Sun Devil Men's Basketball opens season with ETSU

Arizona State begins the Randy Bennett era on Monday with an 8 p.m. MST matchup with the Buccaneers.

2026-27 Roster Outlook Randy Bennett returns home to lead Sun Devil Basketball (ASU News Feature) Sun Devil Men's Hoops Opening Game Notes/History Sun Devil Men's Basketball Media Center ASU Game Notes (PDF)

Sun Devil Men's Basketball opens season with ETSU

Emma Jeanson

Randy Bennett commands the huddle in Arizona State's Exhibition win over New Mexico on Oct. 25.

November 01, 2026

TEMPE — The 2026-27 Sun Devil Men’s Basketball season tips off Monday at 8 p.m. MST when Arizona State takes on East Tennessee State at Desert Financial Arena.

Randy Bennett enters his 1st year at the helm in Tempe with a talented and versatile roster. This is the earliest season opener (Nov. 2) in program history. Arizona State looks to extend its win streak in home openers to 11 games.

The Bennett Era Begins
Sun Devil Athletics Director Graham Rossini announced in March of 2026 that Mesa, Arizona native Randy Bennett will be the new Head Coach of the Sun Devil Men’s Basketball program.

Bennett joins Arizona State following an extremely successful tenure at Saint Mary’s.
He spent the past 25 seasons at the helm of one of the nation’s most consistent programs.
Bennett built the Gaels into a force in the West Coast Conference, collecting a school-record 589 wins and earning seven WCC Coach of the Year honors.
Saint Mary’s made 19 postseason appearances under Bennett, 12 in the NCAA Tournament and seven in the NIT.
The Gaels’ streak of 18-straight postseason appearances trails only Gonzaga, Michigan State, and Kansas nationally.
Saint Mary's currently has the fourth best win percentage (.774) of any NCAA Division I team in the nation since 2015-16.
He took over in Moraga prior to the 2001-02 season. By the 2004-05 season, he had tied the program record for wins with 27.
His 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2012-13 teams set a new high mark with 28 victories.
In 2010, Bennett led the Gaels to the Sweet 16 thanks to wins over Richmond and Villanova. They were the school's first NCAA Tournament wins in 51 years and first Sweet 16 appearance since the tournament expanded.

The matchup
Arizona State will open its home schedule and regular season on Nov. 2 by taking on East Tennessee State. This will be the first opportunity for Sun Devil fans to check out their team at Desert Financial Arena. The two sides have met only once before, with ASU winning 81-79 at the 1953 NAIA Championship. This will be the second time Coach Bennett has faced ETSU, with Saint Mary’s earning the 89-65 win in only meeting on Dec. 21, 2007, in Honolulu.

Arizona State

ETSU

How to follow
The broadcast of Sun Devil Men’s Basketball’s game on Monday will air on ESPN+ ($) when they take on East Tennessee State at Desert Financial Arena, scheduled for an 8 p.m. MST tip-off with Alex Coil and Sun Devil Athletics Hall of Famer Jeff Ayres (Pendergraph) on the call. Make sure to listen to Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on ESPN 620 AM KTAR. The action can also be tracked via live stats.

How to follow ASU vs ETSU

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Last time out
Sun Devil Men's Basketball pulled off a rare feat in an exhibition matchup with New Mexico on Sunday. Arizona State went into the notorious "The Pit" arena, home to the Lobos Men's and Women's Basketball program since 1966, and came out with a hard-fought 91-86 road victory. Senior forward Paulius Murauskas looked like he was in midseason form, dominating the game with a 31-point, 9-rebound effort. He had plenty of help, with sophomore wing Dillan Shaw also pouring in 20+ points (22). In total, four Sun Devils contributed 13 or more points to help ASU put up 91 points in a hostile environment.

Head Coach Randy Bennett's offensive unit was the key factor in the victory, with the Sun Devils scoring 40+ points in both halves. Arizona State ran effective offensive sets that led to them shooting 48.3% from the field, 39.0% from behind the arc, and 85.0% from the line. The Maroon and Gold led by as many as 23 points in the second half and showed poise down the stretch, fending off a talented New Mexico squad rallying behind the support of a home crowd. Clutch three pointers from Murauskas and defense from senior wing Emmanuel Innocenti in the final minutes helped Arizona State earn a 91-86 win.

Sun Devil Men's Basketball defeats New Mexico in exhibition

Full Recap

Season opening notes
Arizona State is 14-6 in season openers against non-conference opponents over the past 20 seasons, having won eight of their last ten. Overall, since 2000, the Maroon and Gold are 21-6 in season openers.

ASU’s earliest season openers
----> Nov. 2, 2026 ASU vs ETSU
Nov. 4, 2025 ASU 81, Southern Utah 64
Nov. 5, 2024; ASU 55, Idaho State 48
Nov. 6, 2018: ASU 102, Cal State Fullerton 94, 2 OT
Nov. 7, 2022: ASU 62, Tarleton 59
Nov. 8, 2023: Mississippi St. 71, Arizona St. 56/Barstool Invitational in Chicago
Nov. 8, 2013: ASU 96, UMBC 61
Nov. 9, 2021: ASU 76, Portland 60
Nov. 9, 2019: Colorado 81, ASU 71 in Shanghai/Pac-12 China game
Nov. 10, 2017: ASU 94, Idaho State 74
Nov. 10, 2012: ASU 79, Central Arkansas 64
Nov. 10, 2000: Tulsa 69, ASU 67 (Chapel Hill, N.C.)

