Murauskas' 31-13 game helps Men's Basketball dominate ULM

Murauskas Masterpiece
Paulius Murauskas delivered a masterful performance in the win over ULM. He finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds, putting together his 5th career 30-point and 25th career 20-point effort. He completely controlled the game with his ability to score and rebound, posting his fifth career 30-point/10-rebound game. Murauskas did a little bit of everything in the win, adding three assists and a steal in 30 minutes while ending +38. He also got to the free throw line and converted when there, going 6-of-8 from the stripe. 

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 fourth consecutive 20-point to start the season. Murauskas is the only Big 12 player with two 30-point games so far this season. This is his second career streak of four consecutive games with 20 or more points. Murauskas and UCF's Dior Johnson are the only two Big 12 players with four 20-point outings so far this season. Murauskas has 107 points, good for second in the Big 12.

The 13-rebound effort (24th of his career with 10+ boards) is tied for the most by a Big 12 player in a single game this season. Murauskas is now tied for first in the Big 12 with 38 rebounds in 2026-27. It was the 22nd double-double of his career and second straight as a Sun Devil. Murauskas is one of three Big 12 players with two double-doubles this season (Xavier Edmonds, TCU; Ivan Kharchenkov, Arizona). He now has nine career 20 point/10 rebound performances. Murauskas is one of only three Big 12 players with two 10+-rebound games

Chasing 600
After winning 589 games at Saint Mary's, Randy Bennett now has four wins as the head coach at Arizona State. He is now only seven 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 593 wins, Bennett moves past Guy Lewis for the 50th-most wins in the history of NCAA Division I men's basketball. Bennett is the first Coach to start his career post 2000 and earn a spot in the Top-50 on the all-time NCAA Division I men’s basketball wins list.

Getting defensive
Arizona State has been extremely effective defensively through four games. They have yet to allow over 65 points after limiting the Warhawks to only 62 tonight. This is the first time since the 2009-10 campaign that they have started a year by allowing 65 points or less in each of the first four games. Opponents averaged 78.3 points per game last year, but are only mustering 63.3 points per game through four contests this year.

After ULM shot only 33.9% from the field, opponents are now shooting only 36.1% over the past two games against Arizona State. On the season, teams are shooting 39.9% against Arizona State, which is on pace to be one of the top marks in program history. The Warhawks made only 8-of-26 shots (30.8%) in the first half as the Sun Devils set a tone early. ULM also committed 14 turnovers which led to 25 points for Arizona State.

Best FG% defense in program history
.361 -- 1961-62
.373 -- 1959-60
.382 -- 1960-61
.391 -- 1962-63 (791-2024)
.399 -- 1971-72 (797-of-1997)
.399 -- 2026-27 (93-of-233)
.399 -- 2022-23 (836-of-2096)
.400 -- 2021-22 (718-1797)
.401 -- 1967-68 (834-2078)
.402 -- 2009-10 (678-1687)
.410 -- 2012-13 (861-2098)
.410 -- 2007-08 (718-1752) 

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 yet again tonight, as the Sun Devils completely dominated the boards. Arizona State had a 48-35 (+13) advantage, with ten different Sun Devils grabbing at least one rebound. 20 of those were offensive rebounds, which was a new season-best. Paulius Murauskas led the charge with 13 rebounds, followed closely by Dillan Shaw (8) and Ben Defty (6).

For the third time in four games this season, the Sun Devils collected 40 rebounds. In 33 games all of last season, they had six games with 40 or more rebounds.  The last time the Sun Devils had three straight games with 40 or more rebounds was Dec.12-21, 2022. ULM came into the game averaging 43.5 rebounds per game, ranking 45th nationally. They were held to only 35 boards by ASU, their lowest total in a game this season.

What does the Fox say?
Joel Foxwell had another effective game, commanding the offense for the Maroon and Gold. For the second straight game, he had 16 points and posted a season-best nine assists. He made 6-of-13 shots from the field and went 4-of-10 from behind the arc. Foxwell also added four rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes, finishing +29.

For the 15th time in his career and third time this season, he finished with 15+ points/5+ assists. He now has five or more assists in 30 of his 38 career games. Foxwell now has 28 assists compared to only five turnovers through four games. The 28 assists are the 2nd most in the Big 12, while he ranks fourth in the Big 12 in assists/turnover ratio (highest of a player with 25+ assists).

Sharing is caring
The Sun Devils were in an unselfish mood tonight, leading to their 92-point effort. ASU finished with 23 assists, their most in a game since they had 23 in the 89-88 win over No. 7 Arizona on Feb. 28, 2023. Thanks to an eight-turnover effort, Arizona State now leads the Big 12 with a 1.92 assist to turnover ratio (69-36). Eight different Sun Devils were credited with an assist. On the other hand, the Warhawks were limited to isolation offense due to a suffocating Sun Devil defense. ASU held ULM to only five assists, the fewest that a Big 12 team has allowed all season.

Dialed in from deep
Arizona State's three-point shooting was came through for the second straight contest. After making 13 threes in their last game, ASU built on that tonight, finishing with 15. It is the most three-pointers they have made in a game since they made 15 in a 81-74 win over Santa Clara on Nov. 8, 2024. Six different Sun Devils made two or more three pointers.

