 2025-26
33, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
31, Ike Diogu, 2002-03
29, Jalen Graham, 2019-20
24, Shawn Redhage, 1999-2000
23, Romello White, 2017-18
23, Jeff Pendergraph, 2005-06

Diop is currently having the third-best shooting season by a freshman in program history, making 59.1% of his field goals.

Single-season FG% by a Sun Devil freshman (min. 100 attempts)
.652, Romello White, 2017-18 (120-of-184)
.608, Ike Diogu, 2002-03 (209-of-344)
.591 Massamba Diop, 2025-26 (117-of-198)
.574, Mario Bennett, 1991-92 (159-of-277)
.570, Dwayne Fontana, 1990-91 (102-of-179)
.568, Eric Holloway, 1983-84 (79-of-139)
.545, Kyle Cain, 2010-11 (78-of-143)
.527, James Harden, 2007-08 (196-of-372)
.525, Jayden Quaintance, 2024-25 (93-of-177)

Diop is currently averaging 13.6 points per game, tied for the eighth-most by a freshman in program history.

Single-season points per game by Sun Devil freshmen
19.0, Ike Diogu, 2002-03
18.5, Jahii Carson, 2012-13
17.8, James Harden, 2007-08
16.1, Luguentz Dort, 2018-19
15.4, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
14.3, Josh Christopher, 2020-21
13.6, Massamba Diop, 2025-26
13.6, Byron Scott, 1979-80
13.0, Ron Riley, 1992-93
12.6, Eddie House, 1996-97
12.5, Mario Bennett, 1991-92
12.0, Christian Polk, 2006-07
11.9, Joson Sanon, 2024-25

Diop is currently averaging 5.8 rebounds per game, tied for the eighth-most by a freshman in program history.

Single-season rebounds per game by a Sun Devil Freshman
7.9, Jayden Quaintance, 2024-25
7.8, Ike Diogu, 2002-03
7.1, Romello White, 2017-18
6.8, Mario Bennett, 1991-92
6.2, Marcus Bagley, 2020-21
6.2, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
6.1, Jeff Pendergraph, 2005-06
5.8, Massamba Diop, 2025-26
5.8, Johnny Nash, 1976-77
5.4, Kyle Cain, 2010-11
5.3, James Harden, 2007-08
5.2, Chris Sandle, 1984-85

Quotables

Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley
Opening statement
“I have a lot of experience being in this building and so I know how hard it is to win here. I am very happy that we got the job done. I thought we had a great first half on both ends of the floor. That was the type of start we needed to get off to on the road. Then we did what we had to do in the second half; it wasn't the cleanest. On the offensive end, we missed some threes that were open and some other shots around the basket, but we made our free throws down the stretch and got enough stops. It is great to get a win tonight."

On the key to the hot start
“We had played only two possesions of zone and the teams had scored on us both times this season. I thought the players excecuted without practicing it a whole lot. It was more their communication. We know how good (Terrence) Brown is when he gets downhill. And (Don) McHenry getting into the paint. The zone, I felt, brought just a touch of hesitancy for those guys to attack. With only seven guys available to play tonight, it enabled our guys to run around and chase people on defense the whole time. I think it worked on mulitple fronts to keep us fresh enough to have a chance to win the game."

On limiting Terrence Brown's impact 
“They wouldn't ever really think that we would play zone, becuase we haven't. So, if I was getting us for a team that did not play a possesion of zone the whole year, I wouldn't work on zone offense either. The guards weren't able to get the paint touches that they usually get, especially Brown. They were not in a great rhythm and I think the guys did a good job of funneling him to Diop in front of the basket so he could challenge the shot."

Senior guard Moe Odum
On setting the tone defensively early in the game
“We knew that we only had seven guys, so if we turned our defense into offense, we wouldn't have to move around as much on offense. Just trying to get up on them early and take a big lead early on. We really spoke about defense a lot before the game. Guarding your man and leaving no man behind. That was the message to the team." 

On playing with Pig Johnson
“I always tell Pig before we go out on the court, I can't wait to watch him play. I told him that last game, he did not take enough shots. He has to get out there and act like he wants to score. I was telling him week I couldn't wait to watch him play, because I knew he was going to play great. And that was exactly what he did."

Senior guard Pig Johnson
On the key to preventing a Utah comeback
“We did a great job of staying together. We didn't argue. We just told each other to calm down and keep going."

On providing a spark early in the game
“I just try to do whatever they need me to do and get points however they tell me to get them. I do whatever the team needs."

Up next
Sun Devil Men's Basketball will continue their Rocky Mountain road trip, as they travel to Boulder to take on Colorado on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 PM MST. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN2 and on the radio at ESPN 620 AM (KTAR).

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Head coach Bobby Hurley (X: @BobbyHurley11)