Home opener notes
The Sun Devils have won their past ten home openers, with the last loss coming in 2015-16. ASU is 12-1 in its last 13 home openers. They are averaging 81.1 and allowing 64.7 points per game in those contests. At Saint Mary's, Randy Bennett won six consecutive home openers and went 23-2 in 25 seasons in his first home game of the year with the Gaels.

"We can't wait to play in front of our home fans. For me in particular, it will be gratifying to be able to Coach in front of so many friends and family in a place I grew up watching games at. I am proud of how our players have continued to improve as we prepare for the season."

Randy Bennetton the home opener

Coach Bennett (6/30) Dillan Shaw (9/26) Joel Foxwell (9/26) Coach Croy (9/26) Bryce Ford (6/30) Vijay Wallace (6/30)

Randy Bennett leads ASU hoops | ASU All Access | FOX 10 Phoenix

Impact transfers
An eight-man transfer class immediately bolstered the Sun Devil Men’s Basketball roster. It is the highest-ranked transfer class in program history, tabbed by 247 Sports as the No. 15 best class in the nation.

Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year Paulius Murauskas highlights the group. Fellow Saint Mary's standout under Bennett Dillan Shaw was also a major get. Bennett managed to add two more WCC starters to his group in Portland's Joel Foxwell and Gonzaga's Emmanuel Innocenti.

Associate Head Coach Rick Croy brought a pair of big men, Nate Garcia and Jonathan Griman, from Cal Baptist with him. Associate Head Coach David Patrick did the same with forward Marcus Vaughns. Center Ben Defty from Boston University completed arguably the No. 1 transfer class in the Big 12 Conference, according to 247 Sports.

Sun Devil Men's Basketball Transfer Class

The global game
Sun Devil Men’s Basketball has a roster with players from all over the World. Seven countries are represented by the nine International Sun Devils on the 2026-27 roster. The nine International players are tied for the fourth-most in the country.

Sun Devils by country
United States (5)
Australia (3)
Lithuania (2)
Germany (1)
Ivory Coast (1)
Venezuela (1)
Serbia (1)

Most International players by school
UT Martin (14)
St. John's (12)
Portland (11)
Arizona State (9)
Albany (9)

New heights
This is officially the tallest team in the history of the Sun Devil Men's Basketball program. The combined height of the squad is an insane 93'3". For the first time in program history, the roster features three seven-footers. Seven Sun Devils are listed at 6'8" or taller, while 13 of the 14 are at least 6'4". Arizona State is one of only six teams with three or more seven-footers on their roster. To take it a step further, they are one of only six with multiple players listed at 7'1" or taller.

Filip Malesevic7'3"

Ben Defty7'1"

Nate Garcia7'0"

Jonathan Griman6'11"

Ajak Nyuon6'10"

Paulius Murauskas6'8"

Marcus Vaughns6'8"

Roster snapshot (numerical)

#1 Marcus Vaughns (RS-Freshman/Forward/LSU/Melbourne, Australia)
#2 Vijay Wallace (Junior/Guard/Illinois Valley CC/Triton College/Chicago, IL)
#3 Joel Foxwell Sophomore/Guard/Portland/Melbourne, Australia)
#4 Bryce Ford (Senior/Guard/Toledo/Scottsdale, AZ)
#5 Emmanuel Innocenti (Senior/Wing/Gonzaga/Petit Badien, Ivory Coast)
#6 JRob Croy (Freshman/Guard/Riverside, CA)
#7 Vijay Wallace (Junior/Guard/Triton College/Chicago, IL)
#8 Jonathan Griman (Senior/Forward/Cal Baptist/Caracas, Venezuela)
#9 Ajak Nyuon (Freshman/Forward/Canberra, Australia)
#11 Dillan Shaw (Sophomore/Wing/Saint Mary's/Northridge, CA)
#14 Ben Defty (Junior/Center/Boston Univ./Berlin, Germany)
#23 Paulius Murauskas (Senior/Forward/Arizona/Saint Mary's/Kaunas, Lithuania)
#25 Filip Malesevic (Junior/Center/Novi Sad, Serbia)
#35 Nate Garcia (Sophomore/Center/Glendora, CA)
2 returners; 8 Division I transfers; 3 international additions; 1 incoming U.S. freshman

Marcus Vaughns

6-8

Vijay Wallace

6-6

Joel Foxwell

6-1

Bryce Ford

6-3190

Emmanuel Innocenti

G/F

6-5

JRob Croy

6-6

Jokubas Rudaitis

6-5

Jonathan Griman

6-11

Ajak Nyuon

6-10

#11

Dillan Shaw

G/F

6-7

#14

Ben Defty

7-1

#23

Paulius Murauskas

6-8

#25

Filip Malesevic

7-3

#35

Nate Garcia

Solidified his staff
Randy Bennett has assembled one of the most decorated and well-regarded coaching staffs in the nation. Associate Head Coaches David Patrick, Rick Croy, and Joe Rahon are joined by Assistant Coaches E.J. Rowland and Casey Benson on the coaching staff.

The support staff includes Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives and Player Personnel Drew Seidenberger, Associate Head Coach, Sports Performance Tyler McCulloch, Director of Operations Chase Bennett, and Graduate Assistants Joe Few and Tautvilas Tubelis.

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