Carr troubles
ULM sophomore forward Lance Carr was coming off a game in which he finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds in 39 minutes on the road at TCU. The Sun Devils limited his impact, as he finished with only two points and six rebounds in 24 mintues.

Empty the notebook

• Arizona State has started 4-0 for the first time since the 2018-19 season, a roster that featured future NBA Champion guard Luguentz Dort and Pac-12 All-Conference selection Zylan Cheatham
• This is only the program's fifth 4-0 start since 2010-11 season (17 years) and 10th since 1981-82 (46 years)
• Through three games, the Sun Devils are outscoring their opponents 342-253 (+89), an average margin of victory of 22.5 points
• Arizona State finished with 40+ rebounds (48) for the third straight game. ASU collected 40 or more rebounds in only six of 33 games a season ago. The last time the Sun Devils had three straight games with 40 or more rebounds was Dec.12-21, 2022.
• ASU is out-rebounding opponents by a +38 margin over the past two games. They are tied for second-best rebounding margin in the Big 12, averaging +12 per game.
• Not only did the Sun Devils force 14 turnovers (compared to only 8 committed), they dominated the points off turnovers category. They held an incredible 25-3 advantage in the area, a key to the victory.
• ASU also enjoyed a healthy edge in second chance points (20-8) thanks in large part to their 20 offensive rebounds.
• The Sun Devils had five blocks, paced by two from Dillan Shaw. It is his second game this season with two blocks. On the other hand, ULM finished with none. This is the third time this season an opponent has not been able to block a Sun Devil shot.
• Freshman forward Ajak Nyuon continued to make the most of his minutes. He scored six points and made both his three pointers for the second straight game, adding three rebounds, an assist, and a block.
• Arizona State has led for 145.95 of a possible 160 minutes of game time though two contests. They have trailed for less than eight minutes.
• Sophomore center Nate Garcia had his best game as a Sun Devil so far, contributing to the victory. He had four points, four rebounds, and an assist in seven minutes of action off the bench.
• Dillan Shaw’s 33 rebounds through four games ranks him 6th in the Big 12
• Arizona State currently boasts the second-best offensive rebound % (62 off. reb-to-82 def. reb)

Quotables
Arizona State Head Coach Randy Bennett
On his relationship coaching Paulius Murauskas:
“My rule of thumb is when I don't have to talk to (the players) during the games, they’ve gotten good. And that's kind of where I am with Paulius. It wasn't always like that, but I just let him play. He knows what he's doing. When they start saying the things you're saying, and they start saying those things to their teammates, then you have good leadership. And he really wants to be good. He really wants his team to be good. Everybody asked me, ‘where has he gotten better?’ And (leadership) by far is number one. He's gotten better in other areas, he's gotten stronger, but he really has grown up into a good leader as far as a basketball player, dad, husband, the whole deal.”

On the importance of winning the rebound battle:
“It’s important, that's one of our big deals. Rebounding, defending, taking care of the ball and then being efficient offensively. And we weren't happy about it slipping to a plus-13, so we have to play for 40 minutes. And our guys did a good job. I have no complaints, but we could have put that number up there even higher. But we'll keep getting better.”

On where Paulius Murauskas ranks in terms of players he’s coached:
“I would say the best at that position. We've had some really good guards and really good fives (center). He's in the conversation. I've thought about it a lot recently, like ‘where is he?’ He just put himself into, in my 25 years, in the elite category group. It'd be hard for me to break it down. (Matthew) Dellavedova, Patty (Mills), (Jock) Landale and (Omar) Samhan, those guys. But as far as the four (power forward), he's the best one I've coached.”

Senior forward Paulius Murauskas
On the mindset coming into the game:
“We respected this team a lot because we knew they took TCU to two overtimes, and we just took it seriously. We had really good practice yesterday and just kind of smashed them in the first half.”

On the importance of rebounding:
“It's really important. Coaches tell us every day that we need to rebound and box out, especially when we play zone. In the beginning, we didn't hit those threes, and we kind of needed just to really crash offensive boards. I think we really got good shots, like open laps in the beginning, easy points.”

Sophomore guard Joel Foxwell
On having a nine assist performance despite a slow start:
“It's all about settling into the game. I'm trying to get guys the best shots possible, and at the start of the game you're a little cold and stuff like that. Once you get into the flow of things and you start figuring out their defense as well, it becomes much easier to get the guys in their spots where they like it. Guys were able to hit shots tonight, and it was just an all-round really good shooting effort. I don't know what we shot from the field, but it seemed like we shot it pretty well. I do the easy work of getting the ball to the fellows, and then they get to go and do the hard job of actually putting in the rim.”

On Coach Bennett challenging the team defensively:
“I think it shows. For me, I feel like I've had a lot of growth in that area, especially from last year. That's the main thing. That's why he's been so successful, is because he's had a really good defensive team every year, and I'm learning so much from Randy, but also the whole staff. The whole staff has been really good, and there's no shortcuts. You can't take any shortcuts, so that's been a bonus as well, I've really thrived. I still have a long way to go, but I definitely feel like I'm taking the right steps towards being a better defender and I think that goes for the whole team as well. We're starting to really gel really well on the defensive end.”

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Sun Devil Men's Basketball (@sundevilhoops)

Moving up the record books 📈 Congratulations to Coach Bennett for now ranking 50th all-time in career wins in D1 Men’s Basketball history https://t.co/1DlFzgbnBN

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 14, 2026

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