Sun Devil Men's Basketball off to first 3-0 start since 2018-19

Better call Paul-ius
Murauskas entered the game approaching 1,200 career points, the most of any Sun Devil. He added to that total tonight with his third consecutive 20-point game and 24th career 20-point performance. This is his third career streak of three consecutive games with 20 or more points. Murauskas and UCF's Dior Johnson are the only two Big 12 players with three 20-point outings so far this season. He was 10-of-13 from the free-throw line and managed to get the Pride front line in severe foul trouble early in the contest. For the second time already this season Murauskas had more free throw attempts than the entire opposing team (13-9), also accomplishing the feat in the season opener. His 32 free throw attempts so far this season are the most in the Big 12.

Thanks to his 11-rebound effort (23rd of his career with 10+ boards), Murauskas is now tied for third in the Big 12 with 25 rebounds. It was the 21st double-double of his career and first as a Sun Devil. Murauskas becomes the 9th Big 12 player to record a double-double this season. He now has eight career 20 point/10 rebound performances. Murauskas did all of this against 2025-26 CAA All-Defensive Team selection Joshua DeCady, who picked up four fouls and scored only a point in 18 minutes of action. Instead, it was Murauskas putting on the Defensive All-Conference worthy performance, matching his career-high with three blocks and adding two steals. That is the first time in his career he has had a three-block/two-steal game.

Holding Moore to Less
Hofstra senior guard Justin Moore entered the game with 950 career points in 86 games over a 4-year collegiate career, averaging 10.7 per game. He was completely shut down by the Sun Devil defense. Moore finished with only four points on 2-of-8 shooting, recording only one assist and not a single rebound in 12 minutes of play.

E-Man down, JRob up
It was Bryce Ford who stepped up in the absence of starting wing senior Emmanuel Innocenti last game, who has missed the past two contests due to injury. This time, it was JRob Croy who earned the start in his place for the second straight game and scored 18 points in 28 minutes. 15 of those points came in the second half, as he put on an impressive shooting display. He went 5-of-6 from the field to help the Sun Devils create critical separation in the second half, drilling all three of his shots from beyond the arc. On the day, he was 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from three, making both of his free throws. He added four rebounds, a steal, an assist and was a +21 in 28 minutes of action. Croy didn't let a slow start phase him, as he began the game 0-for-2 from the field only to finish 6-of-7 to end the game.

Getting defensive
Arizona State has been extremely effective defensively through two games. They have yet to allow over 65 points after limiting the Pride to only 63 tonight. This is the first time since the 2014-15 campaign that they have started a year by allowing 65 points or less in each of the first three games. Opponents averaged 78.3 points per game last year, but are only mustering 63.7 points per game through three contests this year.

Hofstra shot only 38.1% from the field, struggling especially in the second half when the Arizona State defense turned up the pressure. The Pride made 12-of-33 shots (36.4%) over the final 20 minutes. After shooting 5-of-10 (50%) in the first half from distance, ASU held Hofstra to just 3-of-11 (27.2%) from behind the arc in the second half.  

Cleaning the Glass
An identity that Coach Bennett's teams have always had is the ability to rebound the basketball. That characteristic proved to be true tonight, as the Sun Devils completely dominated the boards. Arizona State had a 49-25 (+24) advantage, with nine different Sun Devils grabbing at least one rebound. Paulius Murauskas led the charge with 11 rebounds, followed closely by Dillan Shaw and Ben Defty's seven. The 49 rebounds by the Sun Devils are the most since they had 56 in a win over Cal on Feb. 11, 2023. They are tied for the second-most by any Big 12 team in a game this season. Hofstra came into the game averaging 47.5 rebounds per game, ranking 31st nationally. They were held to only 25 boards by ASU, their lowest total in a game since only collecting 23 against William & Mary on Feb. 13, 2025.

Chasing 600
After winning 589 games at Saint Mary's, Randy Bennett now has three wins as the head coach at Arizona State. He is now only eight wins shy of 600 career wins at the Division I level. Bennett is looking to become just the 46th head coach in NCAA DI history to earn 600 wins in their career. With 592 wins, Bennett currently ranks T50th on the all-time coaching wins list, just one shy of passing Guy Lewis (592) to enter the Top-50.

What does the Fox say?
Joel Foxwell had his most efficient offensive game as a Sun Devil, commanding the offense for the Maroon and Gold. He matched his scoring output from the last game only 4:50 inot the game (7 points). He finished with a season-high 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, connecting on 3-of-5 shots from beyond the arc. For the 14th time in his career, he finished with 15+ points/5+ assists (16 points and 6 assists). He now has five or more assists in 29 of his 37 career games. Foxwell was a +23 in 31 minutes and now has 19 assists compared to only four turnovers through three games.

A Scanner on Tanner
Hofstra senior forward Tanner Thomas averaged 14.5 points per game on 45.4% shooting in his final season at Sacred Heart on his way to earning 2024-25 Second Team All-MAAC Honors. So far through two games this season, he had led the Pride in scoring at 12.0 points per game. He was held in check by the Sun Devils defense, scoring only six points on 3-of-9 from the field and 0-of-3 from three-point range. He also did not collect a rebound or get to the free throw line and was a -20, fouling out in 25 minutes. Dillan Shaw saw the matchup on the defensive end most of the night and once again excelled guarding the opponent's best player. 

Dialed in from deep
Arizona State's three-point shooting was a major reason why they were able to control the majority of the contest. Coming into the game, Hofstra's opponents had been held to just 18-of-61 (29.5%). The Sun Devils managed to shoot 13-of-26 (50%) from deep, a big improvement on their 15-of-48 (31.3%) combined total through the first two games. This is the only the second time since 2022-23 that ASU shot 50+% from three and made 13+ three-pointers (86-70 win over Oklahoma on Dec. 6, 2025).

Empty the notebook

• Arizona State has started 3-0 for the first time since the 2018-19 season, a roster that featured future NBA Champion guard Luguentz Dort
• This is only the program's third 3-0 start since 2015-16 season (11 years) and 10th since 1998-99 (28 years)
• Through three games, the Sun Devils are outscoring their opponents 250-191 (+59), an average margin of victory of 19.7 points
• Arizona State finished with 40+ rebounds (49) for the second straight game. ASU collected 40 or more rebounds in only six of 33 games a season ago
• The +25 rebounding advantage was nine more than the season-high last year (+16 against NAU on Dec. 9, 2025). 
• Hofstra's starting lineup combined for 21 points on 9-of-27 (33.3%) shooting, adding only five rebounds and two assists in 102 minutes of action. Compare that to 69 points on 23-of-48 (47.9%) shooting, with 33 rebounds and 16 assists in 156 combined minutes from the Arizona State starters.
• Most of the Pride's offense came from the perimeter, as the Sun Devils dominated the paint. Hofstra shot 16-of-42 (38%) from inside the arc, equaling their three-point success. ASU held a decisive 28-16 points in the paint edge.
• Junior center Ben Defty entered the game boasting the third-highest field goal % among active NCAA Division I players. After a 4-of-6 performance, he is now 7-of-10 from the field over the past two games
• Freshman forward Ajak Nyuon registered his first points as a Sun Devil, beating the buzzer with a three-pointer to end the first half. It was the first of two triples for Nyuon on the night, as he made the most of his three minutes (6 points, 2 rebounds). 
• Arizona State has led for 112.75 of a possible 120 minutes of game time though two contests. They have trailed for less than two minutes.
• Tthe Sun Devils shot 20+ free throws for the second time in three games. They have attempted 19 or more free throws in each of their first three games and now have 66 attempts this year, compared to only 37 for their opponents.
•  For the second straight game, Arizona State maintained a huge advantage in fast break points (12-0). They have now outscored opponent's 29-5 over the past two games in transition. 
• Dillan Shaw's 25 rebounds through three games ties him for third in the Big 12, while Filip Malesevic's 13 offensive rebounds is tied for the league lead.

Quotables
Arizona State Head Coach Randy Bennet
On Jrob Croy’s confidence and basketball IQ as a freshman
“He's a great shooter. He's a good competitor, and he's learning the game. For a freshman, he has great leadership skills, and that's hard to do. He doesn't know what he doesn't know yet. Missing his senior year of high school didn't help matters, but he's tough. He's fought through this. He's got his butt jumped a lot, but because we need him, we need him to perform.”

On the potential of this team compared to past teams he's coached
“This can be a good team. I've said that. I'm not just trying to pump our team or our program up. I compare them to our good teams at St. Mary's, which is good. Those were usually around top 25 ish. I just go through the guys. This guy versus this guy, this guy versus this guy, and we're every bit in that conversation of those good teams.” 

On Big 12 conference play
“By the time the Big 12 hits, we should be ready for the brawl, and it's going to be a brawl, as long as we do our part. We have 14 games, and we chipped away at three of them. We've got to keep getting a little better, because I know in January it's coming, and we have to be ready for it. Our guys want to be good. They're great … I haven't been through the Big 12. I don't know what it's like. I know it's gonna be tough. Were going to, were going to Lubbock, were going to Houston, were going to Tucson, were going to Lawrence. We don't have to go to BYU, thank goodness. That's what we're trying to get ready for. We're trying to keep getting better every game. We want to win as many games as we can in non-conference. It's all to prepare us for the big brawl. 

Sophomore Guard Joel Foxwell
On how the defense changed in the last half
“I think we just really locked down at halftime. They had five threes going into the half. I think that was just our main focus going to the second half was really running them off the three point line and making them put the ball on the floor and make plays from there. I think that that worked in our favor.”

On what didn't go as well as he would hope
“I think tonight was just an all-around great effort. Defensively in the second half we were really good with getting the guys off the three-point line, and we sat. But I think we need to be able to break teams. I think you know we're up 20, but you know we could have pushed it out to 30, 40, and the game could have been completely over, with 10 minutes to go. We just let teams hang around and linger a little bit. So I think that might be the next jump for us is just making sure that we can really step on the gas and break teams mentally.” 

Freshman Guard JRob Croy
On the belief his teammates and staff have on him
“It's a blessing. We have such a good staff, from Coach Bennett all the way to our GAs, even our managers. Everyone does such a good job preparing us for these games, and it definitely helps your confidence when you know what's coming, you know what to expect in the game, it definitely helps a lot. “

On his mindset after starting 0-2
“Next shot. After I missed those first two, every guy on our team was telling me, ‘Next shot, you're banging the next one.’ That just gives me so much confidence knowing that I have teammates that believe in me. I knew the next one was going in. “

 

 

 

 

 

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